Good News from the Foreign Mission Board

                                                                                                     Vol. VII, No. 6, August 1994

God used Southern Baptists in foreign missions during 1993 as never before. Here are a few facts to back up that claim. In 1993 there were 498 missionary appointments, bringing the end-year total to 3,954. (Since 1 January additional appointments have raised the total to 4,086.) In addition, 10,265 volunteers went overseas. For the third straight year overseas baptisms set a record with 262,758. Overseas churches grew 7.29% to 35,188; that is up from 17,769 at year-end 1988. The number of countries in which missionaries work increased to 176, with missionaries living in 127. Church membership grew from 3.54 million to 3.74 million.

"World A" peoples, those groups which have not had an opportunity to hear about Christ, continue to receive special attention both in witnessing and in the provision of humanitarian aid. Over 14% of the missionary force was assigned to World A along with $21 million of the budget. These workers helped establish 37 new churches and baptized more than 700 people. They also began nearly 240 preaching points and worked with more than 130 churches with more than 54,000 members.

As you and your church prepare your budgets for next year, remember the increasingly outstanding harvests God is reaping through our Foreign Mission Board efforts as well as those of all the other Southern Baptist convention agencies. Pray for the unsaved around the world, for our missionaries in foreign lands, and for a leading from the Lord as to what He would have you personally and your church corporately contribute through the SBC Cooperative Program.