IMB Connect

Now you can access IMB’s best practices, projects, training and field information all in one place. Preparing the churches of your association for short-term missions has never been easier. We have developed training and project templates that will help churches have an effective and streamlined experience on their short-term overseas mission. It is all available to Southern Baptist churches and your association. Please go to imbconnect.net to sign up.

Churches Becoming "Missionary Encouragers"

A great way to support missions efforts in your Samaria is to adopt-a-missionary through the North American Mission Board's Missionary Encourager initiative. Individuals, Sunday School classes and even an entire church can be a Missionary Encourager!

Here's an excerpt from a recent Baptist Press article about Missionary Encourager:

"The best thing about having them adopt me was all of their prayers and e-mails," said missionary Jamie Daughtry said. "I was struggling with some things that fall and really going through a hard time. Their e-mails, letters and gifts encouraged me in a way I've never been encouraged before. God proved Himself faithful through those precious people."

Read the entire Baptist Press article here. For more information or to sign up to become a Missionary Encourager visit www.namb.net/encourager.

Dr. Rick Lance: NA Missions Important

(Click on image for video link)

The Alabama Baptist sat down recently with Dr. Rick Lance of the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions to ask him about his views on the importance of North American missions and the North American Mission Board. This video offers a taste of that interview. To view the full interview, go to www.ricklance.com/missions.

NAMB Focuses on Panta Ta Ethne

The North American Mission Board (NAMB) is focusing on people groups through its new North American People Spectrum emphasis.

“The New Testament gives examples of one-on-one sharing, but in the majority of New Testament evangelism stories, groups, households, even towns came to Christ,” says Mark Snowden, a coordinator of Strategic Planning and People Groups for NAMB’s Church Planting Group.

To lay this out as a way for churches to reach their communities, the North American Mission Board has developed the North American Peoples Spectrum along with other practical resources. The Spectrum is a visual tool illustrating the ways in which people group themselves according to kinship, geography, and interests. To apply this understanding toward evangelism in a community, additional tools such as surveys, people team training, and online databases will assist churches in locating the different peoples in their communities to help members network for evangelism.

“Sharing a full gospel message requires understanding who the people are, and how they might process and understand what you’re saying,” says Snowden. “With a love and concern for the lost we can strip our cultural baggage that may confuse the gospel message and enter their world just as Jesus entered our world to give us life.”

Read the entire article at On Mission magazine's website.

Church Personalizes Missions with Great Commission Connection

Hayes Wicker, pastor of First Baptist Church, Naples, Fla., hopes change the way his church thinks about missions and missionaries by launching the “Great Commission Connection.”

The goal of GCC is to personalize missions and link missionaries and church members, while at the same time boosting support for Southern Baptists’ missions funding mechanism, according to Wicker.

Read the entire story from the Florida Baptist Witness.

NC Church Works the "Acts 1:8 Way"

Dudley Shoals Baptist Church in Granite Falls, N.C. goes with the "tried and true" when it comes to doing church.

Going with what works also is why Dudley Shoals Baptist Church gives 25 percent of its undesignated receipts to missions through the Cooperative Program, says pastor Ronald Winkler. "It still works."

"The Cooperative Program is the lifeblood of our church," Winkler said of the way state conventions in the Southern Baptist Convention work together the Acts 1:8 way -- supporting local, regional, national and international missions and ministries.

Read the entire story about Dudley Shoals Baptist Church on Baptist Press and visit its website www.dudleyshoalsbaptistchurch.org.

Podcast 58: A Church On Mission-Antioch

In this month's Acts 1:8 Challenge Podcast, Danny Sinquefield, pastor of Faith Baptist Church, Bartlett, Tenn., shares a message about the importance of the local church and its role in fulfilling the Great Commission.

A18C Podcast 58 - "A Church On Mission - Antioch," was recorded at the recent Acts 1:8 Summit held in Carson Springs, Tenn.

