Since the foundation of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) in 1845, missions has been a key feature of its cooperative effort. What once began as the Foreign Mission Board supporting two missionaries (Samuel C. Clopton and George Pearcy appointed on September 1, 1845) targeting the lost of China has now grown into one of the world’s largest evangelical missions sending agencies, the International Missions Board (IMB).  

Presently there are over 3,500 missionaries sent and supported by the IMB. Since its genesis the IMB has sent missionaries to 185 countries. This extraordinary effort to take the gospel to the most unreached places of the globe has only been made possible by the partnership, cooperation, and generosity of the individual local churches that make up the SBC. At this time there are nearly 47,000 SBC churches that allocate some portion of their annual budget to the Cooperative Program (CP). The CP gets divided among the SBC entities including no small part to the IMB (approximately 30-37% of state convention CP funds). In practical terms this means that part of our Summit Woods Baptist Church budget goes toward CP donations which directly support 3,500 missionaries around the globe.  

In this way, the IMB is one of the crown jewels of the partnership and cooperation of the SBC. Not only are there 3,500 missionaries on the field today spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ around the globe, but each one is fully funded. They need not worry about raising support. When on the field, they can devote their full attention to the work of ministry. When home, they are completely freed up to rest and participate as members of their sending church. 

It is the IMB’s aim to have every IMB missionary connected directly to at least one sending church. The IMB partners with Southern Baptist Churches to vet, train, send, and support its 3,500 missionaries (learn more about the process of vetting an IMB missionary here). Each IMB missionary is engaged in what they have coined as the six components of the missionary task: entry, evangelism, discipleship, healthy church formation, leadership development, and exit to partnership. 

Some of the most famous IMB missionaries include Lottie Moon and Annie Armstrong each of which have SBC annual offerings named in their honor. 100% of the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering goes to support IMB missionaries while 100% of the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering supports the North American Mission Board (NAMB). In 2024 a record $206.8 million dollars was donated to the IMB by the hands of generous Southern Baptist Churches through the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering.  

So, how can you be praying specifically for the IMB as a member of Summit Woods?

First, pray for the leadership and direction of the IMB. Paul Chitwood currently serves as the president of the IMB. Pray he, his staff, and its board of trustees would be faithful to the task of missions and not deviate from the gospel or biblical ecclesiology. Pray they would robustly equip the missionaries of the IMB for gospel work in the world’s darkest and most challenging places. Pray they would not eclipse the church as a parachurch ministry. 

Second, pray for our IMB missionaries. The IMB posts daily prayer requests here for its missionaries. Pray the current IMB missionaries would be faithful to the Word of God, strengthened in their language training, diligent in the work of evangelism, persevering in their projects of translation, progressing toward indigenous church planting, protected from the attacks of the enemy, and wise in all their efforts. Pray for their marriages and families that they would not wrongly sacrifice these biblical priorities on the altar of missions but instead be faithful in ministry at home and beyond. Pray for the big and small details of life such as date nights to be sweet, sleep to be sound, Bible reading to be energizing, comfort in the loneliness, and connectedness to their sending church. Pray also for God to raise up more workers because, “the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few” (Matthew 9:37-38). 

 Third, pray for the IMB’s targeted people groups. Many of these can be found in the IMB’s app called “IMB Pray.” Approximately 166,338 people die without Christ every single day around the world. According to the Joshua Project there are 7,248 unreached people groups around the world (you can find an interactive map of these people groups here). Pray for God to soften enemy lines for the advancement of Christian soldiers. 

Fourth, pray for our church to equip, train, affirm, and send out missionaries of our own. Pray God would equip you to be qualified to go even if he should choose not to send you. Ask God for wisdom in how you can support missions individually and corporately in the body of Christ.