Representatives from seven states and as many South Asian countries gathered for the International Mission Board’s South Asia mobilization conference Oct. 12-13 at Southside Baptist Church in Spartanburg.
Participants pick up prayer cards for unreached people groups in South Asia.Personnel representing the South Asian region met with churches and associations who are working in the region or have a desire to partner with specific areas not penetrated with the gospel. Partnering with cities or people groups is a channel for churches or associations to be a connection to the gospel for areas not currently staffed by IMB personnel. Churches and associations pray for and send mission teams to adopted areas.
Eddie Coakley, pastor of Buncombe Road Baptist Church in Greenville, recently adopted a people group in India totaling 16 million people – which currently has an IMB presence but remains largely unreached. Buncombe Road is a small church, but Coakley says the size of the church does not matter in relation to the need in South Asia.
“IMB workers are in India, and they need for someone to help them, to intercede for them. We might be the only people in the world praying for a city of thousands and thousands of people,” he said.
Frank Page, pastor of First Baptist Church, Taylors, and president of the Southern Baptist Convention, recently attended a group meeting of all South Asian workers in Thailand and told conference participants the International Mission Board personnel are light in a very dark world.
Citing John 10:10, Page said that “missionaries are giving life in a land where Satan has stolen and killed.”
“If there is ever a time this world needs life, it is now,” Page continued.
Jeremy Singleton*, an IMB worker in India, defined the vision of church-planting movements in South Asia as the ultimate goal in every effort of every mission team and full-time missionary.
“The goal is always church-planting movements, but sometimes we are picking up rocks or cleaning fields – . Our obedience in those things is paving the way for someone else,” he said.
“When you see a church-planting movement, it is an amazing thing, and you can’t live for anything less than that,” Singleton continued.
The conference included sessions on the best practices in ministering to South Asians. Participants could also network with stateside personnel from the region. They were also able to commit to praying for a specific unreached people group in South Asia.
The seven countries of South Asia contain 70 percent of all unreached people groups in the world. One out of every four people who do not know Christ live in South Asia. But despite the enormous task of reaching the region with the gospel, Singleton is hopeful.
“Pray for the Southern Baptist Convention and as a people of God, and that we will never have a vision too small.”
For more information, contact missions mobilization at (800) 723-7242 or see www.scbaptist.org/missions.
*Name changed due to security concerns