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Jerry Rankin

Jerry RankinPresident, IMB (International Mission Board)


Watch a challenge from Rankin.

His burden for the lost began during an eighth-grade geography class.

Jerry Rankin learned about Islam, Buddhism and communism while staring at maps and studying distant lands.

During those lessons, he was shaken by the thought of how many people didn’t know Jesus.

“It wasn’t because they had rejected Jesus Christ or didn’t want to be saved, but because no one had ever told them,” Rankin said.

“I can remember thinking [to myself] … ‘Why don’t you go?’”

That burden led Rankin and his wife, Bobbye, to share the Gospel among the people of Indonesia. Appointed in 1970 by the Foreign Mission Board (now IMB), the couple, along with their two children, traveled overseas on an ocean liner.

Rankin planted churches among the Indonesian people for more than a decade before taking on leadership roles on the field. After serving overseas for 23 years, he became IMB’s 10th president in 1993.

With more than 5,500 missionaries currently serving abroad, Rankin travels the globe preaching, teaching, leading conferences and encouraging others to answer God’s call to missions.

He has authored or co-authored several books, including A Journey of Faith and Sacrifice: Retracing the Steps of Lottie Moon; Empowering Kingdom Growth to the Ends of the Earth; Lives Given, Not Taken; and Spiritual Warfare: The Battle for God’s Glory.

The Rankins’ two children, both of whom are married, have served on the mission field as well. In 2008, Rankin’s grandson, Zachary, accompanied him on a mission trip to Peru and Ecuador.


Rankin announced Sept. 16 that he plans to retire July 31, 2010 after 17 years as president.