As we continue to reach the lost within the South, churches here have the ability to turn their eyes to other regions. Ezell also says he knows some SBC churches—maybe in Mississippi or Alabama—may feel no additional churches need to be planted locally. If not, Ezell suggests these churches look to partner with other state conventions to plant churches in distant associations. For instance, why can’t an Oklahoma church plant a new congregation in Las Vegas, or a Texas megachurch plant a new work in New York City?
The same missions heart that propelled us to reach other parts of North America at the outset of our denomination still exists today. In order to engage the most unreached regions of North America, churches in the South are needed to come alongside church planters in the Northeast, Midwest, West and Canada. OM
Mickey Noah is a writer for the North American Mission Board.
The Laredo-Nuevo Lardo metro area on the border of Texas has a combined population of more than 700,000 U.S. and Mexican citizens.
Fast facts
Almost half of all Southern Baptists in the world live in five Southern states: Texas, Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee and Alabama.
About one out of four residents of Mississippi and Alabama, and one out of five in Oklahoma are Southern Baptists.
Texas claims more Southern Baptists than any other state— 2.93 million, or 12 percent of the state’s total population.
Mississippi has more churches per capita than any other state.
The South Region’s 13.7 million Southern Baptists generate 86 to 88 percent of all SBC gifts to the Cooperative Program, the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering and the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering.
Sources: LifeWay Christian Resources and NAMB
ACTION ITEM:
Pray for the Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia to realize their goal of 400 new church plants by 2020.
Encourage your church to take a mission trip to New Orleans.
Watch a video about the South at
www.onmission.com.
42 Summer 2011 •
onmission.com
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