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SBC DIGEST: Stolle to lead BCM/D; IMB pipeline tops 1,200

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Tom Stolle named executive director of the BCM/D

By BCMD Staff

COLUMBIA, Md. (BP) – Following the resignation of Michael Crawford on Feb. 3, the General Mission Board has unanimously voted Tom Stolle as executive director of the Baptist Convention of Maryland/Delaware (BCM/D). Mark Dooley has also been voted as associate executive director.

Noting that this is the third time that Stolle has been asked to serve in the role (twice as interim during previous vacancies), Glenn Swanson, president of the BCM/D, shared that he believes that “Tom Stolle is the right person at the right time to lead us as a convention.”

Stolle has served the BCM/D for 18 years in roles to include chief operating officer, HR director, associate executive director, chief financial officer, and most recently interim executive director. Stolle and his wife, Shelley, have three sons, JT, Jake and Jimmy. Jimmy is a young man with autism, and the family’s journey has sparked a passion within Stolle to assist churches in the area of effective ministries to those with disabilities.


IMB tops 1,200 in missionary pipeline

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By IMB staff

RICHMOND, Va. (BP) – At the first of March, the International Mission Board counted more than 1,200 candidates in the missionary application process. This is a significant milestone for Southern Baptists, as the number of missionary candidates in 2019 was 300.

“The IMB missionary candidate pipeline has now quadrupled over the past four years. Praise the Lord!” IMB President Paul Chitwood said.

“As Southern Baptists’ generosity grows, so does the opportunity to send their fully funded missionaries through the IMB to address the world’s greatest problem – lostness. I can’t wait to see how God will use them and all of us working together!” 

While each applicant represents a potential to reach the lost with the Good News of Jesus, Chitwood is quick to remind Southern Baptists that lostness in the world continues to grow. Even more applicants are needed to carry the Gospel to those who have never heard. 

IMB’s goal is to always have more than 1,500 applicants in the pipeline. New missionary applicants mean that the potential increases to grow the number of current missionaries serving on the frontlines and to replace missionaries who are retiring or completing terms of service.

Multiple pathways, lengths of service and a variety of missionary positions are open now with the IMB. Interested persons can visit imb.org/go [3] or email [email protected] [4] to get started.