Multitudes are Waiting

Tonight I witnessed probably one of the most moving and meaningful services of my whole entire life. As a part of the annual meeting of the SBTC in Houston there was a commissioning service for 105 new career missionaries of the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention. Some were singles, most were couples. Each person/couple gave a short testimony as to their call to missions and where they were going. Most just said where generally because of safety concerns. Person after person said they felt God calling them to the mission field while on a short term volunteer mission trip. One said it changed his life when he talked to a man in a foreign country that had never heard the name of Jesus. After the testimonies of the missionaries Dr. Rankin gave a challenge. He talked about missionaries who talk to people in remote areas, unreached people, who, when they are told the Gospel, say they have been waiting all their lives to hear. He said the multitudes are waiting to hear. He also said we were sending these new missionaries out to a world that is hostile to the Christian witness, a world in economic meltdown, yet they are going.

Yet, they are going. They are selling most of their worldly possessions, packing up the rest and moving to far away places where they may not know any of the language and there are sharp differences in the culture. They are moving away from their families and their friends and going to a place to be totally immersed in a life that is dedicated to the cause of Christ.

Typed words cannot express the magnitude of respect and appreciation I have for not only those I witnessed tonight but also the over 5,600 that are on the field.

We all are called. Some say yes, but all are called.

And to what is He calling you?

Serving the King,

Jeanette