RICHMOND, Va. (BP)—The International Mission Board’s website—IMB.org—has launched a new home page and renovation of other online pages to make it easier for Southern Baptists to partner with the IMB in global mission praying, giving, going and sending.
“Our very task as Southern Baptists’ International Mission Board depends on a cooperative effort to strategically pray, give, go and send on mission,” IMB President Paul Chitwood said of the mission board’s improved online presence.
“Successful cooperation,” he noted, “is dependent on successful communication, and improving our communication with you—Southern Baptist churches and individuals—is a primary, immediate goal at the IMB. We’ve redesigned IMB.org to better connect churches with the IMB, and with global missions as a whole.
“Pastors and other leaders will find ways to support Southern Baptist missionaries through praying and giving, as well as easy access to hundreds of opportunities to serve on the field, from student endeavors to other short-term trips to full-time missionary roles,” Chitwood said.
Visitors to the site are met with aesthetic changes—streamlined design, simplified navigation and stunning images. Top navigation to the home page quickly leads users to ways they can:
Pray
Each day, prayer requests representing the peoples of the world, sent from Southern Baptist workers on the mission field, appear on the site. A print option for the requests makes it easy to share the full day’s requests with church members or others. A link also can be found to the IMB Pray app, available for both iOS and Android.
Give
For more than a century, gifts to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering have empowered IMB missionaries to evangelize, make disciples and multiply churches among unreached peoples and places. By giving, you join this legacy of critical support. A link also can be found to multiple specific giving opportunities.
Go
At this link, users can learn more about the options, as well as the process and timelines, for becoming a missionary. Scrolling down, more details can be found about short-term missions (one to eight weeks); mid-term missions (two months to three years); or long-term missions (three-plus years). Students and student leaders interested in missions can take a short-cut to IMB.org/students to find opportunities especially for them.
Scrolling down the new home page, users also will find:
—Featured projects for engaging in missions through prayers and gifts.
—Latest articles by the IMB content team and guest writers about missions.
—Missionary profiles that introduce fellow Southern Baptists living and working around the globe.
—Featured trips for going to the mission field for a few weeks, a semester or more.
—An opportunity to subscribe to an IMB e-newsletter to receive mission updates.
The changes are the result of work between a team of designers, contractors and other creative professionals involving multiple IMB teams over several months. IMB.org launched a new web presence in late 2016 with a new editorial strategy in place, providing a place for Southern Baptists to engage in conversation around missions. The site served as version 1.0 of versions to come, as IMB communicators continue to evaluate and respond to Southern Baptists’ many and varied needs.
The IMB web team said the current design update is the first step of a process to redesign the entire site and develop efficient and effective tools for deepening relationships and partnerships with Southern Baptist churches and church members.
