ORLANDO – International Mission Board President Paul Chitwood took to the podium late Wednesday morning (June 10) to bring his report on behalf of the largest Southern Baptist Convention entity. He addressed messengers in Orlando for the 2026 SBC Annual Meeting, bringing greetings and thanks from more than 3,500 missionaries and their 3,000 children.
Chitwood stressed the shared nature of the pursuit to reach the nations with the Gospel.
“For Southern Baptists, this task requires YOU + IMB,” he said, emphasizing IMB’s theme for the annual meeting that was visible in the exhibit hall and on printed items distributed by the thousands.
Thankfulness flowed freely in Chitwood’s report for continued giving to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering and the Cooperative Program. He made special note of the CP allocation budget recommended by the Executive Committee that allocates 51 percent to the IMB.
He specifically thanked Executive Committee President and CEO Jeff Iorg and EC members for the budget “that delivers on the promise made by messengers to this Convention in 2010 when we adopted the Great Commission Resurgence Task Force recommendation to increase IMB’s CP allocation to 51%. I also want to thank our partnering SBC entities for the sacrifices you are making to ensure missionaries have the support they need, and that includes the Executive Committee, our six seminaries, the ERLC and NAMB. Each of these nine entities is sacrificing CP dollars for our IMB missionaries, and we are grateful.”
Considering inflation and CP decline, Chitwood explained the buying power of IMB’s CP dollars has been reduced by 40 percent.
“If we will maintain a missionary presence where the Gospel needs to be heard, Southern Baptists, we must grow in our generosity. I want to challenge each of us, and the churches represented in this room, to do more to support the missionaries already sent and those ready to go,” he said.
Chitwood reported that the Southern Baptist model of support has proven that IMB missionaries stay on the field an average of three times longer than missionaries with other organizations. The attrition rate for the average faith funded missionary is 50 percent, while the average attrition rate for IMB missionaries is 5 percent, he said.
To further emphasize the importance of generous support of missionaries, Chitwood said, “Not one missionary has been called home since I became IMB president due to a lack of funding. Thank you for your faithfulness in giving to this great work.”
Chitwood took time to report the demographic make-up of IMB missionaries. He reported the IMB employs 2,027 women, 1,803 of whom are overseas missionaries. “No organization or institution in Southern Baptist life employs more females in vocational ministry than IMB,” he said. He specified that no woman on staff or overseas serves as a pastor or elder or carries the function of a pastor or elder.
Chitwood took the opportunity to recognize women committed to taking the Gospel to the nations. His words were met with standing applause from many messengers in the main hall of the convention center.
He transitioned to the many needs of missionaries that Southern Baptists provide for, including that of safety and security — issues that continue to grow globally.
Chitwood shared a recent example of how CP giving directly mitigated a disaster. A young missionary mother was in a European café with her 4-year-old and family who were visiting. Just as they were leaving the café, she received a call from the IMB risk team. The security alert system at IMB headquarters in Richmond — a system that detects threats in real-time anywhere in the world — was showing that this missionary’s IMB phone was only a quarter mile away from an active shooter. She was leaving the café and unknowingly headed in the direction of the shooter. Getting the call from the risk team and being told which direction to flee, everyone remained safe.
He gave another example of how the security provided to missionaries can be lifesaving. Just one month ago, an IMB team was hosting a group of Texas pastors in another European city when a man weaponized his car, plowing through the sidewalks of a busy shopping area, killing two people in a market and critically injuring several others. Pastors in the group were heading toward that shopping area when the risk team saw the alert in the security system, saw IMB phones nearby, and immediately called to check on the missionaries. The team acted quickly to get to the pastors before they unknowingly headed into the mayhem.
He explained how CP dollars are used to provide unique services for missionaries and partners, like the real-time overwatch of the security team.
“There are a lot of missionary sending organizations. But there’s only one IMB. And it’s yours,” he said.
Chitwood referenced statistics recently made public in the 2025 Annual Statistical Report. He announced that in 2025, because of Southern Baptists’ generosity:
- More than 2 million people heard the Gospel.
- Nearly 200,000 people professed faith in Christ.
- Thirty-one unengaged people groups moved to Gospel engagement.
- Missionary teams and partners planted 7,697 new churches.
- Gospel work was carried out among 2,358 different people groups.
- IMB facilitated 2,752 human needs projects with nearly 150,000 people impacted, with hundreds more Send Relief projects impacting more than 2.2 million people in 80 countries.
- More than 150 countries experienced Southern Baptist missionary presence.
- IMB missionaries hosted 13,697 volunteers, many of whom were in attendance in Orlando.
The full 2025 ASR is available on the IMB website.
Chitwood continued his challenge to Southern Baptists to remain focused on the Great Commission task.
“War does not stop the Lord’s work. Active shooters do not silence the Gospel witness. The work we do is the most important work in the universe,” he said.
“We cannot slow down, shrink back, or stay home because every day this year an average of 160,101 people will die separated from Christ. This is the work God has set before us. And we do it joyfully with victory in our hearts because we know that one day a great multitude from every nation, tribe, people and language will stand before throne and before the Lamb.”
He concluded, “And we will stand among them. I pray we will see many there because you were faithful in praying, in sending, in giving, and in going.”
After the report, a messenger from Kansas City asked about the IMB’s vaccine policy. Chitwood said the policy was reviewed last year by highly credentialed medical personnel.
“After extensive study, these professionals also affirmed IMB’s vaccine policy and vaccine requirements with only one recommended change which was to change one vaccine to optional rather than required,” Chitwood said. “We have made that change.”
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