At the Tuesday, Aug. 24, Great Commission Resurgence (GCR) conversation at White Oak Conference Center, Rich Carney, strategic development coordinator, North American Mission Board, Atlanta, GA, facilitated small group discussions allowing more than 500 participants to provide questions, opinions, and insights into South Carolina’s GCR conversation. Individual input, collected at lunch, and small group input was collected by SCBC staff for review by convention leadership.

This is a sampling of the feedback received during the small group reporting time. For more on the South Carolina Baptist response to the Great Commission Resurgence, please visit www.scbaptist.org. 

Questions That Need To Be Asked

• Who will make decisions on funding and de-funding ministries of the SCBC?
• Will the Great Commission Resurgence affect Cooperative Program giving?
• Define resurgence? What does that mean?
• Is there a reason God is not blessing us (with funding) like He once did?
• What’s causing the decline in the Southern Baptist Convention?
• Have we stopped praying and caring for the lost?
• Has the conservative resurgence affected people in the pews?
• What have we stopped doing that was effective in the past?
• If we change the way we give, where does the money come from to support ministry?
• What happens to North American Mission Board missionaries in local associations?
• Is a rainbow of diversity important in Southern Baptist Convention leadership? 

What Are Barriers To Success?

• Finances, culture, and a lack of passion for the lost
• A spirit of cooperation among local pastors and associations
• Racial and social barriers
• Spiritual lethargy
• A culture of “me”
• A lack of knowledge about what we believe
• The idol of tradition
• Biblical misunderstanding of the church and self-preservation of the church
• Bureaucracy and an unwillingness to change
• A shortage of volunteers and too many chiefs
• Cultural versus spiritual Christianity
• Suspicion of the Great Commission Resurgence process
• Lostness

What does success look like in Great Commission Resurgence?

• Congregation-initiated missions; increase in volunteer missions
• Increased baptisms
• Greater joy in worship
• Authenticity and transparency
• Increased giving
• Obedience to God’s Word
• Better leadership
• Relational evangelism
• Great Commission being “owned” at all levels of SBC life
• More church starts, especially multigenerational and multiethnic
• Streamlined bureaucracy
• Greater impact on campuses and in communities

 What are some positive initiatives to consider?

• Reaching a more diverse population
• Missional cooperation becomes the norm
• Reaching into the schools
• Great Commission Resurgence curriculum for Sunday School and small groups
• Education around the Great Commission and GCR
• The courage to make changes that are needed and to make painful decisions

What partnerships and networks will help you reach your church’s vision?

• Local government
• Other churches
• School and universities
• Businesses
• Baptist associations
• Indigenous individuals
• South Carolina Baptist Convention
• Southern Baptist Convention
• North American Mission Board
• International Mission Board
• SCBC Institutions
• Media
• Counseling Centers and Rehabilitation Clinics
• Affinity Networks
• Homeless Shelters
• Recreation Departments
• Parachurch organizations
• Woman’s Missionary Union
• The Holy Spirit 

What do you want from partners? 

• A commitment to training
• Facilities for ministry
•  Accountability
• Trust
• Cooperative pool of money
• Compassionate understanding between groups
• Long-term commitment to one another
• Collaborative involvement
• Prayer support
• Missions education
• Shared resources
• Coordination and communication 

What are the expected results from partnerships?

• Expect spiritual warfare
• Expect more missionaries to see people and be in front of people
• Expect healing in communities
• Expect partnerships to work better together through assessment of services
• Expect an empowered and resourced local church with increased harvest
• Expect a definitive community transformation
• Expect a transformation among young people
• Expect God’s glory