Quick Quotes
“Remember who you’re doing this for as you begin your ministry. You’re doing it for the Lord Jesus Christ. Start well and finish well. He (Jesus) did, up until the time He said ‘It is finished.’”NAMB President Kevin Ezell speaking to newly commissioned missionaries at a missionary commissioning service in Texas
“The Annie Armstrong Easter Offering makes everything possible,” says Burkhart. “It puts missionaries on the field, provides ministry funds, provides Bibles, church planter training, support for new churches and allows for special projects that are critical. AAEO is our lifeblood, our lifeline and our future.”Week of Prayer missionary Howard Burkhart on how the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering impacts his ministry in San Francisco
“My wife and I are so grateful to Southern Baptists for the opportunity to serve as NAMB missionaries because of their generous giving to the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering. We are able to accomplish the calling that God has for our lives as we serve in Indianapolis.”Week of Prayer Missionary and Baptist Center Director Tom Polak on the significance the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering® has had in his ministry
“Because of Annie Armstrong, we are able to live among these people, be connected with all these churches, and provide the support they need to reach their communities effectively.”Missionary Jim Turnbo who works among the Navajo in New Mexico
"My prayer is that you would do something radical across the globe because of your faith in Jesus.”Army chaplain Jeff Struecker speaking to students at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary
Sources: Baptist Press and AnnieArmstrong.com
Accountability
Regular church attendees tell what methods their churches are using to help them stay accountable:
Giving to AnnieThis year’s Annie Armstrong Easter Offering® goal is $70 million. Started in 1895, the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering® is used to help fund and support missionaries in the field working to reach the estimated 259 million lost people in the U.S. and Canada. Over the last century the offering has been used to assist missionaries in planting new churches, evangelizing unreached and underserved people groups, serving in inner-city Baptist centers, and providing ministry training and witnessing tools.
Source: AnnieArmstrong.com
Reaching the land of enchantmentThe population of New Mexico is heavily made up of Native American and Hispanic people, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Together these two groups make up about half of the state’s population; over 10% of the total population is Native American and an overwhelming 45% is Hispanic. The state is heavily influenced by the culture and history of these people groups. Missionary Jim Turnbo says it is a mission field of 90 percent lostness among the people groups identified in the four counties of New Mexico where he serves.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2010
On campus ministryApproximately 98,000 students attend the 22 college campuses in the city of Baltimore. In a city ripe for collegiate ministry, missionary Vicki Stewart finds her mission field at Morgan State University, the fastest growing African-American university in Maryland and home to an average of 6,000 students each year.
Source:
California tops U.S. in refugeesCalifornia is the top state in the U.S. where internationals seek asylum or refugee status in the country. 37% of immigrants seeking asylum come to California while 15% of refugees seek help within the state. Missionaries working in California such as Week of Prayer missionary Howard Burkhart are faced with the unique challenge of reaching and assisting these people as they settle into a new life in the U.S.
Source: Christianity Today, November 2010
California’s diversityIf California were its own nation, it would be the 34th largest in the world. More than 200 languages are spoken in the Golden State and about 40 percent of the population speaks another language or is bilingual at home.
Welcome to TejasNearly 37% of the total population of Texas is of Hispanic descent. In cities like Laredo that sit directly on the border of Mexico, the Hispanic population makes up the overwhelming majority. Within Laredo, 95% of the people are Hispanic, making the work of missionaries like Chuy Avila looking to evangelize this culture integral within the city.
Source: Texas Tribune, 2010
Oh, CanadaMissionaries to Canada, like Jacques Avakian, will see a steady change of the population over the next decade. The foreign-born population of Canada is expected to boom in coming years, increasing nearly four-times faster than the rest of the population, according to a report by Statistics Canada. The number of foreign-born residents is expected to jump from 5 million to 12 million in the next 10 years. This change in population will undoubtedly affect the religious landscape of Canada, with the number of people practicing a religion other than Christianity doubling within the coming decade.
Source: Canadian Census Bureau
Unreached people: The QuébécoisOnly 0.5 percent of Québec’s 6.2 million French-speaking Québécois maintain any evangelical affiliation. Outreach Canada has labeled French Québec as “the most unreached people group in North America.” Missionary Jacques Avakian estimates 1,000 communities in Quebec have no evangelical presence at all.
Sources: www.prayforquebec.com and anniearmstrong.com
Literacy missionsThe field for literacy missions is ripe in Georgia. The state saw one of the lowest high school graduation rates in the nation over the last four years, according to a study conducted by Emory University. This decreased emphasis on education has resulted in nearly one-fourth of the adult population being classified as illiterate and in need of continuing education. Missionary Paulette DeHart works with the Georgia Baptist Convention to educate the illiterate and ESL population throughout the state.
Source: Emory University, 2009
Breaking the language barrierAlmost 10% of Georgia's residents above the age of 5 speak a language other than English at home. In Georgia alone, more than 5,500 students from 88 countries are taught to read and write English each year by almost 1,300 literacy ministry volunteers.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau and www.gabaptist.org
Immigrant statusThe Southeast, traditionally an area that immigrants avoided, has become the fastest-growing destination for the foreign-born, with metro areas such as Raleigh, N.C.; Nashville, Tenn.; Orlando, Fla.; and Atlanta ranking among those with highest recent growth rates.
Source: The Brookings Institution, March 2009