IMB trustee Carol Pfeiffer, right, from Texas, visits with Mike Brungardt, who leads IMB’s work in the Americas. — IMB photo

RICHMOND — International Mission Board trustees approved 83 fully funded missionaries for appointment during their May 15-16 meeting. While gathered near Richmond, trustees also affirmed numerous reports from around the world detailing Southern Baptists’ efforts in advancing the gospel among the lost.

The missionaries approved for appointment will be recognized during a Sending Celebration on Tuesday, June 11, at 10 a.m. EDT in conjunction with the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting in Indianapolis. The event will be livestreamed on sbcannualmeeting.net.

President’s report

In his report to the board of trustees, IMB President Paul Chitwood reported that the missionary candidate pipeline has remained above 1,300 for consecutive months. He also announced the relaunching of the Master’s Program, a fully funded missionary pathway for those ages 55 and older. Chitwood noted millions of the Boomer generation retire yearly and said IMB leadership sees a great opportunity for many of those retirees to join an IMB overseas team as a Master’s missionary.

IMB president Paul Chitwood emphasized the company’s commitment to transparency before Southern Baptists and IMB’s unwavering commitment to missionary presence among the lost. — IMB photo

“This pathway and others like it, by God’s grace and the generosity of Southern Baptists, means that fully funded missionaries continue to be our mainstay at the IMB,” Chitwood said. “To provide for the support of a growing number of missionary candidates, we rejoice that our past two Lottie Moon Christmas Offerings® have been the largest in our history, and this year’s offering is on pace to potentially set another record.”

Trustees received a copy of the latest Annual Statistical Report which reports IMB 2023 data from the mission field. Chitwood highlighted the following statistics as the work of every Southern Baptist church that supports the advance of the gospel through the IMB:

• Gospel work in 155 countries;
• More than 451,000 people heard a complete gospel presentation;
• 141,000 professed faith in Jesus Christ;
• 800,000 people heard the gospel online through video content watched to at least 95 percent; and
• 117,000 new believers were baptized through the work of IMB missionaries.

The Annual Statistical Report is available for public download on IMB’s website at IMB.org/ASR.

Chitwood emphasized IMB’s stewardship of the generous gifts of Southern Baptists, calling the task an “honor and a privilege.”

IMB president Paul Chitwood, right, recognizes Joel Williams, IMB trustee from Louisiana, who completed his service. In all, eight trustees were recognized for their time on the board. — IMB photo

“At the IMB, we undertake financial stewardship and reporting with a goal toward full transparency and the highest standards of accountability,” he said.

He listed the following ways IMB provides financial accountability to Southern Baptists:

• IMB’s unredacted, independent external audits, stating income, expenditures, debts, reserves, and operating balances, are available for public viewing in the SBC Book of Reports and on IMB.org/impact.

• IMB operates in compliance with the standards of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability, ensuring that the organization adheres to the industry standards for Christian organizations, including standards regarding executive compensation.

• Each year the chair of IMB’s board of trustees submits a statement referenced in the SBC’s Book of Reports that confirms the compensation of IMB’s president is incurred to accomplish IMB’s mission statement and ministry assignment, with no impropriety.

Newly re-elected IMB trustee officers for 2024-2025 are Keith Evans, chairman, Nate Bishop, first vice chair, Carol Pfeiffer, second vice chair, and Trudy Crittendon, recording secretary. — IMB photo

• Salary structures for the president are set by IMB trustees through a series of evaluations and recommendations, before being presented to the full board for approval, independent of influence by the president or any other IMB executive. The IMB’s president and executive leadership team then set salary ranges for all other staff positions in consultation with IMB’s human resources team, which engages independent professionals to ensure that IMB’s salaries are within a reasonable range for similar positions with similar organizations in similar markets.

“In these and many, many other ways, the IMB conducts its financial business above reproach and in full view of trustees appointed to represent Southern Baptists and ensure the integrity of the operations of the IMB,” Chitwood said.

