Wintson Churchill was reported to have said that the sun never set on the British Empire at its height, meaning it truly spanned the globe.

Thanks be to God, it could be said that the sun never sets on areas of the world where our Southern Baptist missionaries are working to advance the Gospel.

Because of people’s faithfulness to answer the call to missions, there are right now Southern Baptist missionaries scattered around the world, as part of the International Mission Board’s (IMB) organized efforts. Because of your faithful giving through the Cooperative Program and to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering, our missionaries are blessed to have the support they need to carry on the work.

Oklahoma Baptists are well-represented among the IMB, serving in some of the most remote and difficult places—places that we cannot even name due to security considerations. One way we can honor and support their work besides financial giving is, of course, prayer support.

Each year, Oklahoma Baptists produce the Cooperative Program Missionary Prayer Guide, which features various missionaries now serving. In each edition of the Baptist Messenger, we highlight those individuals
(see page 17), who are making a real difference sharing the Good News of Jesus.

You can also go online right now and view the entire slate of missionaries for this year: the 2025 Guide is available online now at oklahomabaptists.org. This prayer guide offers specific prayer points that were given by the missionaries, and we would do well to bring those requests to the Lord on their behalf.

The late Baptist Messenger writer Walker Moore, who served on the mission field, was eager to serve the Lord as a young man. Someone told him, “As a man of God, if you love Jesus you can become a Sunday School teacher. If you really, really love Jesus, you can become a deacon. If you really, really, really love Jesus, you can become a minister. And if you really, really, really, really love Jesus, you can become a missionary.”

Moore’s point in sharing that story is clear—God calls people to serve Him in various ways, all of which are important and worthy. Yet there is something special, something sacred, about those who are willing to leave home and all they know to go to the nations with the Gospel. We are also reminded that the need for more missionaries is still very great. Go to IMB.org to find out about the greatest areas of need.

This year, as we go about our daily routines, let’s each pause to thank the Lord for our great missionaries. And let’s follow their example and share Jesus with everyone the Lord puts in our path. And let’s pray the Lord would raise up even more missionaries to go.

Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. (Matt. 28:19)