Reflecting back on the past two years, Debbie McDowell is grateful for the many ways that God has used the South Carolina Baptists in South Asia. As the director of the South Carolina Baptist Convention missions mobilization group, she has seen dozens of teams and hundreds of people stream into the seven countries of South Asia as part of the convention’s current international missions partnership.
But the last few years have been challenging, to say the least, with the tsunami in 2004 and the Pakistan earthquake in 2005. Even so, as 2007 approaches, a new set of opportunities to minister in South Asia are available. And South Carolina Baptists have adopted the region in a tremendous way.
“South Carolina folks have been called to the region as long-term missionaries. Many are praying for South Asia,” said McDowell, listing some of the partnership accomplishments.
McDowell admits that when the partnership started, most people were not even aware of the vast lostness of the region or even where the countries were located.
“Our people know where South Asia is,” she stated.
With the heavy influence of Islam and Hinduism dominating the region, new evangelism methods are needed to relate to the South Asian population, and South Carolina churches have responded well to embracing new techniques.
“One thing that excites me is what our people have learned in preparation to go to South Asia through cross-cultural training, prayerwalking, ‘camel training,’ and others,” said McDowell.
In the missions partnership with the region, the convention coordinates teams to travel to South Asia throughout the year. The teams are open to anyone who feels like God is calling them to go. The 2007 teams include prayerwalking, as well as medical and leadership training. Some teams will map unknown population areas in preparation for long-term work. Other groups will continue to work in disaster areas, with the emphasis turning to more discipleship and community development.
McDowell says the projects listed are only the surface of what South Carolina Baptists are doing in the region. Largely spawned from the convention’s partnership, churches and associations have begun long-term relationships with unreached areas. These relationships have led churches to send teams of their own and to pray for specific countries and people groups.
But challenges still remain – one of the largest being praying for volunteers to take the often difficult step of traveling internationally.
“Getting people to go to hard places – whether it’s the perceived dirtiness, distance, cost, heat, security concerns – it is just getting people to accept the challenge of hard places,” McDowell said, noting that many people who have responded to the regional disasters have felt a call to continued work in South Asia.
Still, the ministry goals have remained unwavering throughout the partnership.
“I think the ministry needs are the same as far as distribution, prayerwalking, and discipleship training, and they all focus toward church-planting movements,” McDowell said.
And, somberly, the harvest is still plentiful.
“There are still 345 unengaged, unreached people groups of more than 100,000 people each in South Asia,” McDowell said. “Many have been involved but there is still the need for more laborers.”
2007 South Asia trip dates:
January 8-19
February 2-12
February 5-17
February 6-17
February 12-23
March 5-17
March 5-17
March 5-17
April 9-20
April 9-21
April 23 ? May 5
April 27 ? May 8
April 16-28
May 20 ? June 2
May 25 ? July 15
June 4-16
June 4-16
July 23 ? August 4
July 23 ? August 4
July 23 ? August 4
August 6-19
September 3-15
October 8-21
October 15-27
October 22 ? November 3
December 13-22