By Carmon Keith and Marty King

Each church approaches its outreach as the Holy Spirit leads. Some Southern Baptist churches excel at local missions endeavors.  Others make international missions their priority. A few churches can do both wellbut not enough. And thats why Southern Baptist denominational partners are excited about introducing an initiative called the Acts 1:8 Challenge to help SBC churches become worldwide mission centers, engaging in intentional Kingdom-growing efforts in all mission fields. 

The strategy is biblical.
In Acts 1:8, Jesus did not elevate one mission field above others. Instead, He commanded that Christians reach out to all four mission fields, and twenty-first century Southern Baptists see them like this: Jerusalem (local), Judea (state), Samaria (North America), and the ends of the earth (international). 

The Challenge is structured around Acts 1:8 with eight specific responses churches small and large alike can pursue. Churches can structure their missions program around the four fields (ends of the earth, Samaria, Judea and Jerusalem) and commit to the eight responses (preparation, learning, prayer, giving, going, telling, sending and multiplying). The Challenge can be tailored to each individual congregation. For example, a church might ask: How can we pray for missions in our community, in our state, across the U.S. and Canada and around the world? And how can our church best learn about, give to and send people to all four mission fields? 

When churches say yes to the Acts 1:8 Challenge, they complete a simple registration process. The commitment and information they provide is shared with the International Mission Board (IMB), the North American Mission Board (NAMB), their state Baptist convention and their local Baptist association. Then it becomes the responsibility of the denominational mission partners to follow up with the local church and assist in missions involvement in the appropriate field. The Acts 1:8 Challenge can be helpful to any church that wants to work with its Southern Baptist mission partners to have a biblical, balanced approach to missions.

How do you and your church get started?
The first step is to follow your pastor and missions leadership in accepting the Acts 1:8 Challenge, then register your churchs commitment at www.ActsOne8.com. Resources to help you understand and implement your commitment are included at right. For more information email info@ActsOne8.com, or call 800 4 ACTS 18.