Antioch, TN – The IM board met on April 19-20 for a regularly scheduled meeting. Members present in person were Chairman Jeff Nichols, Vice-Chairman Rodney Yerby, Secretary Mark Price, Casey Cariker, Rick Cason, Will Harmon, Darren Walker, and Cameron Lane. Janice Banks joined via Zoom.
General Director Clint Morgan, CFO Rob Conley, and Directors Curt Holland, Danny Gasperson, Neil Gilliland, and Don Matchett were present. Director Kenneth Eagleton was also in attendance via Zoom.
Each director gave reports from their respective areas of responsibilities. CFO Rob Conley reports that IM’s financial situation is solid. Auditor Tom Wooten of Blankenship CPA Group passed IM, Inc. with a clean bill of health and complimented the finance team on a job well done. A motion carried to adopt the 2022 framework budget.
General Director Clint Morgan invited Dr. Ted Esler, CEO of Mission Nexus, to speak to the board via Zoom.
Dr. Esler identifies six mission trends:
- Confusion concerning the Great Commission - 51% of church attendees did not know the great commission. Only 17% could say they knew what it meant.
- A focus on Mission agencies – 81% of denominational churches say they want to partner with their denomination in missions.
- National partnerships - agencies are retooling and partnering with other countries to reach third-party countries.
- Growing Unreached People Group1 Gap – the number of unreached people groups is growing, not shrinking as you would expect. We are not moving the needle towards them becoming reached, because the population of known UPG’s is growing and new UPG’s are springing up.
- Movement Focus – Mission agencies and church planting movements are focused on multiplication. They are planting churches with the idea of planted churches multiplying and planting their own churches.
- Rise of Global Surveillance – Governments around the world is monitoring the activities of local churches and believers. 25% of the world is under surveillance. Technology from China is alarming.
Other reports included:
- Future plans.
- Educational initiatives and leadership training.
- An expressed desire to open new fields.
- New and revised partnerships.
- The missionary process from application to field.
- Approval of missionaries to return to their fields.
- The approval of a national missionary internship/partnership.
The board also reflected on the retirement of Brother Carlisle Hanna, who gave 70 years of faithful service. Director of Field Personnel Curt Holland commented, “On April 1, 2021, for the first time in 70 years, Brother Carlisle Hanna woke up without carrying the responsibility of being a missionary with IM, Inc2. Even without this responsibility, Bro. Carlisle will always be a part of the IM family.”
Upon reflecting on the April board meeting, Chairman Jeff Nichols had this to say, “The IM board is very grateful for all the hard work the staff and overseas staff are putting in during these difficult days. It is amazing to see how God had continued to bless IM ministries during COVID. To Him be the glory.”
1Unreached People Group: a population that shares a language, culture and heritage, is relatively in close proximity, and less than 2% evangelical.
2 Brother Carlisle Hanna also served under the names “Foreign Missions” and “International Missions.”
