IMB report: 500k baptized internationally

CORPUS CHRISTI?More than 500,000 people were baptized and 29,000 congregations were birthed last year internationally because of Southern Baptist missionary engagement.

Gordon Fort, the International Mission Board vice president for global strategies, told messengers and guests at the SBTC annual meeting on Nov. 16 that SBC international missionaries have "continued to engage ? at a rate of over 100 new people groups a year."

To flourish and make other disciples, new believers must "must be grounded theologically," said Fort, noting that 12,500 converts were trained last year in theological education.

And in many places, persecution for following Jesus is the norm. For example, in southern Bangladesh, Hindus persecuted new converts and more than 500 homes were burned, Fort said.

In China, God is moving in unprecedented ways, he added.

"The Zhuang Chinese are one of the most responsive people in the world today. They are simply waiting for someone to present the gospel to them."

In Cuba, more than 75 percent of the population has either personally been witnessed to or received a gospel tract from the Baptists there, he said.

"We're grateful to the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention for your support," Fort said.

Fort also spoke at the SBTC President's Luncheon, stating that every believer "ought to have a passport. We ought to put our name on the altar and say, 'Lord, anytime, anywhere ? you want me to go. What part of 'go' don't we understand?'"

Churches should "tithe" their membership to go out and reach others, he said.

Other nations are setting an example to American believers, he noted. For example, Argentine Baptists have sent out 700 missionaries; in Europe the gypsy population has dispatched 33 missionaries.

Southern Baptists are not held back for lack of money, Fort said.

"It's not the economy, it's priority."