A woman walks along the highway through an irrigated section near Sabratha, Libya.

People walking through a crowded market in downtown Tripoli, Libya.

Two men bicycle along the highway through an irrigated section near Sabratha, Libya. This area was once known, around 2 A.D., as a vibrant Phoenician trading post.

Men ride their bicycles through a busy intersection in downtown Tripoli, Libya.

Horse and carriages line the streets to the entrance of the Old City in Tripoli, Libya.

A man drives a horse and cart through a busy street in downtown Tripoli, Libya.

The capital city, Tripoli, Libya, sits along the southern Mediterranean coast.

The Roman built Arch of Marcus Aurelius frames a nearby minaret in Tripoli, Libya. The arch was built as a triumphal structure around 165 A.D. celebrating the victories against the Parthian empire.

People walk around the Roman built Arch of Marcus Aurelius in Tripoli, Libya. The arch was built as a triumphal structure around 165 A.D. celebrating the victories against the Parthian empire.

An Arab man is the head of the household.

A statue of a mother holding a child adorns the top steps of the Leptis Magna amphitheater in present-day Khoms, Libya. The amphitheater is considered some of the best-preserved Roman ruins.

Missionary physician Bill Wallace stayed in China throughout World War II and led the staff of Stout Memorial Hospital in Wuchow in a heroic evacuation when the Japanese attacked. After his selfless service in China from 1935 to 1951, he died in a Communist prison cell.

Dr. T.W. Ayers served in China from 1901 to 1926 and built the first Southern Baptist hospital on foreign soil. He was decorated by two presidents of China for his actions during a plague that threatened the country, and for initiating Red Cross work during a Chinese civil war.

The day after Christmas 2004, one of the largest earthquakes ever recorded struck off the coast of Indonesia and triggered a tsunami that swept into multiple nations bordering the Indian Ocean, wiping away entire communities and bringing devastation. An estimated 228,000 people were killed and nearly two million were left homeless in a dozen nations including Thailand, Sri Lanka, and India. Hardest hit, though, was Aceh Province, Indonesia, which bore the tsunami’s terrible brunt and took the lives of some 169,000. As international disaster relief groups flew in to offer aid to stricken countries and communities, Southern Baptist volunteers were among those responding with compassion and care.
By mid-February 2005, contributions from Southern Baptist churches and individuals surpassed $10 million—an unprecedented amount—to be used for tsunami-related aid projects across South and Southeast Asia. “We were there early, and we were there with people who knew the language and culture, supported by volunteers who [met] needs,” said Don Dent, then IMB’s regional leader for the Pacific Rim. Southern Baptist volunteers fed the hungry, met medical needs, cleared mud out of houses, and dug mass graves for villagers. Dent explained that Christians serving these Muslim, Hindu, or Buddhist communities, were having an impact and asked Southern Baptists in the US to keep praying “that God will open a door that no man can shut.”
The local government funded art projects in the tsunami survivor camps. Southern Baptists provided ongoing relief work for a full year after the tsunami, bringing food every day to a number of camps, as well as doing children’s activities and English language classes. Southern Baptists also provided funding for fishermen to rebuild their boats and replace the nets they lost in the tsunami.

The Asia-Pacific region is home to the majority of the world’s 1.8 billion Muslims, while the Middle East and North Africa are predominantly Muslim. In the US, Muslims account for only about 1.1 percent of the total population, though communities are concentrated in certain areas of the country. Southern Baptists in the US have the opportunity to build relationships with their Muslim neighbors. Building trust and loving as Jesus loves is a first step toward gospel proclamation.

With a population of more than 1.3 billion, India is the world’s second most populous nation—and home to 1,520 unreached people groups. Of those, about 700 groups are not currently engaged with any church planting strategies consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

International Mission Board missionaries seek to be witnesses to Christ’s redeeming power. Here, a group of Buddhist monks discusses spiritual matters.

Across the savannahs of East Africa, trees are important community gathering places. A Maasai pastor leads this new church that was planted with help from IMB missionaries Tim and Annie Tidenberg.