Leaning on a cane and gripping the hand of his wife, Southern
Baptist missionary Charles Beaty listened to staccato applause swell into a
standing ovation.
Leaning on a cane and gripping the hand of his wife, Southern
Baptist missionary Charles Beaty listened to staccato applause swell into a
standing ovation.
The Beatys came to the 2001 Southern Baptist Convention to
challenge pastors and church leaders to go to the mission field. But they also
had another reason for coming – Charles Beaty is dying of cancer and is
seeking someone to take his place as a missionary in North Africa.
“Is the Lord calling you to go to the people who have
no voice?” Beaty asked. “Then my challenge is to go and not wait,
because we are not promised tomorrow.”
As part of the Southern Baptist International Mission Board
report at last weeks convention, a video depicting the Beatys ministry
played on large screen projectors. The couple then offered a challenge and prayer
for church leaders who may feel led to participate in missions.
“My challenge to you is to continue to go and to answer
the call when (God) calls you,” Beaty told messengers, who later held hands
and prayed for the couple.
International Mission Board President Jerry Rankin said more
Baptists must follow Beatys example. “What about you?” he asked.
“The urgency of reaching a lost world has led many others to respond.”
Other missionaries and church leaders also shared testimonies
of Gods work overseas and the importance of missions during the boards
annual report.
For instance, as associate director of International Mission
Board work in southern Africa, Ray Davis discussed the plight thousands of Africans
face each day as they die without knowing Christ.
“There is a thief stalking our continent,” Davis
said. “The thief comes only to steal, kill and destroy. But … (Jesus)
came that they may have life and might have it abundantly. Until he comes, we
must go.”
Mike Hamlet related how mission participation has changed his
congregation.
“Our church believes we can make a difference,” said
Hamlet, pastor at First Baptist Church of Spartanburg, S.C. “And our people
began to see that.”
Many people in his church have responded to the call to join
the mission field, the pastor said, adding that their departure inspires the
whole congregation and leaves vacancies for new leaders. “Missions is helping
us to build leadership,” he said.
Recounting the amazing work God is doing in East Asia, Bill
Fudge told of church planting movements and monthly baptisms that number in
the thousands.
But he also told of 84 cities in China that have more than
1 million residents and little Christian presence. He also noted that more than
1 billion people have yet to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ.
“There is an overwhelming task,” he said. “It
is no time for business as usual. It is time to go.”
Jerry Rankin also presented the annual mission board report
to the convention. Last year, the International Mission Board appointed 873
new missionaries, he told messengers. In addition, Southern Baptist missionaries
overseas recorded 451,000 baptisms and 6,525 new church starts – and the
Lottie Moon Christmas Offering reaped more than $113 million for overseas mission
support, Rankin noted.
Yet, with all the advances, the missions leader warned that
the task of saving a lost world is far from complete.
“In spite of this progress, multitudes are still waiting,
described in the Bible as lost, without hope, alienated from God and in darkness,”
he said.
“How long must they wait? The world for which Christ died
was not that of our comfortable homes, neighborhood shopping malls and well-appointed
offices.”