Editorial

When they awoke March 15, 2004, even in their risk-prone place of ministry, I doubt that our five missionaries gave much thought to the possibility that they would die that very day. But it’s clear from various news accounts about these Southern Baptist martyrs that all of them had resigned themselves to that possible fate before leaving for Iraq.

Particularly poignant among the accounts of the missionaries’ commitment to serve Christ in the dangerous environment in Iraq was a letter written by Karen Watson to her pastor before her departure– to be opened only in the event of her death. The letter was opened March 15.

Expressing no regrets, Watson wrote, "To obey is my objective. To suffer is expected. His glory will be my reward."

Watson’s pastor, Roger Spradlin of Valley Baptist Church in Bakersfiled, Calif., told Baptist Press, "She was very, very brave, and she knew the risk of being in that part of the world. But she weighed that risk against the people’s need for the Gospel."

Watson and her International Mission Board colleagues made the ultimate sacrifice in service to the Lord Jesus Christ. As I think about their tragic deaths, I’m compelled to ask myself, What am I sacrificing for the sake of the Gospel? What about you?

Missionary service has always been difficult, requiring as it does family separation and life in unfamiliar places. The trials faced by most missionaries are ones most of us will never understand. Sometimes, it’s also risky. And the risk has recently increased dramatically. Of the 30 Southern Baptist missionaries who have died violent deaths in the IMB’s 159 year history, eight have been martyred in just the last 15 months.

Shortly before the death of three SBC missionaries in Yemen Dec. 30, 2002, IMB president told Florida Baptist Witness, "The danger is certainly at hand and we fully recognize that it’s not unlikely that we are going to have people that lose their lives. ... That’s just part of the risk of being obedient to the Great Commission."

“–––– Few of us will be called to risk our lives on the international mission field,but all of us are called to sacrifice for the sake of the Gospel.

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The world political situation marked by the growth of militant Islam and America’s just cause in fighting terrorism fueled by militant Islam, has greatly heightened the risk to American evangelical missionaries in Muslim nations. The Los Angeles Times reported March 17 that Al Jazeera, the dominant satellite television channel in the Arab world, said, "The presence of missionaries in the majority Muslim country is highly resented." The comment was related to Al Jazeera’s report that the International Bible Society had distributed 10,000 "Christian-themed" manuals in Arabic. This resentment extends even to missionaries who are doing only humanitarian work on behalf of the Iraqi people, because it is known that our missionaries will share their faith with those who inquire what motivates their service.

Even in the face of such risk, the International Mission Board has experienced significant growth in the number of those willing to serve on the mission field. In just the last three years, there has been a nine percent increase in missionary candidates. Currently, the IMB employs more than 5,500 missionaries reaching more than 1,500 people groups across the globe. Last year, however, the IMB was forced to cap its missionary appointments because funding was not keeping pace. Dollars from the Cooperative Program and the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering – the two main streams of funding for IMB – have increased only 1.1 percent and 1.8 percent, respectively.

As news of the appointment cap spread across the SBC, churches were motivated to do more for this year’s LMCO. Early reports for the 2003 offering are giving hope to IMB officials that the moratorium on missionary appointments may be relaxed. And yet, even if current projections hold and the offering takes in the expected 18-22 percent increase, it will still not be enough to meet all the needs. The challenge goal was a 33 percent increase.

Funding for missions closer to home is also stagnant, resulting in unfilled missionary work at the North American Mission Board. The goal for the annual Annie Armstrong Easter Offering for North American Missions – like LMCO for the IMB, a major stream of funding for NAMB – has been reached only twice in the last 20 years. The 2003 offering, although a record, still fell seven percent short of the goal, leaving vacant hundreds of missionary positions.

The theme for this year’s AAEO is "The World at Our Doorstep," with a goal of $54 million. As travel and communications have made our world much smaller, it is indeed true that the world is at our doorstep. And it’s a world largely without Christ. In North America alone, NAMB estimates that seven out of 10 people – 228 million in all – are lost.

Sacrifice – and even death for the sake of the Gospel – should not characterize the lives of only Christians in missionary service. After all, every Great Commission Christian – that is, every true Christian – must follow Christ’s command: "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me" (Mark 8:34).

And yet, sacrifice is something that is truly foreign for most American Christians. We live a life of relative wealth and ease when compared to the rest of the world, and yet there is very little evidence of sacrifice for the sake of the Gospel in most of our lives. Even in the face of missionary appointment caps at our two major mission boards, Southern Baptists are still not meeting the challenge to take the Gospel throughout the world.

Few of us will be called to risk our lives on the international mission field, but all of us are called to sacrifice for the sake of the Gospel.

Margaret Taylor, mother of Carrie McDonnall – the lone survivor of the drive-by shooting in Mosul, Iraq, that left her husband, David, and their three other IMB colleagues dead – told Dallas Morning News columnist Steve Blow that people should not see such risk as foolhardy.

"They were willing to sacrifice ... my goodness, clean sheets, clean facilities, any kind of American fast food, almost everything you can name. They sacrificed a lot, and they did it for Jesus. The have a mighty love for Christ."

How mighty is your love for Christ?