“Penetrating the Lostness: Embracing a Vision for a Great Commission Resurgence Among Southern Baptists,” includes 31 challenges for local churches and pastors.  The sheer number of challenges is a clear reminder of the importance of the local church in fulfilling the Great Commission and of the pastor in leading the congregation to be on mission.  

I will not list all 31 challenges to churches and pastors here, but let me highlight a few (read the full report at www.pray4gcr.com):
– Become knowledgeable of the mission field of your specific region, identifying the various people groups and developing a strategy to penetrate the lostness in your region.  Be intentional in working with your local association, state convention, and NAMB in pursuing this task.
– Work to cultivate a Great Commission atmosphere that is contagious in your church.
– Strengthen missions education for believers of all ages, working with the Woman’s Missionary Union and other missions education program.  Every believer must be made aware of the global missions challenge.
– Give particular attention to the evangelizing and discipling of children and youth.
– Plan at least one evangelism training course annually for your church members.
– Plan at least one North American or international mission trip a year and/or encourage members to participate in mission trips sponsored by a local association.  (You can contact Teresa Parrett, Missions Mobilization Coordindator for the KBC, for help with this one!  Teresa’s job is to match needs and people.  Email her at [email protected].  Or visit the KBC website for a list of current project requests.)

The 2010 Kentucky State Missions emphasis materials drive home the importance of these challenges beginning right here in our state.  This fall we will answer the question “Why?”  Why state missions?  Why do we do what we do in Kentucky missions?  The answer is that people are lost in our state.  The state missions DVD is in being replicated now and will be mailed to churches this month.  The computer files section includes a document entitled “Lostness Indicators for Kentucky.”  This is a county by county look at the percentage of the county population that are adherents of any faith, percentage that are church members, and the average percentage in church on any given Sunday.  The numbers tell the story of the lostness in our state.

The 2010 state missions prayer guide is built around Romans 10:5-15.  Evangelism is the focus of the every prayer request.  We will preview these materials at World Missions Unlimited, our summer training for WMU and Baptist Men on Mission leaders.  We will have training for the leaders of all age-level organizations as well as for churchwide and associational WMU leaders.  There will also be special interest conferences, including information about Project HELP: Human Exploitation, our new social ministry emphasis.  This project is huge and includes responding to the problems of human trafficking, pornography, media exploitation, bullying, labor exploitation, and land exploitation.

WMU has always been about helping churches fulfill the Great Commission through learning, praying, giving, and going.  Our materials are right on target with the renewed focus on the Great Commission.  Join us!