Florida pastor challenges ‘grassroots’ Baptists to assist IMB

GULF BREEZE (FBW)—In a bold move to provide a grass roots "radical response" to the International Mission Board’s shortfall in funds this year, a Florida pastor has begun an e-mail letter writing campaign to urge Baptists to chip in a little extra to get missionaries on the field.

Shane Tucker, bivocational pastor of Santa Rosa Shores Baptist Church in Gulf Breeze, told Florida Baptist Witness he believes Southern Baptists should respond in a "radical way" to the record number of missionaries who are on stand-by waiting to spread the Good News of the Gospel overseas.

"How will they preach unless they are sent?" is the scriptural mandate found in Romans 10:15 that Tucker has said has been on his heart. "The question is not whether we have the missionaries, but, ‘do we have the senders?’’

Tucker’s action was prompted by a June 5 announcement by the Southern Baptist Convention’s IMB, which reported the 2002 Lottie Moon Christmas offering fell almost $10 million short of its $125 million goal, complicating a financial situation stressed by declining income and a rapidly increasing missionary force.

A former International Service Corps volunteer who served in Tanzania in 1998, Tucker said he and his wife, Heather, regularly review missions news by accessing the IMB Web site and by subscribing to Florida Baptist Witness. He is leading his church through a Bible study produced by the SBC’s North American Mission Board titled My Purpose: His Plan.

"God is awakening me and my wife and my church to be on mission for Him," Tucker said. "As far as our views about world missions, being on mission with God is a characteristic of our lifestyle and we want to be responsible to fulfill the Great Commission here and abroad. [We want to] hold the ropes for the ones God is calling overseas."

The thought of over 100 new missionary candidates who have been put on hold or deferred until next year is alarming to Tucker, who said he believes a lack of funding shouldn’t prevent them from acting on their call.

"I believe if God has called out all those people to go overseas and preach the Gospel, they should be sent," Tucker said.

Tucker stressed his allegiance to the SBC’s Cooperative Program, a method that has insured money from the tiniest churches ends up flowing to the NAMB, the IMB, the six Southern Baptists seminaries and other mission efforts through state Baptist conventions. He said this time, however, "there is a problem [because] our giving has not increased proportionately" with numbers of those who’ve answered a call to missions."

In his letter, Tucker said the result has been a "logjam" at the IMB of missionaries waiting to be sent out. His challenge is "that every Southern Baptist church would give $2 per member to the IMB before September 30, 2003."

In addition, in two follow-up challenges, Tucker urges Southern Baptist churches to increase its 2003 Lottie offering by 33% over last year’s and also to increase its Cooperative Program giving by 1% of its annual budget for the 2004 budget year.

"The IMB cannot make this happen," Tucker wrote. "But neither can a collection of Christians working on a grassroots effort. Only God can make this happen."

"[God] desires to empower us to fulfill every aspect of the Great Commission, from going to giving," wrote Tucker. "God is moving in radical ways in the lives of so many people. He has called so many to make such major changes in their lives and invest themselves in people groups around the world. God is moving in radical ways. We must respond."

In a postscript, Tucker said he represents the small church family issuing the challenge.

"We have no clout in the SBC. We have no clout in the state convention," wrote Tucker. "We are one of the farthest churches ... from our associational office. We embody ‘grassroots’," he said.

Tucker’s plan targets four distinct groups: 1) laypeople and their churches; 2) pastors and other ministers, including denominational leaders; 3) collegiate ministers and their students; and 4) seminary professors and students.

The letter outlines a six-step plan for "rally[ing] the troops" around this effort while being "creative." Five prayer starters include New Testament verses on revival, giving and obedience.

Prayer Starters

Pray that God would raise up believers to give in the same proportion in which He has raised up believers to go.

(Romans 10:15)

Pray that believers would give both boldly and sacrificially in order to do the work of His Kingdom.

(Acts 4:32-35)

Pray that God would bring revival to us and among us as we seek to obey His call on our lives.

(Acts 2:42-47)

Pray that God would use our offerings to quickly move out called Christians into their places of service so they can communicate the Gospel to [the lost].

(2 Thessalonians 3:1)

Pray that God would redeem people to Himself through the ministries of these newly sent missionaries.

(Titus 2:11-14)

(Compiled by Shane Tucker)

By sending out letters to these four groups of people, Tucker said he hopes to saturate about 80% of the 16 million Southern Baptists with his challenge–and believes out of that figure 40% of the churches might give $2 per person, which could make up for the $10 million shortfall reflected in the 2002 Lottie Moon Christmas Offering.

Within the first 36 hours, Tucker said he connected with people across the United States and in Canada.

Norman Sullivan, pastor, Living Truth Church, Milton, said he appreciated Tucker’s reminder.

"Sometimes we get all caught up in what we are trying to do for the Kingdom, that we miss some things that are so very crucial, like sending these missionaries out that are ready and willing to go," Sullivan wrote in an e-mail to Tucker. "[W]e accept the challenge. Let's get those missionaries out of harbor!"

Tucker has been at the Gulf Breeze church since late May. He is a 2000 graduate of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and earned his undergraduate degree from the University of West Florida in 1996.

"I’m excited about what God’s doing," said Tucker, who until recently worked for an engineering firm in Pace.

IMB spokesman Mark Kelly told the Witness the IMB is grateful for the efforts of people who care.

"We are grateful that God is using the financial challenge facing the IMB as a wake-up call to Southern Baptists that He is calling out more new missionaries than the churches are providing support for," Kelly said. "Over-and-above efforts like this show that many churches have God's own heart for a lost world and want to send every new missionary possible.

"We also are glad to see top priority given to the proper channels of support for Southern Baptist missions causes -- the Cooperative Program and our missions offerings," said Kelly. "Those channels express the cooperative spirit that unites Southern Baptists to fulfill God’s redemptive purpose in the world."

For more information, e-mail Shane Tucker at Shaneheatherzoe@aol.com; or call 850-994-7995. Send checks to the following address with "GENERAL SUPPORT" in the memo line: IMB Office of Finance, P.O. Box 6767, Richmond, VA 23230-0767.