ALPHARETTA, Ga. (BP) — Who’s your one? That question became commonplace in 2019 among Southern Baptists as churches, local associations and state conventions embraced the North American Mission Board’s (NAMB) evangelism emphasis. In partnership with Southern Baptist Convention president J.D. Greear, NAMB encouraged pastors and Southern Baptist leaders to participate in the movement, asking people to focus on praying for and witnessing to at least one person.
NAMB provided Who’s Your One resources for tens of thousands of pastors and launched a national Who’s Your One Tour spearheaded by Johnny Hunt, NAMB’s senior vice president for evangelism and leadership — all intended to spark a wave of evangelism in North America and beyond.
Record Annie Armstrong Easter Offering
For the third straight year, Southern Baptists set a record for giving to the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering by surpassing the 2018 total with $61.4 million. NAMB and SBC Executive Committee president, Ronnie Floyd, announced the record to trustees during their fall meeting and celebrated the record with Southern Baptists.
FBC Sutherland Springs dedicates new worship facility after tragic shooting
First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs, Texas, took another step forward with the opening of its new church building on Sunday, May 19. It’s another example of how Southern Baptists continue to rally around the church, where 26 people lost their lives in a mass shooting November 2017.
NAMB report, Send Luncheon, Crossover evangelism at 2019 SBC Annual Meeting
During the 2019 SBC Annual Meeting, NAMB reported on the Who’s Your One evangelism initiative and church planting to the convention. NAMB president Kevin Ezell also had a special surprise for a bivocational pastor and his family at NAMB’s annual Send Luncheon. Ahead of the meeting, NAMB worked with Southern Baptists to launch a city-wide evangelism event in Birmingham.
Evangelism and leadership team grows, ministers through Timothy+Barnabas
Shane Pruitt joined NAMB’s evangelism and leadership team as the director of next gen evangelism. Pruitt previously served as a Bible teacher and the director of evangelism for the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention. Timothy+Barnabas also entered its 25th year of ministering to pastors and prepared for the launch of the Timothy+Barnabas Institute in 2020.
Send Network continues church planting, replanting efforts
Thousands of recent church plants within NAMB’s Send Network continue reaching their communities with the hope of the gospel. Several churches from the planting class of 2018 shared stories of reaching hundreds of people. A pastor in San Diego received NAMB’s inaugural Replanter of the Year award, and NAMB trustees had the opportunity to meet church planting missionaries reaching San Francisco.
Send Relief furthers outreach through Ministry Centers, GenSend
Send Relief, NAMB’s compassion ministry arm, opened a new Ministry Center in Pittsburgh and broke ground on a new facility for the Ministry Center in Puerto Rico. A Send Relief missionary received an award from the Federal Bureau of Investigations on behalf of the Baptist Friendship House in New Orleans. Summer-long and Spring Break GenSend student ministries also made huge impacts in urban areas and storm-damaged towns.
Chaplaincy, military church planting provide focus on ministry to military
Southern Baptist chaplains continue reaching members of the United States Armed Services. One Army chaplain at Fort Jackson in Columbia S.C., baptized more than 500 soldiers. Church planting missionaries continue launching new churches designed to reach and serve families in the military community.
Partnership between SBC Executive Committee, NAMB prioritizes ethnic relations
The SBC Executive Committee and NAMB partnered together to cultivate relationships with more ethnic churches and encourage them to join the Southern Baptist family. The two positions announced this year are Peter Yanes, executive director of Asian American relations and mobilization, and Julio Arriola, executive director of Hispanic relations and mobilization.
NAMB launches three new podcasts as ministry resources
NAMB launched two podcasts in 2019 that are specifically designed to be resources for pastors: “Evangelism with Johnny Hunt” and “Quick Takes with Kevin.” These podcasts provide regular insights into evangelism, personally and corporately within the church, and soul care for pastors. A third, “Stories of Hope,” shares stories about how local churches and ministries serve and reach their communities. The episodes are designed to inspire and encourage churches to engage their community with the gospel through compassion ministry.
