Ellen and I just returned from the annual meeting of Baptist World Mission, hosted by Calvary Baptist Church in Huntsville, Alabama. It was a Sunday through Wednesday meeting for the church, their faith promise missions conference running concurrently with the BWM board meeting, or vice-versa. The theme for the conference was compassion. It was a mountain-top experience for us, as always, and (I am sure) for the missionaries, the 30 some board members and mission-board staff, and the dedicated church members and guests. Missionaries from most of the continents of the world, or at least those headed for the various corners of the globe, attended.
I have had the privilege to serve on this independent, fundamental Baptist mission board for more than four decades. In that time, I have witnessed the skillful yet humble leadership of Board Directors Dr. Monroe Parker, Dr. Fred Moritz and Dr. Bud Steadman; and now, just a year into his directorship, Dr. Ben Sinclair. Each has brought his unique experiences, backgrounds of service, missions vision, and careful training to the awesome task of implementing directives and policies, imparting counsel, and maintaining careful, loving relationships with each of the 300 servants of Christ whose pre-eminent desire and sole duty is winning souls, discipling saints, and planting and nurturing local, New Testament churches in the “uttermost part of the earth.” The blessings that have come through the privilege of knowing and growing with this world-wide family have been immeasurable and unspeakable.
The highlight of each annual meeting is the blessedness of hearing testimonies of veteran missionaries; sharing their victories (and, yes, defeats); bearing with them in prayer their burdens, heartaches, and needs; rejoicing with them in souls saved, churches planted, lives transformed by the grace of the gospel; and having time over meals and between meetings to renew acquaintances.
Add to that the joy of hearing the stories of young (and sometimes not so young) men and women who have been called of God, separated by the Holy Spirit, and commissioned and sent by their local church to take the gospel to the regions beyond. One such young couple—appointed at this meeting to go to the Ivory Coast under the auspices of Baptist World Mission—was Matthew and Susanna Schrock. Susanna is daughter of Dan and Joan Cuthbertson, veteran missionaries to the Ivory Coast, serving there for several decades and having been joined in their ministry by a good number of their children and their spouses. It is a unique ministry team that God is quite evidently using to impact the Ivory Coast with the gospel. The stated mission of this young couple—in their mid-twenties, with a small child and another one due in December—is to “glorify God as we seek to fulfill the mission God has given us of establishing healthy, self-propagating, self-supporting, independent Baptist churches in Cote d’ Ivoire, West Africa. The glory of God is our primary vision.” To hear testimonies of young people who want to spend their life in Africa, planting New Testament churches, is a soul-stirring joy! God is still calling young people to the mission fields of the world. The Cuthbertson family—mom and dad, their offspring and spouses —are a 21st century benchmark in missions ministry, all to the glory of God.
Then we met Priscilla Gerber, soon to be the wife of Will Esanyenko—the two of them planning to make their home in Canada to engage in the ministry of winning souls, discipling converts, and planting of local, New Testament churches. We heard Will’s testimony last fall. He is a dynamic, dedicated young man whose passion is missionary service for a lifetime. It was not a difficult decision for the BWM board to appoint Will in April of 2021 to go out under the auspices of our mission agency. But it was apparent to all that he needed a helpmeet for this awesome ministry mission. At that time, he said there was no young lady he was interested in marrying on the horizon in his life, and he seemed secure and settled with his singleness. But in one of his meetings as he was visiting churches on deputation, Will met a young single lady—a Canadian farm girl—who was godly and personable and seemed to “connect” with this missionary in the making. It was not long before the two of them, after serious sharing of their deepest thoughts and hearts’ desires, realized that this was a “match made in heaven.” Will went to the Victory Baptist Church of Alberton, Canada, to present his burden for Canadian church planting, hoping for prayer and maybe financial support as God would lead. He left having found more support than he could have dreamed of in the person of Priscilla Gerber, with whom his heart has been knit together in love and admiration. They plan to marry in the spring of 2024.
Next, it was our pleasure to meet Joanna Smith, another young single lady who has been actively serving God in Crossroads Baptist Church of Columbus, North Carolina. Her service in her church is in music and various children’s ministries. She has taken a Mapper (missionary apprentice) trip to Colombia, South America, where she worked alongside her missionary brother. God used this experience to convince Joanna that she could serve on the field as a church-planting team member. She is an exceptional woman and is wanting and willing to go to Colombia, a dangerous country to be sure, to give her life in missions work. No pastor, no committed believer, could listen to Joanna’s testimony without being deeply grateful to God for young people today who are still saying, with Isaiah, “Here am I, send me.” Joanna is now on the deputation trail, raising prayer and financial support to go be a blessing in a part of the world where, frankly, most of us would prefer not to live. But God!
Our Lord is the example of compassion. He responded to the needs around Him, all the time, irrespective of one’s station in life. As one reads the gospels and looks at and listens to Jesus moving in and through crowds—dispensing His grace and mercy because He was moved with compassion—one is moved to want to do the same. It was thrilling to hear the testimonies of missionaries who have done and are doing just that. Missionaries such as Tom Latham and his recently deceased wife, Penny, were moved by compassion to respond to Brazil’s need, and they were honored by BWM for their 50 years of ministry in reaching Brazilians with the life-changing gospel. All to the glory of Jesus Christ by the Church.
“And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick.” (Matthew 14:13)
YOU and GOD 