South Carolina Baptists filled Taylors First Baptist Church to capacity March 18 for the commissioning of 89 missionaries by the International Mission Board.
Taylors pastor Frank Page assured the missionaries that Southern Baptists supported them. “Through the good times and the bad times, we as Southern Baptists will stand behind you,” he said. “You are our heroes.”
IMB president Jerry Rankin expressed gratitude to Taylors First Baptist and to the other churches represented for their faithful giving. “None of the 5,500 missionaries on the field have had to defer their service on the field to raise funds,” Rankin told the crowd. “You have kept them on the field. These are your missionaries. Your gifts and prayers sustain them.”
Paul Chitwood, IMB trustee chairman, praised Taylors First Baptist Church for its tradition of giving to missions. “Your support of missionary work is known throughout the Southern Baptist Convention,” he said.
Chitwood said some missionaries are unable to serve on the field because of inadequate funds. “We as Southern Baptists are facing a crisis,” Chitwood said. “We are facing a time when other qualified missions have to be put on hold because they do not have the funding.” (See related story.)
Gordon Fort, vice president of IMB’s Office of Global Strategy, gave a missions update and said that unprecedented things are being done on the mission field. He said that in one year missionaries have baptized more than 609,000 new believers – more than in any other single year in the entire 163-year history of Southern Baptist international missionary work. IMB missionaries also helped start more than 25,000 new churches around the globe, he said.
Steve and Rita Schwarz, of Bethlehem Baptist Church, Roebuck, and newly appointed IMB missionaries to sub-Saharan African people in Zambia, share their testimony during the missionary appointment service March 18 at Taylors First Baptist Church.The missionary candidates gave brief testimonies about what led them to full-time missions work.
Six from South Carolina were commissioned. A married couple who asked to remain anonymous for security reasons was appointed to serve in Central Asia. “We’re excited because we know God has called us, and he has given us an indescribable peace despite the sacrifice,” one said.
Christine Moffett, a South Carolina native, first served as an IMB Journeyman missionary in Peru. Later, when she met her husband Andrew at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, she said they both knew God was calling them to serve full-time overseas.
“We do not have any goals of worldly success,” Moffett said during her testimony. “Our desire is simply to live through Christ and to proclaim his message of grace and salvation.” The Moffetts will serve in Argentina.
Another married couple, Steve and Rita Schwarz, of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Roebuck, were appointed to serve among sub-Saharan African people in Zambia.
In his charge, Rankin reiterated the backing of Southern Baptists for the cause of missions. “You are surrounded by a cloud of witnesses,” he told the missionaries. “They represent a great host of Southern Baptists that support you financially and with prayer.”
IMB President Jerry RankinRankin encouraged the missionaries to stay strong despite their circumstances. “You folks are going to go through the fire again and again and again,” he said, “but you can be sure that God will see you through.”
He exhorted the audience to take more from the service than just a moment of emotion. “This service is not just for you to be inspired by their sacrifice,” Rankin urged. “There’s a responsibility for your calling to go with them in prayer.”
The last IMB appointment service held in South Carolina was in September 2006, when 87 missionaries were commissioned at First Baptist North Spartanburg.