Southern Baptists have prayed for years that Iraq would somehow be opened
to the gospel. Now, workers have unprecedented access to what was one of the
worlds most closed countries.
So, what are Southern Baptists doing about it?
Southern Baptists have prayed for years that Iraq would somehow be opened
to the gospel. Now, workers have unprecedented access to what was one of the
worlds most closed countries.
So, what are Southern Baptists doing about it?
Not enough, say Southern Baptist International Mission Board workers risking
their lives to meet human needs and share the gospel inside Iraq.
“I must admit Im disappointed that we have so few workers here,”
said one Baghdad worker, who cannot be identified for security reasons.
While the mission board has work among almost 1,500 people groups in well more
than 100 countries, its inability to respond quickly and appropriately to what
may be a fleeting opportunity in Iraq shows a poignant side of the boards
recent financial challenges.
John Brady admitted being frustrated by the situation.
“It aches my heart to see the opportunities that are before us and know
what decisions were having to make,” said Brady, leader of International
Mission Board work in the Middle East and northern Africa.
“Today is the day of the open door,” he added. “God has opened
doors, not only in Iraq but really in hundreds of spots across the Muslim world.
If were going to walk through that door, Southern Baptists have got to
decide if its worth sacrificing something.”
A year or two from now, the opportunity in Iraq could be gone, Brady warned.
“There are a number of folks willing to come. We just need the money to
send them.”
The International Mission Board has faced a financial challenge this past year,
mostly because the numbers of new missionaries coming forward for overseas service
has grown faster than giving from the churches has increased. Board leaders
kept appointing the missionaries, trusting Southern Baptists would increase
their missions support.
They did not. Southern Baptist gifts to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering
for International Missions have increased but not enough to keep up with the
unprecedented growth of the overseas missionary force.
Southern Baptist churches also have been giving declining percentages of the
offerings they receive through the Cooperative Program, the unified giving system
that funds state, national and worldwide causes. The Cooperative Program is
the mission boards other major source of funding.
For example, if Southern Baptists were giving through the Cooperative Program
this year at the same rate as 20 years ago, the mission board would have received
more than $40 million in additional funding – enough to have covered the
increased levels of overseas personnel, enough perhaps to fund more work in
Iraq.
To compensate for the tight finances, the board has cut stateside staff, reduced
its 2004 budget by $20 million and delayed the appointment of hundreds of short-and
long-term workers.
The total number of missionaries serving overseas actually could decline by
several hundred next year, if the board cannot send enough new workers to replace
those who are retiring and resigning.
Southern Baptists must understand that there is a war for souls underway in
Iraq, Brady said. Even as Islamic leaders try to tighten their grip on the country
and its people, cult groups like the Mormons and Jehovahs Witnesses are
sending hundreds of their missionaries into Iraq to spread their pseudo-Christianity.
God will have his way in Iraq, Brady said. Christian workers from South Korea,
Brazil and many other lands are coming to Iraq to share the gospel.
“(But) I am jealous to see Southern Baptists be a part of Gods plan
for Iraq,” Brady added. “I am praying (they) will respond to this
opportunity, because they are about seeing Gods kingdom grow. I am jealous
for Southern Baptists, not to be the only ones working but not to be left out.”
Brady urged Southern Baptists to help meet the needs in Iraq by giving sacrificially
to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering this year. “If youre wanting
to invest in the kingdom of God with your money, your life and your prayers,
now is the time,” Brady urged.
“We need people praying all the time. We need money. And we need people
to come be here and say, It is up to me! We need people who will
say, Im going to invest in what God has shown me is an open door.”
(BP)