Todd Lafferty, IMB executive vice president, honors 85 former colleagues, both staff and missionaries, who passed away in 2023. Here he memorializes Wayne Paul, who served 21 years in Zimbabwe, Uganda, and Cyprus. — IMB photo

Chitwood emphasized IMB’s ongoing commitment to financial transparency and accountability while cautioning Southern Baptists of the potential harm that public disclosure of some types of IMB information could present. In his report, he referenced a motion from the floor of the Southern Baptist Convention 2023 Annual Meeting that the IRS 990 be required of SBC entities. “That kind of public reporting could literally put the lives of our missionary families and their national partners at risk and would potentially compromise the confidentiality of church members and other donors who generously support the IMB’s work,” stated Chitwood.

“Thankfully, (IRS Form 990) is not required, nor is it a reasonable expectation of the IMB,” Chitwood said. “Financial transparency and accountability, however, are reasonably expected by Southern Baptists, and the IMB meets and exceeds those expectations.” B&R

Dan Spencer / BP photo

NASHVILLE — Dan Spencer is more than a pastor’s kid; he’s an evangelist’s kid. The pastor from East Tennessee has deep roots in the local church that have grown through generations.

Spencer, 56, is one of the known candidates to be nominated for SBC president at the 2024 SBC Annual Meeting.

He vividly remembers one night when he was 16 years old and the weight of conviction landed on him. “I went in my parent’s bedroom and woke them up,” he said. [Read more…]

Jared Moore / Baptist Press

NASHVILLE — Jared Moore is grateful for the influence of people who love the Lord, love the local church and loved him when he was a teenager. Moore quickly remembers a specific couple who shepherded him and a group of friends while they were teenagers at Gum Springs Baptist Church in Walling, Tenn.

Moore, 43, is an announced candidate for 2024 SBC president. He fondly remembers the influence of Aaron and Beverly Barlow as they shared the Gospel with him and discipled him a few decades ago.

“I’ve been in ministry for 24 years now in the SBC, and I’ve met hundreds of people like them in Southern Baptist churches. They are the unsung heroes of the SBC,” Moore told Baptist Press. [Read more…]

Mike Keahbone / BP Press

NASHVILLE — It was an older lady knocking on his door that truly helped Mike Keahbone start his faith journey. The lady was from a church down the street, and she was inviting him to Vacation Bible School.

Keahbone, 52, pastor First Baptist Church in Lawton, Oklahoma, is one of the known candidates to be nominated for SBC president at the 2024 SBC Annual Meeting.

Growing up with a Native American heritage (he’s on the Comanche role), Keahbone says when things were good they were good, and when they were bad they were really bad. Alcoholism and addiction took a toll on his family. [Read more…]

Clint Pressley / BP photo

NASHVILLE — Clint Pressley feels indebted to the Southern Baptist Convention. The North Carolina pastor told Baptist Press he’s willing to be nominated to serve as SBC president because he wants to see the Convention healthy and strong as it moves forward doing the things Southern Baptists love to do.

Pressley, 55, was the first announced candidate for the office to be decided at the 2024 SBC Annual Meeting. While the official announcement came in January, Pressley had said he would be willing to serve back in October 2023 at the Baptist Convention of North Carolina’s Pastors’ Conference.

Originally from Charlotte, N.C., he began serving as senior pastor of Hickory Grove Baptist Church in Charlotte in 2011. Pressley was first a member of the church when he was 16 years old. He became a Christian while at a summer camp when he was 11, though he was attending a different church at that time. [Read more…]

David Allen / BP photo

NASHVILLE — David Allen has been preaching the gospel for a long time. That’s because he got an early start. Allen said God called him when he was only 16 years old.

Allen, 67, is one of the known candidates to be nominated for SBC president at the 2024 SBC Annual Meeting and said he’s blessed to have been in church all his life, literally. “Actually, I was attending nine months before I was born,” he told Baptist Press.

Growing up in Rome, Ga., his family was active at West Rome Baptist Church, and it was there that he heard the gospel. He came to faith in Christ when he was 9.

As a junior in high school, he sensed God calling him to ministry, and he began thinking about “what that would mean and what I would do.” [Read more…]

KNOXVILLE — A coalition of 18 states, including Tennessee, filed suit May 13 against the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for including gender identity in Title VII protections against sex discrimination.

The states oppose EEOC guidance requiring employers to call transgendered employees by their preferred pronouns and to allow them to use facilities such as bathrooms, locker rooms and showers that align with their chosen gender.

The Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC), which opposed the guidance before the EEOC finalized it, welcomed the states’ action. [Read more…]