October 2, 2026
Over and over, we see examples of Southern Baptists coming together to take the gospel to every nation. The cooperative efforts have never shone brighter than this year. You set a record with your generous giving. The Lottie Moon offering was the largest in the 177-year history of the IMB with $203.7 million.
IMB president Paul Chitwood reminded those attending a sending celebration at the Southern Baptist Convention in Anaheim, California that 100% of that offering goes to sending and equipping missionaries, just like it has since the beginning. In fact, 25,000 missionaries have been sent to the nations throughout our history. In 2022, more than 3,400 missionaries were on the field engaging the 4.7 billion least-reached peoples.
“They need us, Southern Baptists. They need you,” Chitwood told the SBC audience back in June. “This is why we came together, and this is why we must stay together.”
Southern Baptists send IMB missionaries to be present among those who have never heard the gospel. As we look back on 2022, we see our top stories for the year point to this commitment.
We believe missionary presence helps cultivate gospel access that knows no boundaries. This has never been more apparent than in European countries surrounding Ukraine this year. As the conflict between Ukraine and Russia escalated and refugees flooded into neighboring countries, we were there to help — physically, emotionally and spiritually. A decades-long partnership with Romanian, Moldovan, Polish, Ukrainian and Russian Baptists allowed Southern Baptists to not only be among the first to respond but to be there for the long term.
More than $10 million was raised by Send Relief for Southern Baptists to use in 72 different relief projects related to this war. While that is impressive, the best part is how quickly you responded to a need and joined national believers and churches already at work.
Every day 157,690 people die apart from Christ and spend eternity in hell. This lostness is the world’s greatest problem and the reason more than 90% of your missionaries actively engage one or more least-reached people groups or places. We feel gospel belief results in lives transformed and we celebrate with our new brothers and sisters in Christ around the world.
For so long, the definition of “finishing the task” has been when the local church can stand on its own. But it’s not truly finished until they can come alongside and be part of reaching other peoples with the gospel. When we disciple and plant churches, we want it to lead to local ownership of God’s mission.
God cannot make our purpose any clearer than He has through these stories of ministry in 2022. Together, we seek to take the gospel to every nation, all tribes and peoples and languages. Visit imb.org/newsroom to read more about the work God is doing around the world through your IMB missionaries.
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