From Everywhere to Everyone

I wish you could have been there! I was blessed to be a part of the first International Missions Conference in June, which was organized by the Convention of Philippine Baptist Churches and Swatow Baptists. The conference was held in Hong Kong where approximately 200,000 Filipinas work, primarily as domestic servants.

The conference’s opening prayer lifted our hearts and challenged us: “Lord, raise up new missionaries who will follow You to the ends of the world. Make us witnesses to Your goodness.” We talked, worshipped, and prayed together, seeking God’s direction for ministering to and through the thousands of young Filipinos working in Hong Kong and countries across SE Asia.

This event is evidence of a tremendous movement sweeping the world: countries that historically only received Christian missionaries are now sending them! The reality is that, in today’s world, mission is “from everywhere to everyone.”

In fact, that idea of sending the gospel “from everywhere to everyone” is one of the ministry priorities for International Ministries (IM) as we seek to faithfully respond to God’s call in our third century of mission. IM has invited me to serve as Global Champion for this focus area. I’ll be working with staff and missionary colleagues to help global partners train, send, and welcome home their missionaries. We are also committed to equipping churches in the U.S. and Puerto Rico to engage in cross-cultural ministry and to receive global partner missionaries in their communities.

Please pray for us as we continue in this important work. We praise God for the new sense of urgency that Filipino Baptists feel to respond to the Great Commission. We also praise God for the groundbreaking research Bruce is doing in faith-based social entrepreneurship, and ask you to pray with us that this work would inspire many organizations to apply God-honoring strategies in their efforts to address social problems.

We would love to hear how your church is cooperating with God’s mission “here, there, and everywhere,” perhaps starting in your own backyard! Drop us a line or send us the link to your church website. We’d like to see and share what you are doing to inspire others.