NASHVILLE, Tenn. — What God began during the Southern
Baptist Convention (SBC) annual meeting in Phoenix could become “a great
movement of the Lord” across North America and around the world, SBC President
Bryant Wright said in a video at pray4sbc.com.
(See here also.)
Wright used his post-convention video message to summarize, for the churches
not at the meeting, “how God was moving in the convention.”
“If there is one thing that would be true about our convention in Phoenix, it
was an overwhelming unity of focus … on the Great Commission,” both in terms
of planting churches in North America and taking the gospel to people groups
around the world that have yet to hear, Wright said in the video.
The convention’s focus on North America’s lostness and the fact that 3,800
people groups overseas are “unreached and unengaged” stirred a dramatic
response among messengers at the meeting, Wright said.
“God is moving powerfully in this area. If you weren’t able to be at the
convention … I really encourage you to look into this. I really encourage you
to pray about this,” Wright said.
“Don’t hesitate to contact the International
Mission Board (IMB) about embracing an unreached, unengaged people group, or
the North American Mission Board (NAMB) about being part of a new church plant.”
Wright praised the two mission boards for working to give leadership to these
initiatives to the churches.
“What is so exciting about both these areas is it will be church led; it’s not
going to be led by the IMB or by NAMB,” Wright said. “These will be church-led
focuses with NAMB and IMB being the facilitators, being the trainers, being the
support group to enable expansion of our Great Commission calling to be fulfilled
in a greater way in the years ahead.”
The commitment of more Southern Baptist churches to get involved in church
planting and overseas mission seems to indicate God is working among them in a
dramatic way, Wright added.
“To see the excitement about what God began in the convention in Phoenix and
what can happen in churches all throughout our convention, really is something
that seems to be a great movement of the Lord,” Wright said. “If you haven’t
been part of this, I hope you’ll take the initiative, find out more about it. …
It could be God is eager to do a great work in your local church, a greater
work than you’ve ever experienced in your congregation. I hope you won’t miss
out on this opportunity.”
(EDITOR’S NOTE — Compiled by Baptist Press assistant editor and senior
writer Mark Kelly. Information about helping plant churches is available at namb.net. Information about taking the gospel
to unreached unengaged people groups is available at imb.org.)