In January 2020, IMB President Paul Chitwood announced five targets built around IMB’s vision and mission to engage unreached people and places over the next five years. As 2020 turned into a year no one expected, Chitwood has emphasized to churches that these targets remain critical to fulfilling Southern Baptists’ conviction that every language, people, tribe and nation hear the gospel.
At a recent meeting with Baptist pastors from Florida, Chitwood spoke to the importance of partnerships to reach the goals for advancing the gospel.
“Each of the 2025 targets is a way the IMB lives out the Revelation 7:9 vision and embraces our mission of serving Southern Baptists in carrying out the Great Commission to make disciples of all nations,” Chitwood said.
“As the sending arm of Florida Baptist churches and all SBC churches, IMB wants to see more missionaries sent and more lost people reached. I know that to be the desire of Florida Baptists. I also know we can’t do it unless we do it together.”
The five 2025 targets are:
- Mobilize 75% of Southern Baptist churches prayerfully and financially supporting the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering® by 2025. “With less than half of Southern Baptist churches reporting on the Annual Church Profile that they gave to the Lottie offering last year, we have lots of opportunities to grow the support needed by our missionaries,” Chitwood said.
- Send an additional 500 fully-funded missionaries by 2025. This number came to IMB leadership directly as a request from the field, Chitwood said.
- Mobilize 500 global partner missionaries on IMB teams. While IMB will not fund these missionaries, they will be embedded on IMB teams and an essential part of IMB strategy, Chitwood said.
- Engage 75 global cities in comprehensive strategies. Demographers project that 80 percent of the world’s population will be in the urban centers by the end of this century, Chitwood said.
- Increase LMCO receipts 6% annually to sustain the 500 additional missionaries or $10 million per year for the next five years.
This post was originally published by IMB at imb.org