Robin Foster serves as the associational missionary for the Trinity Baptist Association in Trumann, Arkansas. Robin recently was a member of the Great Commission Evaluation Task Force of the Southern Baptist Convention. The task force studied the impact of recommendations brought by the Great Commission Resurgence Report adopted by Southern Baptists in 2010. Six recommendations of the task force were presented and approved by messengers during the SBC Annual Meeting in Indianapolis, Indiana, June 11-12. The task force was called for in a motion at the 2023 SBC Annual Meeting in New Orleans.
When I was asked to collaborate on this task force, I considered it a great honor not only for the association I serve, but also for our state convention. It was my hope and prayer to point the SBC in a positive direction in reaching the world for Christ.
Our mission was to evaluate the 2010 Great Commission Resurgence Task Force’s (GCRTF) recommendations as passed by the convention in 2010 and to offer recommendations. My component, along with another member, was component four of the original GCR report. To see a copy of our report and recommendations posted on June 3, click here.
RELATED: To read more stories from the 2024 SBC Annual Meeting, click here.
In a nutshell, the 2010 GCRTF recommendations did not reverse the downward trend of baptisms we saw in the first 10 years of this millennium.
This work was a learning process for all of us, especially me. Ultimately, as was said in the report, we are all to blame for the downward trend in baptisms.
Even though associations or conventions are not charged with accomplishing the Great Commission, there were some missteps from the 2010 GCRTF recommendations and later implementation of those recommendations.
Regardless, it is the church which is charged and equipped for carrying out the mandate of the Great Commission. While parachurch ministries of the convention come alongside the church in her pursuit of fulfilling God’s mandate of making disciples, it is the local church that is responsible for the commission in Matthew 28:18-20.
Sense of burden
In the process of putting forth the report and recommendations, I could not help but feel a sense of burden upon me personally. How was I fulfilling my role in the Great Commission?
When we look in the mirror, each of us is first responsible before God in telling others of Christ’s death for sin and the victory that was gained for us in His resurrection. I pray it is a burden you feel just as I do, and that we turn that burden into a strength for God’s glory in telling the Good News.
This does not mean we do not hold our entities accountable or that they are not charged with helping local churches. Our priority is to win Arkansas for Christ, (one person, one community at a time) so that we can be a beacon of grace and forgiveness for all the world to see just how wonderful the living Lord and Savior is.
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was originally published by Arkansas Baptist News.
