Missions summit focus is on South America's 379 million

GAINESVILLE (FBW)—Pastors and laypersons from 18 states and throughout Florida got a taste of ministry to South American countries Jan. 31-Feb. 1 when they took part in SAM, a regional missions conference sponsored by the South America Mobilization Unit of the International Mission Board, Westside Baptist Church in Gainesville and the Florida Baptist Convention.

Over 300 registered participants—including nearly 70 pastors—mingled with 17 IMB missionaries from South America, the agency's president, Jerry Rankin and his wife, Bobbye, who each gave special presentations on work in the region and special challenges presented by mission endeavors in general.

Gary Crawford, Westside's pastor and a former IMB trustee, said he was "blessed" by the summit and struck by the fact that when he invited the IMB to hold an appointment service at the church in conjunction with a trustee meeting and the summit—the timing would align with the church's 44th anniversary.

"Who among that small band of believers who met in a house beside Newberry Road would have ever imagined that ... we would host this event with worldwide implications," Crawford told Florida Baptist Witness. "Our church has been deeply involved in missions for a long time. This is kind of our heartbeat."

Westside is a church which networks with the IMB to partner with other Southern Baptist churches to mentor them in working with IMB missionaries to evangelize a people group and finally branch out on their own to evangelize a people group. Westside has been a level three Strategy Coordinator church for the past 10 years—and is partnered with ministries in Brazil and Peru, among others.

Crawford said it's also the first time a regional conference has been in Central Florida and he wanted Florida Baptists to have an opportunity to learn about South America's 699 people groups with a total population of nearly 379 million who speak in 435 languages. Of these, there are an estimated 355 million lost people and an estimated 200 people groups with no evangelical presence at all.

Involving over 400 volunteers in planning for the back-to-back events—the IMB appointment service [see the Feb. 7 issue of the Witness] which concluded the Jan. 28-30 trustee meeting and kicked off the summit—presented a few challenges to the 2,500-member church as they sought to work out the details of food service and technological support. "But this is their heartbeat," Crawford said.

"They considered this a wonderful joy to join other Southern Baptists and Florida Baptists to enhance Kingdom work throughout the world," Crawford said, noting over 2,000 people attended the appointment service where two overflow rooms were set up on the church campus. "A number of people have said, 'Pastor you are right, now I know what you mean, there is an indelible mark left in my heart. I have a broader vision of what Southern Baptists are about, what Florida Baptists are about.'"

The three-day conference offered sessions simultaneously in English, Spanish and Portuguese. Earphones were provided for the general sessions, while some seminars were conducted by speakers in the various languages—or a translator was on hand during others.

Three tracks steered participants to seminars suited to their interest level or involvement as a church—either churches without current missions involvement, with some involvement or with advanced involvement and partnerships. Westside has been a level three strategy coordinator church for 10 years which means it mentors level one churches which work with IMB missionaries to evangelize people groups—and level two churches which accept responsibility to evangelize a particular people group.

Colorful booths with resources representing countries in South America and partnership ministries were set up in the cavernous multi-use worship center at Westside Baptist where participants met for general sessions around tables and chairs which did double duty during meal times. Participants with laptops tapped into the church's wireless network for instant monitoring of resources and IMB missionaries networked with participants about mission trips and partnership possibilities.

Spanish, Portuguese and English flowed freely.

Over a dozen break-out sessions addressed such topics as: strategic partnerships, impacting lostness, church planting, "The Latin or Tribal Mind," and traveling overseas. Advocacy meetings intentionally scheduled at the end of the conference matched regional workers and interested church pastors and laypersons.