116 new missionaries sent by IMB

MIDLAND, Texas (BP) - Trustees of the Southern Baptist International Mission Board appointed 116 missionaries - the second-largest group of new missionaries in board history - during their May 19-21 meeting in Midland, Texas.

They also adopted guidelines for cooperating with other Great Commission Christian partners overseas; elected new officers for 2005-06; received reports on the board's finances and missionary personnel; and heard from IMB President Jerry Rankin about the necessity of ongoing evangelical mission efforts in Roman Catholic countries.

About 1,000 people gathered May 20 at the Chaparral Center on the campus of Midland College for the missionary appointment service. They saw a group remarkably varied in age, experience, skills and backgrounds - including 18 ethnic Asians - present themselves for service among even more varied cultures across the globe.

The IMB missionary count peaked at about 5,500 in early 2003, but began to fall with the budget cuts and temporary freeze on new appointments that year.

In other business, trustees adopted revised goals and guidelines outlining five levels of "strategic relationships" with other Christian groups committed to international missions. The guidelines clarify for trustees, board staff and missionaries appropriate ways to partner with others - some of whom differ with Southern Baptists in theology and church practice.