This is a specialextraordinaryissue of On Mission. In this issue we invite you to step back and look at the vast mission field of North Americaour homeland. Ask yourself how you would reach an entire continent with the gospel, if that were your personal assignment. According to Jesus, it is: you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8).
Jesus gives us a wonderful picture of the ripple effect a Christian and a church can have when they embrace His Great Commission. And Southern Baptists have for years been organized to help every church reach out to the whole world with the gospel. Local associations are primary partners with churches in reaching their nearby Jerusalem. State conventions are primary partners in expanding a churchs reach into its Judea. And the International Mission Board helps churches extend their missionary impact literally to the ends of the earth.
Did you miss Samaria in that list? Many Christians and many churches do. Its sometimes more natural to focus on the mission fields that are closest to us, or to visualize mission fields on the other side of the planet.
But the spiritual needs of North America are vast:
More than 200 million people dont yet have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
The 1,700 new SBC churches started in North America last year cannot keep up with the population growth.
Almost 60 percent of North Americas people live in its 50 largest citieswhere Southern Baptists have a relatively small presence.
How do we reach a continent whose calloused response to the gospel makes its lostness seem as deep as the ends of the earth are wide? What is the role of evangelism training and events, church planting strategies, mobilized Christians and missionary heroes? How can partnerships, media, money and volunteers be knit into an effective mission strategy?
As you read, ask what it would take for you and your church to ripple out and touch North America in a more significant way. In this issue, youll find handles you can grab to join the North American mission. Why not grab two or three, and together lets be like Jesus in John 4:4, determined to keep our providential, personal appointment in our Samaria.
Nate Adams, vice president, Mobilization and Medianadams@namb.net