Be Bold. Be Strong.For the Lord your God is with you.

Be Bold.Be Strong.For the Lord your God is with you.

Do not be afraid.Do not be dismayed.

For the Lord your God is with you.

(from Joshua 1:9)

This song of encouragement was sung as we supported and admonished each other at the gathering of ABC missionaries serving in Asia.We were called together for a few reasons.Firstly, to have an opportunity to meet International Ministries (BIM) executive director of less than one year, Hector Cortez.Many of us have been on the field since his appointment.It was a blessing to hear his testimony and rejoice in how the Lord has worked in his life.

Secondly, we gathered together to hear about the current financial state of BIM.We were reminded that at one time the American Baptist Foreign Mission Society had over 800 missionaries on the field.These numbers have steadily declined to our current 143.One reason is the American Baptist mission philosophy that we seek to teach and empower local believers to take up the work of the church and service institutions, in effect, putting ourselves out of jobs.Yet this principle has created strong, independent Baptist partners all around the world.However, another reason for the diminishing numbers of missionaries has also been financial constraints.At a number of times in the history of ABC worldwide mission, missionaries have been recalled due to a lack of funds.We are facing such a time now. It was shared that in order to present a balanced budget for 2005 it was likely that 28 missionaries would need to be recalled.So we came together, missionaries and Valley Forge staff, to seek the Lord's guidance, to brainstorm alternatives, to learn how we can help and to pray for miracles.Our rallying cry by the end of the gathering was "Save The 28!"

What does this mean for us, the Perkins family working at Kodaikanal International School in India?In the short term, it means that in the next month we will be joining together with the other ABC missionaries in a commitment to each give $150 beyond our regular giving towards a fund to keep missionaries on the field.It will not be nearly enough to meet the $1.3 million shortfall, but we pray that God will multiply our efforts.In fact, He seems to already be doing so by laying on the hearts of some missionaries the desire to give in more sacrificial ways and these were discussed at our gathering.Some of our international Baptist partners are also taking up offerings to help IM, including one of our Baptist partners in India.

In the long term, we believe God is calling us to make a paradigm shift in how IM does ministry and how we relate to the churches and relate to YOU!We recognize the need to build better relationships with churches so that you can understand the critical part you have in our ministry here on the field.We are all part of one church body, under the one Lordship of Jesus Christ, and our work on the foreign mission field is strongly connected to our home churches' participation through prayer, financial support and love.We are sent by you and belong to you!As missionaries we also want to find practical ways to stay involved in the life of churches in the US and participate in your ministry.IM is calling this new program, which is being developed, Missionary Partnership Teams.The final reason we came together for an Asia gathering was to learn more about this initiative.

We are excited about the new possibilities.We are trying to trust God for the many unknowns and struggles.We are praying that our hearts and minds will be open to know the tasks God is laying before us each day.We invite you to join us as we call on God to carry us through this difficult time and to lead us on the path of His Will – For the Lord our God is with us!

Betsy and David Perkins