“Tell them not to give up. Those two young men need to hear the gospel.”
I was on the streets of Paris. The two North Africa migrants the missionary was referring to were smoking a cigarette waiting on the metro. I watched him walk over, start a conversation in Arabic, and share with them the gospel of Jesus Christ. It was the first time they heard the Good News.
As I watched him, I was reminded of who we are as Southern Baptists. We were in a conversation about the Southern Baptist Convention and how some churches’ frustration is leading them to possibly give up on cooperative missions efforts. Matt was educated in one of our seminaries, learned Arabic over three years through one of our mission-sending agencies, and is one of our fully funded missionaries.
Matt and the two Islamic young men are worth our investment.
We are going through a critical time as Southern Baptists. Sins of some of our influential leaders from the past have been exposed. At times we have not acted in wisdom in confronting sexual abuse and caring for survivors. Rather than talk out differences face-to-face, some take shots at one another on social media, drawing attention away from the mission and toward themselves. It would be easy to throw in the towel, lean out of the conversation, and pull away from cooperating together to send to the nations.
The lost are worth fighting for if our Savior saw them worth dying for.
I am thankful that South Carolina Baptists continue to lean into the solution rather than be a part of the problem. When we are confronted with sin, we collectively repent. When there is a drift from the Scriptures, we hold firm to the Word. We are being proactive in preventing and responding to sexual abuse. We are generous in times of crisis. We respect each other even when we differ in opinion.
Stay focused on the mission. There are billions of people across the planet with limited to no access to the gospel. Maybe one of them lives near you. It will take all of us working together to finish the task. Every life is worth our investment.
So, don’t give up!