In an ambitious and far-reaching affiliation, the SC Baptist Convention has partnered with the International Mission Board in launching a three-year relationship to the South Asia region of the world.

South Asia, which includes Bhutan, Nepal, India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, the Maldives and Pakistan, is home to nearly half of all the Last Frontier peoples in the world with most of the regional population practicing Hinduism or Islam. 

“The main thing I hear is that [the people of South Asia] are very spiritual and are open to talking about spiritual things, but most of them have no personal relationship with Jesus Christ,” said Debbie McDowell, director of the Missions Mobilization Group for the SC Baptist Convention.

The South Asia partnership was born out of a meeting with the International Mission Board to discuss people group teams that would be open to forming a partnership with the Convention.  After praying over the suggestions by IMB, the Convention approved the first partnership with an entire region by a state Convention.  In recent years the Convention has formed similar partnerships with Romania, Taiwan, Brazil and Kenya.

The fifteen teams going to South Asia in 2005 will be working with International Mission Board teams established in the region.  The 2005 trips will be foundational in nature, establishing relationships throughout the region.  Mission opportunities will target different segments of the South Asian population through school teaching trainings, prayer advocacy and prayerwalking, professional skills training, chronological Bible storying, English as a second language classes, among other trips.

In a region with nearly 1.3 billion lost people, establishing new churches is a main focus of the partnership.  “All the projects are with the intent of starting a church planting movement,” continued McDowell.  “[Mission] volunteers are a strategic part of starting churches in South Asia.”      

McDowell is excited about the birth of new ministry partnerships through the South Asia trips.  “The ideal is for someone to go and really get the heart of that part of the world or people group and continue to pray or continue to go back.  We want 2005 to be the beginning of many strategic relationships between churches and associations and the South Asia region.”

For more information about the South Asia partnership or to receive information about mission opportunities offered in 2005, contact the Missions Mobilization group at (803) 765-0030 ext. 5620.