IMB President Paul Chitwood speaks at the missionary Sending Celebration on Feb. 14, at North Phoenix Baptist Church, Phoenix, Arizona. The church hosted new missionaries for training and IMB trustees who met Feb. 14-15. IMB Photo

Asa Watson, newly appointed missionary to Germany, prays in German during the IMB’s Sending Celebration, June 11. He and three other missionaries closed the ceremony by praying in different languages. IMB Photo

Paul Chitwood, IMB president, reminds Southern Baptists of three pledges that have withstood the 179 years of the convention’s history — praying, giving and sending. Chitwood said these pledges continue to support today’s missionaries who bring the solution of the gospel to the spiritually lost. IMB Photo

Standing behind a screen to protect their identity, newly appointment missionaries share their testimony using American Sign Language. The couple will work among the Deaf. IMB Photo

Micheal and Liz Davis are joining the great pursuit to reach those in Europe who are living in darkness. They are being sent by Trinity Baptist Church, Paul’s Valley, Oklahoma. IMB Photo

Messengers and guests at the Southern Baptist Convention applaud IMB missionaries who will serve in countries where it is either illegal to share the gospel or Christians are strongly persecuted. Eighty-three newly appointed missionaries, plus two previously appointed missionaries participating with spouses, were part of a Sending Celebration in the first session of the annual meeting on June 11 in Indianapolis. IMB Photo

Newly appointed missionaries share a little of their testimony and work they will do with more than 13,000 Southern Baptist messengers and their guests on June 11. This large group of missionaries, 85, sent out during the 2024 SBC annual meeting will serve in every affinity in the world where IMB currently works. IMB Photo

Danny and Eunice (Park) Kwack share greetings at the Sending Celebration on Feb. 14 in Phoenix, Arizona. The Kwacks will be serving in São Paulo, Brazil. They are sent from Global Mission Church of Greater Washington, Silver Springs, Maryland. The Kwacks are an example of how God is moving among the nations to call people across cultures. From Korea to the U.S. to Brazil, God is mobilizing His Church to spread the gospel. IMB Photo

On her first trip to Europe in college God changed Abigail Freemyer’s heart for his people and realized that she could share with others the hope and joy she found in Jesus. She is returning to serve as an IMB missionary to Europe. IMB Photo

Todd and Michele Linn are being appointed as missionaries to serve among Sub-Saharan African Peoples. They are being sent from Oakhill Baptist Church in Evansville, Indiana. IMB Photo

Priscila (in yellow) and Cheyenne Solis (center) greeted attenders in Spanish before sharing that they will be serving among Southeast Asians. They are being sent by Stonegate Fellowship in Midland, Texas. IMB Photo

Chad and Miriam Pumpelly are returning to Africa where they first met and became high school sweethearts. This is their second appointment as career IMB missionaries. IMB Photo

This single man is heading to an area of the world that cannot be publicly named. Counting the cost and finding Christ worthy, IMB missionaries face the edge of lostness and people often hostile to the gospel. IMB Photo

IMB President Paul Chitwood spent time talking with missionaries and praying with them before they took the stage at the Sending Celebration held on Feb. 14 at North Phoenix Baptist Church. IMB Photo

Wang and Hyeonah Lee, along with their children, Immanuel (11), Irene (7), and Isaac (5), are being sent by New Song Church in Carrolton, Texas, to join the team in São Paulo, Brazil, and provide sound theological education there. IMB Photo

Patrick and Kathryn Thompson surrounded by friends and family during the prayer time at the IMB’s Sending Celebration. Jeff Gin, IMB’s vice president of mobilization, led attendees in prayer. He asked them to “hold the ropes” as William Carey, the father of modern missions, requested of the church in his day. IMB Photo

“God expects that we tell others what He has done. Our world is full of people who don’t know the enemy has been defeated,” IMB President Paul Chitwood told Florida Baptists and others gathered at the November 14 Sending Celebration. IMB Photo

“If God is calling any of you to go, the IMB is hiring!” IMB President Paul Chitwood tells the crowd at the Sending Celebration on November 14 at Idlewild Baptist Church in Tampa, Florida. IMB Photo

Cara Griggs said she first learned about missions through Girls in Action, a Woman’s Missionary Union organization for young girls. She shared a brief testimony at the most recent Sending Celebration, held in conjunction with the Florida Baptist Convention annual meeting in Tampa. “Hearing the stories of faithful missionary women dedicating their lives for the sake of the gospel struck a chord of passion in my heart.” IMB Photo

A missionary gives her testimony to attendees at the Sending Celebration, held in conjunction with the Florida Baptist Convention annual meeting. She is obscured from the crowd by a partition because she is called to a people group that may be hostile toward the gospel. For her safety and those she serves among, she is not publicly connected with IMB. In her country of service, she will generally be known by her real name or maybe by a nickname given to her by local friends. IMB Photo