“And they went forth, and preached every where...” (Mark 16:20a).

carrying the gospel in every direction

by Larry Powell

In Fort Worth, Texas, the 1996 Free Will Baptist National Convention voted that the Home Missions Department would be responsible for the Cross-Cultural Ministry in North America for the Free Will Baptist denomination. It is an enormous responsibility that we must pursue with diligence.

Every year more than 1.5 million people come from the nations of the world to America. More than 100 million peoples belonging to some 500 ethnic groups with 638 languages are present in our country. More people immigrate to America than to any country in the world. A vast harvest field lies within our neighborhoods.

Millions of people are lost in America. Christianity has been on the decline for 50 years in our country. Things are even darker in Canada and Mexico. As Free Will Baptists, we must renew our evangelistic thrust with fervor. In the Home Missions Department, our focus is “the gospel of Christ for all people in North America.”

Church Closings

In the United States, more churches are closing than opening in the Mid-Atlantic area. What line is 50,000 miles long (would stretch twice around the earth) and growing by a half mile every day? It is the line of people in the United States who are untouched by our churches. Home missionaries continue to preach repentance and faith in Christ alone for salvation. Evangelism has been and will continue to be our passion for years to come.

Changing Faces

Church planters look different these days. They include Slavic, Hispanic, and Korean missionaries. The faces in our mission churches are changing. On any given Sunday people from 20 different ethnic groups hear the message that Jesus, God’s Son, died on the cross to save them.

The Challenge before Us

We must change our thinking about families in our communities. As we reach out to a diverse population, our church planters share Christ with Asian Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Native Americans, to name just a few. They reach out with a compassionate message to all ethnic groups in the community.

God has sent these precious people to our country, and your home missionaries—with zeal and enthusiasm—are exploring how best to share Christ, the only way to God the Father. Please pray they will be supernaturally effective in bringing people into a relationship with Jesus.

About the Writer: Larry Powell is general director of the Home Missions Department. Learn more about the ministry of Home Missions at www.homemissions.net.