WHEREAS, The Father desires all people to come to repentance and saving faith, Jesus commands his followers to go and make disciples of all nations, and the Holy Spirit empowers his witnesses in local and global contexts (Matthew 24:14, 28:19-20; Acts 1:8; 2 Corinthians 5:20; 2 Peter 3:9; Revelation 7:9); and
WHEREAS, The Baptist Faith and Message states that “It is the duty and privilege of every follower of Christ and of every church of the Lord Jesus Christ to endeavor to make disciples of all nations” (Article IX); and
WHEREAS, More than 174,000 people die daily without Christ, over 3,000 people groups are not only unreached but unengaged, and 59% of the world’s population has little or no access to the gospel; and
WHEREAS, The Southern Baptist Convention is a family of churches—consisting of people from many different ethnicities, cultures, and nations—that cooperate for the propagation of the gospel (Matthew 12:48-50); and
WHEREAS, The North American Mission Board is commissioned to “equip Southern Baptists for faithful evangelism, encourage churches in evangelism and discipleship, implement direct evangelism projects, prioritize spiritual awakening, and develop an evangelism strategy for reaching North America with the gospel”; and
WHEREAS, The International Mission Board is commissioned to “develop and maintain a systematic strategy for gospel proclamation and planting churches that will result in the rapid reproduction and multiplication of local indigenous congregations that will make the gospel accessible to all persons among every ethno-linguistic people group”; and
WHEREAS, Christ gives some as evangelists to equip the Body of Christ to share the gospel and accomplish the Great Commission (Ephesians 4:11); now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the messengers to the Southern Baptist Convention meeting in Indianapolis, Indiana, June 11-12, 2024, commit to make every effort as a witness to share the gospel message of Jesus Christ, his life, his death, his resurrection, and his second coming; and be it further
RESOLVED, That we celebrate and support the work of the North American Mission Board, the International Mission Board, and our other Southern Baptist entities which empower and assist churches in the work of evangelism, church planting, and missions; and be it further,
RESOLVED, That we call churches to evangelistic cooperation through all means possible, including joint mission trips, the sharing of church buildings, school release time programs, Vacation Bible School, student conferences, community ministries, sports evangelism, special evangelistic services, and other efforts, building a lasting legacy to hand off the mission to the next generation; and be it further
RESOLVED, That we urge Southern Baptists to pray for those around the world who are persecuted because of their evangelistic efforts and nevertheless pursue the mission of God through great sacrifice; and be it further
RESOLVED, That we call Southern Baptists to evangelize underreached people groups in their local communities including the deaf, migrant workers, and refugees who have come to live in the United States; and be it further
RESOLVED, That we charge Southern Baptist churches to call out the called, praying for, supporting, and sending those the Spirit has led to serve as evangelists, associational missionaries, urban and rural church planters, Journeymen, and short- and long-term missionaries as they take the gospel to the ends of the earth and sacrifice all for the sake of the mission; and be it finally
RESOLVED, We pray for boldness and discernment to seize each evangelistic opportunity as we seek to be obedient to the Great Commission of our Lord Jesus Christ.