A year of sorrow — and joy   Forward to a friend

A year of sorrow — and joy

As the year draws to a close, Southern Baptists can celebrate the 607,132 baptisms reported during 2003.

Sorrow and joy. Anyone who has walked long with God knows that both are part of the Christian journey. Certainly, the Bible makes it clear that neither Jesus nor his closest disciples were spared sorrow. We were reminded vividly of that in March when we learned of the violent deaths of our personnel in Iraq. On March 15, Karen Watson, Larry and Jean Elliott and David McDonnall, were martyred when terrorists attacked them near the city of Mosul. David’s wife, Carrie, survived but was gravely injured.

Yet, this time of deep sorrow was leavened by the joy of knowing five believers fully committed to God in spite of the risks — and seeing Carrie’s unwavering affirmation of that commitment as she recovered. As I traveled the Middle East in the days following their deaths, I experienced the joy of seeing others just as committed — with the result that many of the Muslim people in the Middle East are, in fact, receiving the truth of the gospel and responding in growing numbers.

Another sorrow that weighed heavily as the year began was the restriction of missionary appointments because of budget shortfalls. As months passed, it was a joy to hear from churches across the nation who responded by giving sacrificially far beyond anything they had done before. Even before the final count was in, we were able to celebrate that Southern Baptists had given enough to drop the restriction and send all who were being called — and those in record numbers.

There were many other causes for celebration throughout the year, but I was especially overwhelmed with joy and praise to God when the reports from our workers across the world were tallied and reported to trustees in November:

— 163 people groups engaged, including 131 unreached groups who were hearing the gospel for the first time

—607,132 believers baptized, a net increase of 97,973 (19.2 percent)

—21,028 new Baptist congregations, most of them produced by church-planting movements among approximately 50 people groups

Thank you, Southern Baptists! You were distressed that qualified missionaries were being held back for lack of finances. And you responded with God-inspired passion! Throughout the year you have given and prayed and gone to the mission field yourselves. Because you have responded so unselfishly, the Light of the world is penetrating more darkness than ever before.

Jerry Rankin

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