CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (BP) — International Mission Board (IMB) trustees approved the appointment of 69 full-time, fully funded missionaries during their Sept. 25-26 meeting near Richmond, Virginia. Fifty-seven of the missionaries participated in a Sending Celebration hosted by First Baptist Church Park Street, Charlottesville — the historic church where the famous Southern Baptist missionary Lottie Moon was baptized.

Trustee chairman Keith Evans from the Northwest Baptist Convention presided over the meeting. Nate Bishop, first vice chair from Kentucky, called the meeting to order and opened the meeting in prayer. Bishop also introduced guests including Michael Cabell from the Kentucky Baptist Convention and Southern Baptist Convention President Clint Pressley.

Cabell, who was joined by pastors from Kentucky, addressed trustees on behalf of the Cooperative Program, as Southern Baptists prepare to celebrate the giving plan’s 100th anniversary in 2025. “On behalf of Southern Baptists, we’re proud to partner with you toward this missionary task,” he said.

Pressley also preached at Wednesday’s Sending Celebration in Charlottesville, assuring IMB missionaries of Southern Baptists’ support as they leave their homes to share the gospel among the lost. Pressley thanked trustees and IMB leaders for the good news of God’s work around the world, giving Southern Baptists reason to be proud of partnership efforts.

IMB President Paul Chitwood recognized Send Relief leaders and combined efforts that continue to grow and bring the gospel to the lost through disaster relief ministries.

President’s Report

Chitwood continued celebrating the new missionaries who were recognized the night before when he addressed trustees in their Thursday plenary session. Reflecting on the continuing legacy of Lottie Moon, he said, “Who but God could have imagined that one little girl from the hills of northwestern Virginia would inspire Southern Baptists to give more than $5.5 billion [in total through the years] to an international missions offering named in her honor?”

Chitwood also shared that, with a few giving days left in the 2023-24 giving year, the Lottie Moon offering was already the largest in the IMB’s history, with receipts currently showing more than $204 million given to date. This generous gift combined with Cooperative Program gifts will have met every ministry need of the IMB this year, Chitwood reported. The official total of the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering will be reported in early October after the fiscal year closes September 30.

“We can also celebrate that we just graduated our largest class of missionaries from Field Personnel Orientation in more than a decade,” Chitwood said, referring to the training time for new missionaries.

He continued with more good news from the frontlines of missions. “We celebrate that our missionary application pipeline is higher than it’s been in more than 15 years. We can celebrate that the IMB brand is strong again, and we are connecting with more churches than ever before in our 180-year history. We celebrate that the average tenure of service for long-term missionaries is higher than it’s been in many years. And we celebrate that Southern Baptist volunteers serving alongside our overseas teams this year topped 11,600, an increase of nearly 20% over last year.”

Expanding the total missionary force has been a focus of Chitwood’s presidency. He acknowledged that inflation hikes would require even more generosity to support a greater number of missionaries on the field.

“Why is that so important? Because lostness is a growing problem,” he added. “So we need even more missionary candidates in the application pipeline, and we need the Lottie offering to grow at a quicker pace so we can send and fully support those missionaries. We press forward because so much is at stake, and God has shown His willingness to bless our efforts.”

Chitwood recounted a recent trip he and his wife, Michelle, made to Zambia with a group of Southern Baptist leaders and church planters. The trip included Lynette Ezell, wife of North American Mission Board (NAMB) President Kevin Ezell.

Southern Baptist work began in Zambia in 1960. Today, IMB missionaries serve alongside Zambian Baptists who are leading their churches to reach the nations. Chitwood pointed out that Zambia is just one of 155 countries where Southern Baptists sent and supported missionaries this year.

“Beating along for hours in a 4-by-4 into the African bush with our missionaries, joining them for river baptisms, sitting with them and their children in their makeshift homeschool classrooms, and hoping the electricity comes on long enough for a hot shower, was a good reminder of the dedication and sacrifice our missionaries make to obey God’s call upon their lives. And it was an opportunity for Michelle and me to renew our own commitment to God’s call upon our lives,” he said.

“Six years ago, we felt God calling us to the IMB for a very specific reason. Here’s how I communicate that to our missionaries: We feel [God] called us into service with the IMB to do everything we can do to ensure they have everything they need to do what God has called them to do.”

Chitwood emphasized a concerted, renewed effort to provide well-equipped leadership for missionary teams.

“We are working — and will continue to work — to develop and equip healthy field leadership for our missionary teams,” he said, “and will hold accountable those who fail to care well for our missionary teams.”

He referenced a lengthy list of specific ways IMB leadership addresses healthy leadership, shared in trustees’ meetings on Wednesday and stated a desire “to give assurance to our board, our missionaries, and to Southern Baptists that our goal is to care for and support our missionaries with excellence — and we will not be satisfied with anything that falls short of that goal.”

He articulated a continued commitment toward his calling to serve IMB missionaries.

“Michelle and I feel called to this role to do everything we can do to make sure our missionaries have everything they need, including good leaders,” he said.

New trustees and committee reports

New IMB trustees, who were elected at the SBC annual meeting in June, participated in orientation at IMB’s home office. New trustees beginning their terms of service include: Steve D. Holdaway of Nebraska; Timothy J. Hill of Florida; Lyndy D. Stewart of Indiana; Nicholas R. (Nick) Clark of Kentucky; Joy G. Regan of Louisiana; Jangbae Jeon of New York; Scott C. Parkison of Tennessee; Ryan Thurston Brice of Virginia; and Wendell D. Horton of Virginia.

At Thursday’s plenary session, standing committees provided reports regarding administration, global engagement, human resources, LFTT (logistics, finance, technology, travel), marketing and communications, mobilization and training. The session included the approval of a total balanced budget for 2024-25 of $312,379,000.

Keith Evans thanked the leaders who work in Richmond as he gave closing remarks. Evans, who recently became a grandfather, reflected on how this season in his life has strengthened his walk with the Lord. Reading 1 John 3:1, he asked trustees to consider the gift of being lavishly loved by God the Father.

“Before you’re a missionary or a pastor or a father or mother or attorney or doctor, you are a son or daughter of the King,” he said. “Find your identity in being a child of God, because that is who you are.”

Trudy Crittendon, recording secretary, closed the meeting in prayer.

The next IMB trustee meeting will be Feb. 5-6, 2025, in Charleston, South Carolina.

(EDITOR’S NOTE — Leslie Peacock Caldwell is managing editor at the IMB.)