GREENSBORO, N.C. (BP)–Jerry Rankin has a God-sized vision for Southern Baptists: 10,000 churches working hand-in-hand with missionaries to reach a lost world. And now there’s a new tool he hopes will help make it happen.
The International Mission Board president debuted a new interactive study June 13 at the 2006 Southern Baptist Convention in Greensboro, N.C. Titled “To the Ends of the Earth,” the nine-session study — intended for both large groups and small groups — is based on Rankin’s book bearing the same name and is designed to help churches get every member of their congregation involved in missions.
“We wrote the book for churches and pastors to catch a vision for fulfilling our Great Commission task; to help them realize it’s not the role of missionaries or the International Mission Board to reach the lost world but the church’s,” Rankin said. “Churches have a heart for missions, they support missions, but they don’t have a vision for how they can be personally and directly involved. The interactive study will help them process that challenge among their membership.”
Targeted at adults, the study offers practical ways for individuals to get involved in missions. It also provides an in-depth look at how the IMB operates, from types of missionary service to strategy. Divided into a leader kit and member book, each unit of the study includes a personal introduction from Rankin, video of IMB missionaries at work around the world and interactive questions to help participants internalize and apply what they’ve learned.
The interactive nature of the study is a new feature for IMB products.
“We’ve put out plenty of informational resources -– high-quality brochures, booklets and magazines,” Rankin said. “But there’s something about people needing to interact with the material and draw them into a study where it really becomes a part of their life that makes this special.”
“To the Ends of the Earth” was developed through a partnership between the IMB and LifeWay. John Kramp, vice president for LifeWay’s church resources division, said he felt the story of Southern Baptist missions work wasn’t as well known as it should be and wanted to do something about it.
“Our special focus was on the millions of Southern Baptists (who) are going on overseas volunteer mission trips,” Kramp explained. He believes educating volunteers before their trips means “they’ll come to that volunteer opportunity already knowledgeable about the work and the strategy, maximizing their efforts overseas.”
Cindy McClain, one of LifeWay’s marketing strategists, said she hopes the study will “push adults to find a place of ministry, discover where God has gifted (them) and get involved.”
Rankin said he is grateful for LifeWay’s support and is excited about the organization’s potential to get the study into the hands of pastors, missions leaders and Sunday School teachers in churches across the United States.
“To partner with LifeWay and have their marketing potential in churches looking to them for study resources is going to vastly enhance distribution,” Rankin said.
“To the Ends of the Earth” is the first in a series of interactive studies being developed by LifeWay and the IMB. The second study in the series, “Basic Training for Missions Teams,” will be released this August. From tips on obtaining passports to prayerwalking, it’s targeted at churches ready to take the next step –- planning their own volunteer mission trip. Larry Riley, the IMB’s director of church services, explained how the two studies work together.
“As church members move from understanding where they can be involved to saying ‘I want to be involved,’ the Basic Training for Missions Teams study walks them through the issues they have to deal with individually as they get ready to go,” Riley said. “Dr. Rankin is moving them from the larger perspective of knowing about missions to what you need to know when you arrive on the field as a volunteer.”
The IMB developed “Basic Training for Missions Teams” because Southern Baptist churches were asking for a practical guide to teach their members how to plan missions trips, said Dan Allen, IMB media group leader. The study, Riley said, also serves another key purpose: helping missions teams understand their value and significance as volunteers.
“Before they go they’ll have a better understanding of what they’re going to encounter on the field as well as a much better understanding of how strategic their role is and the fact they’re partnering in the relationship,” he said.
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The interactive study of “To the Ends of the Earth” is available from both the International Mission Board and LifeWay Christian Resources. To learn more, contact the IMB at (800) 999-3113 or go online to resources.imb.org; or contact LifeWay at (800) 458-2772 or go to LifeWayStores.com.
