The Southern Baptist Convention has reported what has been characterized remarkable increase in the number of new believers and baptisms in its missionary efforts.
The SBC’s International Mission Board reports a 62 percent increase in the number of new believers and a 82 percent increase of baptisms during 2019-2020. There had also been a rise in the number of listeners of the Gospel and inception of churches.
The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) reported some truly stunning numbers surrounding international missions efforts, noting impressive increases in baptisms and the sharing of the Gospel throughout 2020.
The SBC’s International Mission Board (IMB) reported a 62% increase in new believers between 2019 and 2020, with that number rising from 89,000 to over 144,000, Christianity Today’s David Roach reported.
During the same timeframe, baptisms swelled 81%, expanding from 47,929 to 86,587. And that’s not all, as 769,494 people heard the Gospel in 2020, up to 535,325 in 2019.
Meanwhile, 18,380 churches were planted across the globe in 2020.
The noticeable growth in the number of new believers and baptisms took place mainly in South Asia.
Roach noted that most evangelism increases took place in South Asia, where 89% of the baptisms unfolded, and 97% of new churches were planted.
These statistics — which come with caveats and considerations worth exploring — are particularly fascinating amid the backdrop of a pandemic that left many domestic and global churches shuttered, restricted, or otherwise quieted.
The IMB’s director of global research attributed this fascinating increase in faith to the Holy Spirit.
“We’ve seen the Holy Spirit working across the globe in mighty ways,” Wilson Geisler, IMB director of global research, said.
The IMB statistical report detailing all of these accomplishments noted international missionaries needed to get creative in how they shared the Gospel, primarily due to fewer opportunities to meet in person because of COVID.
“In 2020, despite fewer face-to-face opportunities, IMB missionaries and partners found innovative, often virtual, ways to present the Gospel,” the report read.
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