International Mission Board

{{Short description|SBC Missions Organization}}
{{Infobox organization
| name        = International Mission Board
| motto       = 
| type        = [[Non-profit organization|Non-profit]], [[Christianity|Christian]]
| founded     = {{start date and age|1845}}
| founders    = 
| headquarters    = [[Richmond, Virginia]], [[United States]]
| location    = Global
| key_people  = 
| fields      = [[Mission (Christian)|Christian Missionary]] Outreach
| services    = 
| num_members = 
| affiliations        = [[Southern Baptist Convention]]
| website             = [https://www.imb.org/ imb.org]
}}
The '''International Mission Board''' (or '''IMB''', formerly the '''Foreign Mission Board''') is a [[Christian missionary]] society affiliated with the [[Southern Baptist Convention]] (SBC).  The headquarters is in [[Richmond, Virginia]], [[United States]].

==History==

[[File:Headquarters, Foreign Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention, Organized 1845 (no title) (16215269464).jpg|thumb|left|Postcard of the Foreign Mission Board building in Richmond, Virginia. Photo courtesy of the [[Virginia Commonwealth University]] Libraries]]

Thousands of small Southern Baptist churches dotted the landscape throughout the United States in the mid-19th century. Recognizing that many churches working together in missions could accomplish more than any one, the ''Board of Foreign Missions'' was established on May 10, 1845 (the same date the Southern Baptist Convention was formed) and headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, USA.<ref>George Thomas Kurian, Mark A. Lamport, ''Encyclopedia of Christianity in the United States, Volume 5'', Rowman & Littlefield, USA, 2016, p. 1206</ref> Created as a missionary sending organization funded through the cooperative efforts of SBC churches, they chose [[China]] as their first mission field and on September 1, 1845, the board appointed their first missionaries, Samuel C. Clopton and George Pearcy.<ref>[[Bill J. Leonard]], ''Baptists in America'', Columbia University Press, USA, 2005, p. 100</ref>

In January 1849 the board began ''The Commission'' magazine to keep constituents informed of the mission work being carried out. Monthly circulation of the periodical reached 7,000 by April 1850. It eventually became an online magazine with an occasional print issue. Their first publication, ''Southern Baptist Missionary Journal'' is defunct.

[[File:Lottie Moon-1.jpg|thumb|right|Lottie Moon]]

On July 7, 1873, the board appointed its most famous missionary, [[Lottie Moon|Charlotte D. "Lottie" Moon]], to China. Lottie served many years among the Chinese and after giving her life to foreign missions. In 1888, the annual fund-raising effort, ''The Lottie Moon Christmas Offering'' sponsored by the [[Woman's Missionary Union]] is established and latter take her name.<ref>Ruth A. Tucker, ''From Jerusalem to Irian Jaya: A Biographical History of Christian Missions'', Zondervan, USA, 2011, p. 298</ref> By December 1950 the Board had appointed a record-breaking 111 missionaries in that year alone.

In July 1964 the Board began a new effort to send single missionaries called the Journeyman Program. Today the Journeyman Program sends out hundreds of singles and married couples under 30 years of age each year for a two-year term throughout the world. In February 1989 the International Service Corps program was introduced to facilitate short-term missions for projects lasting from 4 to 24 months with a possible 12-month extension.

In 1997 the ''Foreign Mission Board'' voted to change its name to the ''International Mission Board'' which it is known by today.<ref>Lamin O. Sanneh, Joel A. Carpenter, ''The Changing Face of Christianity: Africa, the West, and the World'', Oxford University Press, USA, 2005, p. 72</ref> The International Mission Board celebrated its 175th anniversary in 2020 and in 2022 it has 3,552 missionaries.<ref>IMB, [https://www.imb.org/fast-facts/ Fast Facts], imb.org, USA, retrieved November 14, 2022</ref>

==Controversies==
In 2005, the International Mission Board won a judgement against Benton Gray Harvey for $359,499.62 for embezzlement while he was an accountant for the IMB in Istanbul, Turkey.  The incident was investigated by a trustee only after a whistleblower on the "Turkey Team" notified staff at a SBC seminary about the situation in 2003.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://baptistnews.com/article/victim-of-former-missionary-s-theft-loses-health-wealth-but-keeps-sense-of-humor/#.YpaMJajMIuU | title=Victim of former missionary's theft loses health, wealth, but keeps sense of humor | date=14 February 2014 }}</ref>

