When Jesus disciples were told theyd be His witnesses in Samaria (Acts 1:8), they were confronted with the need to venture beyond the holy city of Jerusalem and the familiar, mostly Jewish region of Judea. They knew that in Samaria theyd primarily find people who werent like them culturally, religiously or ethnically. They had to travel roads that were unfamiliar (most devout Jews traveled around rather than through Samaria), and they had to interact with people whom theyd long considered unclean.

Fortunately, Jesus had already shown His disciples through his interaction with the Samaritan woman (John 4) and His illustration of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10) that Gods mission pathway leads through Samaria, and His mission heart leads to Samaritans.

Todays Samaria for the modern American church is the diverse North American continent that is beyond our community and even beyond the borders of our state, province or region. In this Special Issue of On Mission we explore the ways that todays on mission church can and must travel through its Samaria, the world that God has brought to our doorstep.

The need for missions in North America
Few people would debate that North Americas lostness is deepening. Approximately 228 million people in the United States, its territories and Canadaabout 7 out of 10still desperately need Christ. They need the gospel presented in ways they can understand. And they need churches that meet them on their level.

In the past 10 years, the U.S. population grew 13 percent while the number of Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) churches here grew nine percent, and the number of resident members in SBC churches grew less than 8 percent. Today 80 percent of our churches are in the South, and 70 percent of the net gain in our churches in 2001 was in the South.

North America is becoming increasingly urban and increasingly ethnic and multi-cultural. More than 60 percent of our population now lives in our 50 largest metropolitan areas. One of ten (11.2 percent) residents of the United States today was born in another country. Forty percent of children in the U.S. under the age of 18 are non-Anglo. As of the 2000 census, the number of foreign-born residents and their children born in the U.S. reached 56 million, or one in five people. Three decades ago it was one in 20. In certain regions of our continent soon we may be hard pressed to differentiate our Samaria from the ends of the earth.

Though we in the United States have a profound Christian heritage, and though the tragedies of recent years have rekindled a new sense of patriotism, we cannot ignore the reality that the influence of biblical Christianity on the culture and character of our nation has weakened dramatically, even in the past generation. And with a little more than 200 Southern Baptist churches in Canada, we are seeking to take the gospel to more than 30 million people.

North America is growing faster than our mission force, faster than our number of churches, and its growing in many places where our churches are few and small. As North America continues to increase in population, its becoming increasingly pluralistic, increasingly secular and increasingly permissive in the name of freedom and tolerance. North America desperately needs the good news about Jesus. So, like Him, we have to go through and to our Samaria.

The North American Mission Board has accepted the assignment to equip and empower Southern Baptists to reach our SamariaNorth America. The North American Mission Board has adopted five key strategies to help Southern Baptist churches reach the lost. These strategies include equipping for evangelism, assisting in church planting, mobilizing for ministry, penetrating the culture and deploying missionaries. Over the next several pages On Mission will explore these strategies and how you and your church can join in Gods mission. The North American Mission Board depends on its partnerships with local churches, associations and state conventions in order to successfully carry out its mission of taking the gospel to North America. As you read about the work that is taking place across this vast continent, we hope you will discover how you and your church can impact our Samaria. This mission field belongs to you.

Equipping for evangelism

Assisting in church planting

Mobilizing for ministry

Penetrating the culture