International Mission Board trustees approved the appointment of 59 new missionaries to take the gospel to the nations during their first-ever virtual meeting May 13-14. Trustees also voted to approve Christy Roberson as vice president of human resources and elected Price Jett, vice president of finance, logistics and technology, as IMB treasurer. As a result of the COVID-19 global pandemic, trustees re-elected 2019-2020 officers to serve an additional year.
The 59 new missionaries will serve within each of IMB’s nine global affinities, which include the Americas, Central Asia, Deaf, East Asia, Europe, Northern Africa and the Middle East, South Asia, Southeast Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. The group of 59, along with two other missionaries who were appointed in January, will be commissioned in a first-ever virtual Sending Celebration June 9 at 7 p.m. (EDT). The celebration will premiere live on IMB’s Facebook page and will also broadcast on IMB’s Vimeo channel and Twitter feed.
The Great Commission has not changed
J.D. Greear, president of the Southern Baptist Convention, addressed the trustees and thanked them for their service during the unprecedented season resulting from the COVID-19 global pandemic. Greear reminded trustees that at no point in Christian history has it been God’s intention for the Great Commission to go backwards.
“God’s mission is always forward,” Greear said. “Times of uncertainty throughout history have been good for the church. During these moments, God multiplied the Great Commission for His purposes.”
The global pandemic allows the church to “lean in” and expect great things from God, Greear said. It also gives Christians the opportunity to share the hope they have in Christ as they move forward in reaching out to those who are suffering.
IMB President Paul Chitwood assured trustees that the work of IMB missionaries is continuing in spite of the global pandemic. Highlights of the work include:
- 994 missionary candidates are working toward appointment, up from 656 one year ago. Although a number of missionaries returned to the U.S. as a result of the global pandemic, the overwhelming majority of IMB personnel remain at their posts overseas, and those in the U.S. are looking forward to returning to their field of service as soon as possible.
- This past year, IMB personnel and national believers with whom they work shared the gospel more than 500,000 times. Of those, 89,325 people expressed repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. More than half of those — 47,929 people — were baptized, and 12,368 churches were planted.
- Send Relief, a unique partnership with the North American Mission Board, launched in February and is designed to help Southern Baptists be involved in human needs ministries at home and abroad through their respective entities. Send Relief is already undertaking COVID-19 relief projects overseas. Through IMB missionaries, Send Relief is funding 237 projects in 53 countries. More than 350,000 people in 400 communities are receiving food and/or hygiene assistance. Personal protective and medical equipment have also been distributed to hospitals and clinics.
Among a global population of more than 7.6 billion people, the number who die daily without Christ continues to increase, Chitwood said.
“That number today stands at 154,937,” Chitwood said. “Today. And tomorrow, another 154,937 people will die apart from Christ. We thank God for what He, through Southern Baptists and their IMB, has done. But so much remains undone. We cannot, we must not, waiver in our determination nor slow in our efforts to share the gospel among all the peoples of the world.”
IMB trustees conduct their first-ever virtual trustee meeting May 14, 2020.
Given the realities of the global pandemic, Cooperative Program and Lottie Moon Christmas Offering® revenue streams are suffering, Chitwood acknowledged. These trends are not unexpected “given the number of Americans out of work and churches unable to meet,” Chitwood said. “Yet, given how little IMB revenue has been impacted in light of these realities testifies to the sacrificial giving of Southern Baptists.”
“What does the immediate future hold?” Chitwood asked. “I do not know. But I do know this: The King has called upon us to go and make disciples of all nations, to be His witnesses, not just close by, but to the very ends of the earth. His commission has not changed. His mandate has not been rescinded. And we remain committed.”
The three essentials of mission work
In his address to the board of trustees, IMB chair Seth Polk reminded trustees of the great privilege they have to serve Southern Baptists and IMB missionaries, especially during the global pandemic. He expressed gratitude for “the steady leadership” of IMB President Paul Chitwood and for the essential service of the more than 3,600 missionaries “who are committed to reaching the nations for Jesus.” Polk also thanked God for continued provision to send and support these missionaries through the “faithful giving and prayers of His people.”