Download the Acts 1:8 Challenge Podcast today at www.ActsOne8.com/podcastfeed or search for the Acts 1:8 Challenge on iTunes. Direct link: http://tinyurl.com/ax44ak

Church Reaches Students Around Acts 1:8

As a part of their Acts 1:8 strategy to reach its community with the love of Jesus Christ, members of First Baptist Church in Gordo, Ala., assisted 60 underprivileged elementary school students start the school year with backpacks full of school supplies in eastern Alabama.

"We set the bar high, and we said we wanted to raise enough for 60 kids, but we actually got all 60 and had money left over," Singleton said. "We're trying to fulfill the Acts 1:8 mandate and fulfill the needs of our community."

Read the entire story on Baptist Press.

New Podcast: Acts 1:8 Witness: Having God's Concern

The Acts 1:8 Challenge Podcast is two years young! Don't miss the latest installment this month by downloading A18C Podcast 57 - "Acts 1:8 Witness: Having God's Concern."

The podcast features Dr. Kevin Peacock, professor of Old Testament and Hebrew at the Canadian Southern Baptist Seminary, Cochrane, Alberta, who shares why it is important for believers to have an Acts 1:8 witness. Dr. Peacock spoke during the Acts 1:8 Summit held at Carson Springs Conference Center in Tennessee.

Download the Acts 1:8 Challenge Podcast today at www.ActsOne8.com/podcastfeed or search for the Acts 1:8 Challenge on iTunes. Direct link: http://tinyurl.com/ax44ak

New Podcast: RA Testimonies

Don't miss a special edition of the Acts 1:8 Challenge Podcast this month titled, "RA Testimonies."

This podcast features testimonies from men whose lives have been impacted through the Royal Ambassadors ministry. Royal Ambassadors (RAs) is a Bible-centered, church-based, Southern Baptist mission education organization for boys in grades 1-6.

You may access the Acts 1:8 Challenge Podcast at www.ActsOne8.com/podcastfeed or search for the Acts 1:8 Challenge on iTunes. Direct link: http://tinyurl.com/ax44ak

New Podcast: Witness the Church in Action!

Listen to the latest Acts 1:8 Challenge Podcast "Watch the Church in Action" featuring Ed Admundson, pastor of High Street Baptist Church, Somerset, Ky., at www.ActsOne8.com/podcastfeed or search for the Acts 1:8 Challenge on iTunes. Direct link: http://tinyurl.com/ax44ak

South Carolina Acts 1:8 Video Podcasts

Tim Rice, above, Acts 1:8 Strategist with the South Carolina Missions Mobilization Group, discusses how to prepare prisoner packets in a recent Podcast.

The South Carolina Baptist Convention missions team now has a Acts 1:8 Challenge video Podcast. South Carolina's video Podcast joins the the Acts 1:8 Challenge audio Podcast, which was launched in August 2007.

Recent topics on the South Carolina Acts 1:8 Podcast include:

• Packets for Prisoners
• Passports, Visas, Immunizations
• Mission Trip Insurance
• Opportunities for Short and Long Term Missions
• Forming an Acts 1:8 team in your church

Check out all of the South Carolina Pocasts here. Direct URL: http://www.scbaptist.org/podcasts

Kentucky's 'All the World' Blog

Be sure to follow Kentucky's Acts 1:8 Challenge coordinator, Scott Pittman, right, as he shares updates on the activities of Kentucky Baptists and practical updates on the leading your church to become more missional in his blog, All the World.

Scott served from 1991 - 2007 as a missionary in Vitória and Teresina, Brazil through the International Mission Board. Prior to going overseas, Pittman served as senior pastor of Simpsonville Baptist Church in Simpsonville, Ky.

Check out Scott's blog here or copy and past its URL link into your browser: http://www.go2alltheworld.com

Acts 1:8 Challenge in Maryland-Delaware

Check out the Acts 1:8 Challenge page for the Baptist Convention of Maryland-Delaware: http://bcmd.org/acts-1-8.

Freddy Parker is the state coordinator for the convention. He may be contacted by email at fparker@bcmd.org or by calling 800-466-5290, ext. 215.

