Chitwood installed as IMB’s 13th president
Unity, fellowship and promises of mutual support characterized the installation of International Mission Board (IMB) President Paul Chitwood and the Sending Celebration of 19 newly appointed international missionaries at Grove Avenue Baptist Church, Richmond, Feb. 6. Chitwood is the 13th president of the 173-year-old IMB, the largest denominational missionary-sending body among American evangelicals.
Chitwood family visits Uganda
In April, Chitwood, his wife, Michelle, and their 12-year-old daughter, Cai, traveled to Uganda to see the work of IMB missionaries there. The weeklong trip included stops in the capital city of Kampala to meet with missionaries focused on urban ministry and in Jinja to visit the Uganda Baptist Seminary.
Sharing hope with Venezuelan refugees
In May, Chitwood visited Colombia and worked alongside IMB missionaries and Colombian and Venezuelan Baptist partners to meet the physical and spiritual needs of refugees fleeing Venezuela as a result of Venezuela’s economic collapse.
Reaching East Asian herdsmen
It takes tents, sleeping bags, and a lot of food for Peter Station* to get out in the remote areas of his East Asian country – the places where the herdsmen live. He throws all his gear in the back of an SUV, drives several days into the wilderness and camps beside them so he can share the gospel with them.
Influencing generations in northern Ghana
Can a Christian become a chief in northern Ghana? Fifty years ago, this was unheard of. Then in the 1950s, the young son of a local tribal king was led to Christ by a missionary. He began attending church, and his brothers complained to the king that he was lazy because he refused to farm on Sundays. The king berated him and told him to renounce his newfound faith. The young man refused. Today, this young man and other Christians are chiefs of their tribes. In this fascinating photo collection, IMB missionary William Haun, who lives in northern Ghana and is known locally as “the young white men’s chief,” tells the story of the Christian chiefs of northern Ghana.
Partnering to advance the gospel
In August, IMB signed a historic covenant with One Sending Body, the sending entity of the five Southern Baptist conventions in the Philippines. The agreement forges an official partnership between the two missionary-sending organizations and facilitates teaming between Filipino and IMB missionaries to advance the gospel.
Fighting for the living in Poland
Kelvin Joseph*, an IMB worker in Poland describes his experience visiting cemeteries on All Saints Day. “I got saved and I realized this holiday doesn’t fit with the Bible. At first it was difficult,” a Polish Baptist friend told Joseph. “Now I feel like I am free. Now I realize it is important to fight for the people who are still alive. Here Polish people are celebrating dead people, but they are not thinking about those who are alive.”
Giving to fulfill the Great Commission
Johnson Ferry Baptist Church in Marietta, Ga., received its largest one-day offering for Great Commission causes in the church’s history in a special collection Nov. 3. The offering, which totaled $5,104,848.09, honors outgoing pastor Bryant Wright and his wife, Anne, for 38 years of service and is totally devoted to fulfilling Christ’s Great Commission.
Lottie Moon’s Church designated as historical site
Lottie Moon, one of Southern Baptists most famous missionaries, served as a missionary to China from 1873 until her death in 1912. Lottie’s legacy will now be preserved beyond the Southern Baptist realm. Wulin Shenghui Church of Penglai in Shandong province, where Lottie Moon was a member during her time in Dengzhou, China, has been designated as a nationally protected historical and cultural site by The State Council of the People’s Republic of China.
Creativity to advance the mission
If you’re heading to Mount Harmony Baptist Church in Knoxville, Tenn., you don’t need to stop at a fancy coffee shop on your way to church. Multi-flavored coffees and lattes will be ready for you when you arrive, served by smiling baristas. Donations at the coffee counter raise money for the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering, but also raise awareness about the offering’s namesake.
Your gifts to the Cooperative Program and the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering allow 3,656 IMB missionaries around the world to share the hope of the gospel with those who have not yet heard. Thank you for your faithfulness to pray, give, go and send in 2019. We look forward to sharing more stories of God’s work around the world through your support of IMB missionaries in 2020!
(EDITOR’S NOTE – As we look back at 2019, the IMB’s editorial team selected their choices of IMB’s most significant moments told through stories and photos this year. This story was originally published at imb.org. Reprinted by permission.)
