GCRTF Misses Best Kept Secret in SBC Life

I have read, with interest, the Great Commission Resurgence report and find some things that are encouraging and one thing very troubling.

For several years I have felt that we need to release more CP money from the South and get it to pioneer and metro areas of North America. So, on this point I am in agreement philosophically with the GCR report. Having said that, I know that means, we in the south, will need to be willing to give up some things that we have now on the state and possibly association level. That will be difficult to do, but it might make us “leaner and meaner”, or more effective locally and I am sure it will make a difference in our ability to reach the 2/3rds of the North American population that we have little impact on now.

I also agree with the recommendation that the IMB be allowed to pursue un-reached people groups in North America. That makes sense to me since they have the expertise in reaching those groups already, however, I would hope this would be done in cooperation with the local association.

I am ambivalent about turning the CP promotion over to the states, but I am excited about giving 51% to the IMB! I think it is high time we placed more focus on the 4.5 billion people who have little or no access to the Gospel!

Having said all of that, I want to focus on my biggest concern on the seemingly “cluelessness” of the GCR report concerning the most strategic Great Commission partner in North America, the local association! The report addresses the need to train pastors to become “Missional Strategists” and completely overlooks the fact that we have 1,200 local associations already in place that are, for the most part, serving in that capacity! The GCR recommendation for changing, or “releasing”, NAMB to do the work of church planting in North America seems to assume that the local association is a silent, perhaps passive, partner in the Great Commission. Healthy associations are all about the Great Commission! We are the best kept secret in SBC life! If NAMB organizes itself around the local mission priorities of associations and enlisted them in a “ground up” mission strategy for reaching all of North America it would turn our mission work into a mission movement! However, as long as the SBC leadership and NAMB in particular continue to ignore this valuable partner we will continue to have an anemic mission force in North America. The potential of 1,200 local associations of Baptist Churches strategically coordinated to work together in church multiplication is a powerful vision but the implementation of this strategy needs to be coordinated through the associations! The Network of Baptist Associations (NoBA) could fill that role easily in connection with NAMB and I believe that most “Southern Associations” would get excited about being given the assignment to work together to reach the rest of North America!

Mike O’Dell, Director of Missions
York Baptist Association
Rock Hill, SC