New Podcast: How Can I Share My Faith

Listen to the latest Acts 1:8 Challenge Podcast with Dr. Bob Rogers, pastor of First Baptist Church, Rincon, Ga., preaching on "How Can I Share My Faith: God's Plan for Sharing," at www.ActsOne8.com/podcastfeed or search for the Acts 1:8 Challenge on iTunes.

Hawaii-Pacific Acts 1:8 Conference

Acts 1:8 in Hawaii - Derrick Norris, left, pastor of Mililani Baptist Church; Sung Ho Kang of the Hawaii-Pacific Baptist Convention, center, and Tim Yarbrough, Acts 1:8 Challenge coordinator, at the block party held during the Acts 1:8 Glocal Mission Celebration.

Tim Yarbrough, Acts 1:8 Challenge coordinator with the North American Mission Board, had the privilege the past couple of days to be with more than 100 pastors and mission leaders attending the Acts 1:8 Glocal Mission Celebration hosted by the Hawaii-Pacific Baptist Convention.

The conference, held at Mililani Baptist Church, was co-sponsored by the Acts 1:8 Challenge and featured plenary and breakout sessions and an evening celebration service. Derrick Norris, pastor at Mililani, has led the church to a strong commitment to the Acts 1:8 Challenge.

Tim led a two-hour overview of the Acts 1:8 Challenge and an update on new tools available through the initiative.

Twelve people made professions of faith during a block party at Ewa Baptist Church on Saturday. What a wonderful testimony! The block party was held in conjunction with the conference.

Spanish A18C Doctrine Study Now Available

The Acts 1:8 Challenge initiative continues to work to provide missional resources in various languages.

Our most recent effort has resulted in the translation of the Acts 1:8 Challenge doctrine study by Nate Adams into Spanish. You can access a .pdf of the study here. Other Acts 1:8 Non-English speaking resources are accessible via this link.

The English version of the study can be purchased through LifeWay here.

New Acts 1:8 Videos Posted

"Pray, Go, Give – Acts 1:8," is one of three new videos added recently to our Acts 1:8 Challenge video resource library. Access the library here. All Acts 1:8 Challenge videos are free to download and distribute.

First Baptist Church, Cumming, Ga., is using the Acts 1:8 Challenge to build a comprehensive strategy to take the gospel to all the earth. In the video, pastor Bob Jolly and missions pastor Lee Weeks share about the church’s journey to be obedient to the last words of Jesus Christ.

Other new videos feature Splitlog Baptist Church in Goodman, Mo., and Grove Avenue Baptist Church in Richmond, Va.

Check them out today! If you would like to share how your church has embraced the Acts 1:8 Challenge, contact me: Tim Yarbrough, Acts 1:8 Challenge National Coordinator, tyarbrough@namb.net, or call 1 800 4 ACTS18. I would love to hear from you!

Direct Link: http://www.actsone8.com/site/pp.asp?c=euLXJfMQKrH&b=494949

New Acts 1:8 Reading Room

Check out the new Acts 1:8 Challenge Reading Room posted recently at www.ActsOne8.com. The Reading Room is designed to point you to books and other resources that can assist you in developing your comprehensive Acts 1:8 strategy.

Direct Link: http://www.actsone8.com/site/pp.asp?c=euLXJfMQKrH&b=4771635

Watch the Acts 1:8 Challenge Overview

The Acts 1:8 Challenge is now partnering with the Network of Baptist Associations (NOBA) to provide training videos to Acts 1:8 leaders.

Recently, Tim Yarbrough, Acts 1:8 Challenge coordinator with the North American Mission Board, presented an overview of the Acts 1:8 Challenge initiative and new tools at the 2009 Summit of the Network of Baptist Associations held at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.

New tools were developed in 2008 designed to assist directors of missions assist their churches in becoming a worldwide mission centers.

Check out the presentation here.

Direct Link: http://noba.e-quip.net/presentations/show/1706