In 2005 Tony Cupit of the [[Baptist World Alliance]] accused IMB of conveying “a very false picture” by manipulating baptism statistics, such as by claiming all as the work of their missionaries without acknowledging local preachers and non-visited churches as adding to the total number.<ref>[http://www.ethicsdaily.com/article_detail.cfm?AID=5178 Welcome to Ethics Daily.com!<!-- Bot generated title -->] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090117015453/http://www.ethicsdaily.com/article_detail.cfm?AID=5178|date=2009-01-17}}</ref>

In June 2006, Enid, Oklahoma pastor and IMB trustee Wade Burleson voiced concerns about IMB, including: "The suppression of dissent by trustees in the minority through various means by those in the majority.” He voiced his concerns after the board recommended he be removed after posting criticism on his blog about the board's new policies on baptism and [[speaking in tongues]]. The decision was later rescinded internally after Burleson agreed to a new set of guidelines stating trustees may only speak in "positive and supportive terms."<ref>[http://www.ethicsdaily.com/article_detail.cfm?AID=7437 Welcome to Ethics Daily.com!<!-- Bot generated title -->] {{webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20070513205114/http://www.ethicsdaily.com/article_detail.cfm?AID=7437|date=2007-05-13}}</ref><ref>[http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4188/is_20060401/ai_n16204731 Baptist mission board squelches criticism | Deseret News (Salt Lake City) | Find Articles at BNET.com<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>

In 2018, author [[Anne Marie Miller]] publicly disclosed in a report by the [[Fort Worth Star-Telegram]] how the IMB covered up abuse by one of their missionaries, Mark Edwin Aderholt.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.star-telegram.com/living/religion/article214758515.html|title=Southern Baptist officials knew of sexual abuse allegations 11 years before leader's arrest|last=By|website=star-telegram|language=en|access-date=2019-06-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190419140345/https://www.star-telegram.com/living/religion/article214758515.html|archive-date=2019-04-19|url-status=dead}}</ref> Miller disclosed the abuse to the IMB in 2007 and they determined it was "more likely than not" that Aderholt sexually abused Miller when she was a minor. They allowed Aderholt to resign and did not inform future employers of this accusation. Miller reported the abuse to authorities in early 2018 and Aderholt was arrested in July 2018 and indicted on four felony sex crimes in December 2018.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.star-telegram.com/news/local/crime/article223337900.html|title=Southern Baptist leader indicted on charge of sexually abusing teenager in 1997|last=By|website=star-telegram|language=en|access-date=2019-06-27}}</ref> Shortly after his arrest, the IMB apologized and initiated an external examination of Miller's case and all other sexual abuse cases.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://sbcvoices.com/david-platt-imb-issue-statement-apologizing-to-anne-miller/|title=David Platt & IMB Issue Statement Apologizing to Anne Miller|date=2018-07-26|website=SBC Voices|language=en-US|access-date=2019-06-27}}</ref> On June 2, 2019, the [[Houston Chronicle]] uncovered a pattern of abuse covered up by the IMB.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/investigations/article/Abuse-of-Faith-Missionaries-left-trail-of-abuse-13904418.php|title=Abuse by missionaries, but Baptist leaders stay quiet|date=2019-05-31|website=Houston Chronicle|access-date=2019-06-27}}</ref> The third party examination by Minnesota firm [[Gray Plant Mooty]] revealed  serious faults with IMB's "zero tolerance" sexual abuse policy. Gray Plant Mooty "identified a number of significant concerns with IMB’s handling of past cases" and that the "IMB’s current policies and procedures fall short of contemporary best practice standards."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.imb.org/2019/05/22/examination-recommendations/|title=Examination Update|last=Mooty|first=Gray Plant|date=2019-05-22|website=International Mission Board|access-date=2019-06-27}}</ref> The IMB issued a statement saying they are implementing the recommendations of Gray Plant Mooty, though at the 2019 Southern Baptist Church Annual Convention, new president [[Paul Chitwood]] did not mention the report or findings, and a motion made by former IMB trustee Wade Burleson to make the report public was denied by legal counsel saying it was "out of order."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.enidnews.com/oklahoma/news/role-of-women-sexual-abuse-dominate-southern-baptist-agenda-at/article_f55b5868-52d8-575d-bafc-33ea44e3a3cc.html|title=Role of women, sexual abuse dominate Southern Baptist agenda at annual meeting|last=Writer|first=James Neal Staff|website=Enidnews.com|date=14 June 2019 |language=en|access-date=2019-06-27}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[List of American Southern Baptist missionaries in China]]
* [[North American Mission Board]]

==Notes==
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==External links==
* [http://www.imb.org Official website of the International Mission Board]

[[Category:Southern Baptist Convention]]
[[Category:Religious organizations established in 1845]]
[[Category:Baptist organizations established in the 19th century]]
[[Category:Baptist missionary societies]]
[[Category:1845 establishments in the United States]]