How many Southern Baptists should be going to the nations?

What would be a proper proportion for God to call and lead to proclaim the gospel to those who have not heard? How many would He desire to be available to impact 6 billion people around the world compared to those needed to witness to 300 million in our own country?

Currently .03 percent of Southern Baptists go overseas to serve with the IMB—that’s less than one out of every three thousand. What if one-tenth of 1 percent went as missionaries; we would have not 5,000 but 160,000 missionaries. Could not 99 percent of our members provide the support for 1 percent to go as missionaries? That would be 1.6 million missionaries—a number sufficient to fulfill the Great Commission.

Why have we fallen into a pattern of disproportionate use of resources and so few willing to take the gospel to the nations? Is this the way God desires it to be, or have we succumbed to a myth regarding the call to missions and allowed Satan to distort our understanding of God’s will?

Spiritual Warfare & Missions, #4 Jerry Rankin

6/4/2010