As I write this, a headline from a news website reads, “A child is born and world population hits 7 billion.” It is a milestone that brings amazement at the diversity and sheer number of people who cover the planet. But with the news also comes the sobering reality that an inordinate amount of these 7 billion people will live and die without a whisper of the most important news ever given to humanity: A child has been born who has come to rescue helpless humans from their sins.
The calling of the Great Commission in the 21st century, with this most recent news as a backdrop, is why I was encouraged to read the recommendations of the South Carolina Baptist Convention’s Great Commission Resurgence Task Force. As the new pastor of a church (Taylors First Baptist) that has a long and deeply held interest in supporting the cause of reaching the world with the gospel through its gifts to the Cooperative Program, I recognize these recommendations as both strategic and sacrificial but, most of all, vital to the mission of the kingdom.
The task force understands that a shift in strategy needs to occur in order to reach areas around the world where a gospel outpost is either deficient or altogether nonexistent. The reallocation of dollars toward a 50/50 split between resources kept in South Carolina and sent to the International Mission Board moves beyond strategic thinking into immediate action. Furthermore, the call to church revitalization, missions mobilization, and church planting revises a strategy at home in order to reach the areas of gospel-darkness among 4.6 million South Carolinians.
The task force also models the sacrifice that is required in order for a new strategy to move forward. Ralph Carter, chairman, said that when the task force began its work, he feared there would be great difficulty on reaching agreement on anything. But the model of moving forward in a spirit of sacrifice in order to find common ground on the collective mission of South Carolina Baptists speaks volumes.
I commend Ralph Carter and the 35 members of the task force for their prayers and diligence in charting a new path forward for reaching the world with the resources provided by God through his people. It reflects well on a current of change that prioritizes the urgency of the gospel being taken to all people in all places. For these essential reasons, I wholeheartedly support the recommendations of the task force in full.
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