Recounting Southern Baptists’ 175-year history of mission support and involvement, Polk focused on three essentials of effective mission work: reliance on Scripture, the gospel above all, and making disciples. Throughout the IMB’s 175-year history, these essentials have been and will continue to be accomplished “in dependence on our sovereign God” and through the prayers and support of God’s people, Polk said.
Polk also encouraged trustees and all Southern Baptists to join IMB’s “175 days of prayer.” The emphasis, which began May 11, will culminate with Southern Baptist’s annual Week of Prayer for International Missions Nov. 29-Dec. 6. IMB is enlisting prayer advocates who will commit to pray for specific IMB requests. Each day features one request sent as a push notification from the IMB Pray app; accessed at imb.org/175/pray; through the Pray Daily newsletter; or seen through IMB’s social media channels. To register to pray, please visit imb.org/175pray.
“In a time of pandemic, we turn our hearts to praise and petition, and we invite Southern Baptists to join together with us in the International Mission Board emphasis on 175 Days of Prayer,” Polk said.
“The measure of our faithfulness in the future, as redeemed people and as Southern Baptists, will correlate directly with our dependence on the Scripture as the Word of God, our fervor for sharing the gospel and our commitment to make disciples of all the nations for the glory of God,” Polk concluded.
Vice president of human resources elected
Christy Roberson was elected as IMB vice president of human resources in a May 14, 2020, virtual meeting of IMB trustees.
Trustees elected Christy Roberson to the position of vice president of human resources. Roberson most recently worked as vice president of People Operations at Goodwill of Central and Coastal Virginia, an $80 million organization with more than 1,500 associates in more than 60 locations. In this position, she led a team of human resource professionals responsible for human resources, leadership development, diversity and inclusion, and recruiting.
She also worked nearly 18 years with Capital One Financial in progressive leadership roles. In 2016, Roberson was a B.I.G. (Business Impact at Goodwill) award recipient, and she is a three-time recipient of the Capital One President’s Award for outstanding leadership. Roberson is a credentialed Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) and an accredited Senior Certified Professional through the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM-SCP). She and her husband, Clyde, have two grown children, Alex (27) and Laura (23).
Clyde Meador, who served as IMB’s interim vice president for human resources, welcomed Roberson to her role.
“Christy’s superior record as a human resources leader, coupled with her strong commitment to Christ, promises effective leadership for every aspect of our HR support, both on the mission field and among stateside staff, as well as for a significant contribution to the overall IMB leadership team,” Meador said. “I’m thankful she is bringing her expertise to serve at IMB.”
Other business
In other business, trustees voted to elect Price Jett, IMB’s vice president of finance, logistics and technology, as IMB treasurer. Using an electronic ballot, trustees also voted to re-elect officers from 2019-20. No new nominations were submitted, and there were no nominations from the floor. Seth Polk, lead pastor of Cross Lanes Baptist Church in Cross Lanes, West Virginia, was re-elected as trustee chairman; Chuck Pourciau, senior pastor of Broadmoor Baptist Church in Shreveport, Louisiana, was re-elected as first vice chair; Lisa Lovell, a member of First Baptist Church in Fayetteville, Arkansas, was re-elected as second vice chair; and Cheryl Wright, a member of Immanuel Baptist Church in Shawnee, Oklahoma, was re-elected as recording secretary.
With the cancellation of the 2020 SBC annual meeting, expiring terms of convention entity trustees depend on each entity’s individual charter. As a result, the expiring terms of Seth Polk, chair, and Cheryl Wright, recording secretary, were extended one year, which made them eligible to continue to serve as officers of the board. The expiring terms of Bobbi Ashford (North Carolina), Susan Bryant (Kentucky), Ken Burnham (Alabama), Will Payne (New York) and Cindy Snead (Arizona) were also extended for one year.
The next IMB trustee meeting is scheduled for Sept. 29-30 in Richmond, with a missionary Sending Celebration Sept. 30 at 6:30 p.m. (EDT) at Mount Vernon Baptist Church in Glen Allen, Virginia.