A Great Pursuit to Fulfill the Great Commission

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” —Matthew 28:19–20

“After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!’” —Revelation 7:9–10

From the Great Commission to the Great Multitude, we as Southern Baptists have united for nearly 180 years in a Great Pursuit of those who have yet to hear the Good News of the Gospel. We work to make disciples in every nation—all tribes and peoples and languages. God is so very gracious to allow us to join Him in taking the Gospel to those who have never heard it.

Mid-America alumni have long walked the paths to global mission fields in obedience to our Lord and in partnership with the International Mission Board. You’ve gone to the nations in full-time missions service, focusing on the core missionary task of entry, evangelism, disciple making, healthy church formation, leadership development, and strategically planned exit and partnership—all while abiding in Christ. Others of you have led your local churches to take responsibility in international Gospel ministry by undergirding missionaries in prayer, supporting missions financially, or pursuing short-term service.

At IMB, we are grateful for Mid-America alumni who have a heart for the nations. We’re thankful you gain a seminary education which includes the biblical basis for missions, a value and practice of personal evangelism, and regular participation in local church mission initiatives. Your commitment to preparing for missions service directly impacts your role on an IMB team. And your contributions strengthen our cooperative efforts.

Together, we rejoice that we’ve seen the fruit of God’s hand: We’ve seen new people groups and places engaged with the Gospel, with hundreds of thousands of people hearing a clear and complete Gospel presentation, many for the first time ever. We’ve witnessed nearly 150,000 new believers accept Christ as Savior last year, with more than 100,000 people following in believer’s baptism. Tens of thousands of people last year received sound training in preaching or teaching, or in evangelism, or in biblical counseling, or in cross-cultural sending, and so much more.

While we celebrate these wins for His Kingdom, the most sobering and heartbreaking statistic we report on each year continues to grow. Tragically, today, 174,202 people will die and enter an eternity separated from God.

Statistics show us that among 8 billion people in the world, living in 195 countries and speaking more than 7,000 languages, there are about 3,000 people groups who have no missionary presence and likely no Gospel access. No one is engaging them.

That’s why we are pursuing them. We’re going to the largest megacities and to the middle of nowhere. We go to the places where people have given up on religion and even on relationships. We’re looking for ways to impact real people still shouldering the world’s greatest problem—lostness—by sharing with them God’s solution to their problem, which is the Gospel.

In the Great Pursuit, we remain steadfast at the IMB in our mission to serve Southern Baptists in carrying out the Great Commission to make disciples of all nations. Our work is focused every day on doing our part to see the fulfillment of the Revelation 7:9–10 vision and the gathering of the Great Multitude before the throne and before the Lamb.

We’re looking for hundreds of missionary explorers to go find these unreached people groups, to journey into the unknown to find out where these people live, to learn about their culture, to discern their literacy and to develop ministry strategies. We’re looking for unlimited virtual explorers who are willing to urgently pray as we go to the deepest parts of lostness, to consider opportunities to support and join the work.

Mid-America alumni, if you are interested, we have a role for you. Connect with us at IMB.org/great-pursuit.

The nations are waiting. We still have much to do, together.

Interceding for the Nations

Read “A Call to Restore the Doctrine and Practice of Prayer” by prayer advocate Dr. Gordon Fort, Senior Ambassador to the President, International Mission Board, SBC. Included with this content found exclusively on the Mid-America Blog are special prayer requests from Mid-America students on mission this summer.

More Mid-America Missions stories

Read more stories about how Mid-America is involved in global missions in a special missions issue of the Mid-America Messenger (Summer 2024).