NEW VISION FOR MISSIONS

As we share this vision, we need to meditate on the exhortation of Paul as contained in his epistle to the Romans in Romans 10:11-15. Paul in this passage calls on all believers to take God’s great message of salvation to others so that they can respond to the Good News. That had been and remains the primary assignment of the Church and of the Convention. How will our loved ones and neighbors hear the Good News unless someone tells them? God is calling on every member of the Nigerian Baptist Convention family to take part in making His message known in our communities, in our country and in the world at large. Paul is reminding us that, there is a vast world, both near and far, that is in desperate spiritual need. We are reminded that, there is no option for us to remain indifferent, unconcerned or lukewarm to their spiritual needs.
In verse 14 of Romans 10, Paul poses to us the following questions:
1. “How then shall they call upon Him in whom they have not believed?”- There is no conversion apart from an expression of faith in Jesus Christ.
2. “And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard?”-There is no saving confession of faith if there is no commitment in the heart, and commitment depends on comprehension. Many are dark in the heart because they are dead in the head. These people have not heard.
3. “And how shall they hear without a preacher?”-It is incredible that God has not used the stars to spell out the gospel message, the wind to sound the message in every language of the world, bright shining angels to sweep over mankind to proclaim the message; or a deafening shout directly from heaven to say, “Here I am! I am God! Listen to me”. In His grace, God gives the assignment of proclamation to His children, you and me. Let us note that preaching here is not restricted to the pulpit. The assignment is simply one of proclaiming or heralding and it is for every believer.

4. “And how shall they preach unless they are sent?”- There is no confession, no commitment, no comprehension and no communication without a commission of God’s servants; God’s children to reach the lost. That is why the primary mission of our Convention and the Global Missions Board is “Reaching the lost for Christ”; that is our unfinished task. To put the unfinished task into perspective, it is estimated that about 2/3 of the world; estimated population of over 6 billion people are still unsaved. For the African Continent, it is estimated that about 52% of the continent’s population are unsaved; and for Nigeria an estimated 48% of the populations are unsaved.
As we consider our participation in the unfinished task of missions we are reminded that our Lord Jesus Christ was the Master evangelist. Jesus’ evangelistic vision goes beyond setting aside a few individuals as evangelists or a few anointed ones or groupings of those who are interested in the subject. Jesus’ vision as enumerated in the Great Commission is that, the world of His followers would at every point be involved in evangelism. His great vision is also encapsulated in Acts 1:8 where the church is given a model geographical plan for spreading the gospel to the whole world. Based on our Lord’s global vision, we as a Convention and as the Mission Board are taking stock of where we are now in pursuit of the vision God has given us especially since the Board was established in 1998. Appreciating Convention, Conferences, Associations, Churches and individuals, we are also reviewing the strategies adopted. Based on these, we are setting our sights on where we want to be in the next 5 years. This is the new vision we want to share with the Nigerian Baptist Convention family and all mission lovers:
1. To strengthen our existing mission fields within and beyond Nigeria with spiritual and infrastructural development.
2. To send out many more missionary couples to our mission fields both at home and in foreign countries. This may involve breaking down the geographical coverage for each missionary couple.

CHALLENGE
• To increase the number of missionary couples and mission pastors by at least 500 each year to reach a figure of 3,000 in the next five years.
• To acquire landed properties in each of the existing and new mission fields for the building of churches, mission houses, schools clinics and the related mission projects.

COST IMPLICATIONS
We estimate that the cost of the new vision will be about N1 billion over the next five years which is about N200 million for each year.
a. 50% of this cost will be spent in acquiring land in each mission field for the building of churches, mission houses, schools and clinics.
b. 20% of the cost will go into sending out more missionary couples and calling mission pastors to new churches on the mission fields.
c. 10% will be spent in social missions including medical missions and provision of potable water in the mission fields.
d. 10% will go to transportation including mission boats in the riverine mission fields.
e. 10% will go for the training of indigenous people especially in the expansion of our schools of missions to cover new mission fields.

OUR APPEAL
Our appeal is to every member of the Baptist family and all mission lovers who see this mandate of reaching the whole world for Christ as a task that must be done and finished by His grace, to participate in this new vision for mission. We call on Churches and individuals:
1. To contribute to the cost of infrastructural development in the mission fields – by sponsoring the purchase of 8 plots of land in a mission field at an average cost of N80, 000 per plot.
2. To sponsor a Missionary couple to a Home Mission field at an annual cost of N400, 000 - N500, 000.
3. To sponsor a mission pastor on a Home Mission field at a cost of N250, 000 per annum.
4. To sponsor the training and development of indigenous converts in theological institutions at a cost of N150, 000 – N200, 000 per annum per person.
5. To purchase and translate discipleship materials into different languages needed to disciple converts on the fields.
6. To procure and distribute Bibles among different people groups in our mission fields.
7. To sponsor a Missionary couple to a Foreign Mission Field at a cost of $12, 000 per annum.
8. To sponsor a Mission pastor on a foreign mission at a cost of $6000 - $8000 per annum.
9. To sink a well or a borehole on a mission field for a cost of N100, 000 per well.
May the Lord of Harvest, who commanded kingdom expansion, bless us mightily as we participate in the unfinished task of the Great Commission, and may He continue to expand our coast in Jesus name. Amen.