Articulos en Español by Ann Lovell

RICHMOND, Va. (BP) -- More than 155,000 people die daily without Christ. This is a harsh and unacceptable reality facing Southern Baptists, IMB President Paul Chitwood told a recent gathering of advocates near Richmond, Va. The lost -- those living apart from a relationship with Christ -- need people who will advocate on their behalf by praying, giving, going and sending.

RICHMOND, Va. (BP) -- Southern Baptist church members gave $157.3 million to support international missionaries in 2018-2019, the third-highest Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for international missions ever received. "Because you and your church gave through the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering, you are a part of reaching the unreached in every nation," said IMB President Paul Chitwood. "When you make LMCO a priority in your church, by God's grace, we see the numbers rise exponentially of those who meet Jesus for the first time, of those who follow our Lord in baptism, and of new churches planted."

MIDLOTHIAN, Va. (BP) -- The International Mission Board celebrated the sending of 24 newly appointed international missionaries in a service at Swift Creek Baptist Church Sept. 25. IMB trustees voted to approve the candidates during a meeting near Richmond earlier in the day. Ronnie Floyd, president and CEO of the Southern Baptist Convention's Executive Committee, preached the message at the celebration, encouraging the new missionaries to "step into the missionary calling." The 24 missionaries represent churches across the United States -- from Louisiana to Michigan and North Carolina to Hawaii. Families, friends, and pastors from across the country also attended the event.

RICHMOND, Va. (BP) -- Karl and Peggy Wallace were in the next-to-last group of missionaries appointed by then-Foreign Mission Board President Baker James Cauthen in 1978. The Wallaces served 40 years in Peru and Colombia with the FMB, now International Mission Board, under five different presidents through seven major reorganizations. "I always tell new people not to worry about changes," Peggy Wallace said. "Just be faithful to where God has placed you."

RICHMOND, Va.(BP) -- Unity, fellowship and promises of mutual support characterized the installation of International Mission Board President Paul Chitwood and the Sending Celebration of 19 newly appointed international missionaries on Wednesday (Feb. 6). Chitwood is the 13th president of the Southern Baptist Convention's 173-year-old International Mission Board. The special service took place at Grove Avenue Baptist Church, in Richmond, Va. Southern Baptist leaders from across the convention and a number of state conventions attended the event, which included worship led by The Summit Church from Raleigh-Durham N.C., remarks by SBC President J.D. Greear, a charge by former IMB President Tom Elliff, and a response by Chitwood. WMU Executive Director Sandy Wisdom-Martin and IMB President Emeritus Jerry Rankin also participated in the service, which featured testimonies from the 19 new missionaries.

RICHMOND, Va. (BP) -- Southern Baptists celebrated the appointment of 42 new missionaries in a service held Wednesday (Nov. 14), near Richmond, Va. Churches of all sizes from Louisiana to Indiana and North Carolina to Kansas are sending singles, couples and families to large cities, small villages and hard-to-reach places around the world. Vance Pitman, senior pastor of Hope Church in Las Vegas, reminded new missionaries and those attending of the importance of cooperative giving and cooperative going. "This is our denomination at its absolute best," Pitman said. "This is the tip of the spear. We can do more together than we can do by ourselves."

DALLAS (BP) -- This year's Southern Baptist Convention marked the 100th anniversary of the naming of the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering, International Mission Board President David Platt told more than 1,100 Southern Baptists at the IMB dinner June 11 at the SBC annual meeting in Dallas. Lottie Moon was a single female missionary who served with the Foreign Mission Board (now IMB) in China from 1873 until her death on Dec. 24, 1912, aboard a ship in the harbor of Kobe, Japan. She is among Southern Baptists' most well-known missionaries, thanks to the passionate letters she wrote to people back home advocating for more workers and more financial resources.

DALLAS (BP) -- In an International Mission Board service marked by testimonies and prayer for the approximate 11,700 people groups around the world, IMB President David Platt reminded messengers to the Southern Baptist Convention that the SBC exists first and foremost for the spread the Gospel. "Tonight we have the opportunity to remember the reason we came together in the first place. We exist to combine the efforts of our churches for the spread of the Gospel in the world," Platt said during IMB's Sending Celebration the evening of June 12.

DALLAS (BP) -- International Mission Board President David Platt declared the IMB "open for business" in his report to messengers at the SBC annual meeting in Dallas June 13. "By the grace of God and through the generous support of Southern Baptist churches, the IMB is positioned on strong biblical foundations, and we are standing on firm financial ground," Platt said. "Our giving is up through both the Cooperative Program and Lottie Moon. And our sending is up. Lord willing, we will send more missionaries this year than we have in years."

LAS MEDIAS DOS, Honduras (BP) -- Lucio, un agricultor chortí de 23 años, emerge del seto con machete en mano. Él ha estado cuidando el terreno en preparación para la siguiente temporada de siembra de maíz. En el pasado, la erosión de la tierra complicaba sus esfuerzos y hacía su finca menos productiva.