A Renewed Focus on a Timeless Mandate
The campus of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary (SEBTS) in Wake Forest, North Carolina, was recently alive with a palpable sense of purpose and global vision. The annual Global Missions Week, a cornerstone event for the seminary and its undergraduate school, The Judson College of Ministry, brought together students, faculty, and seasoned missionaries for an intensive week of worship, testimony, and strategic preparation. This year’s event not only celebrated the ongoing work of spreading the gospel to the ends of the earth but also cast a forward-looking vision, challenging the community to consider its role in fulfilling the Great Commission by the year 2026 and beyond.
At its core, SEBTS is an institution defined by the Great Commission—the biblical mandate from Matthew 28 where Jesus commands his followers to “go and make disciples of all nations.” This scriptural charge is not merely a departmental focus or an academic subject; it is the very lifeblood that flows through every classroom, chapel service, and community gathering. Global Missions Week serves as the annual, high-water mark of this institutional identity, a time when the theoretical knowledge imparted in lectures on missiology and theology converges with the raw, powerful realities of life on the mission field.
The event transformed the campus into a microcosm of the global church. International flags adorned walkways, the air was filled with conversations about remote people groups, and the central focus for thousands of future pastors, counselors, and church leaders was recalibrated from personal ambition to global need. It was a week designed to disrupt comfortable routines and replace them with a holy discontent—a profound awareness of a world in desperate need of the hope of the gospel and a renewed commitment to be the hands and feet that carry it.
This year’s emphasis on a 2026 vision suggests a strategic intentionality, moving beyond general inspiration to specific, measurable goals. It prompts a critical question for every member of the Southeastern and Judson community: “What part will I play in reaching the unreached in the coming years?” This forward-thinking framework provided a sense of urgency and clarity, transforming the week from a retrospective celebration into a forward-operating launchpad for a new wave of missionary sending and support.
A Week of Immersive Experiences and Divine Appointments
Global Missions Week is far more than a series of lectures; it is a meticulously curated, immersive experience designed to engage the heart, soul, and mind. From the opening session to the final prayer, every element is geared toward helping students catch a bigger vision of God’s work in the world and find their unique place within it.
Plenary Sessions: A Call to Radical Obedience
The week was anchored by powerful plenary sessions and daily chapel services held in Binkley Chapel. These large gatherings featured a lineup of speakers including seminary leadership, distinguished theologians, and, most compellingly, missionaries serving with the International Mission Board (IMB) in some of the world’s most challenging and spiritually dark regions. The sermons were not academic dissertations but passionate pleas for surrender and obedience.
Themes of sacrifice, perseverance, and the ultimate worth of Christ echoed through the chapel. Speakers challenged the prevailing cultural narratives of comfort and self-fulfillment, presenting instead a biblical vision of a life poured out for the sake of the gospel. Students heard stories that stretched their understanding of faith—accounts of believers facing persecution with joy, of new churches being planted in areas hostile to Christianity, and of God’s miraculous provision in the face of overwhelming odds. These sessions were designed to break hearts for what breaks God’s heart and to ignite a passion for His global glory.
A Glimpse into Global Cultures
To truly understand the mission, one must understand the people. The seminary went to great lengths to bring the sights, sounds, and even tastes of the nations to its North Carolina campus. The “Global Village” or “Missions Fair” set up in one of the central campus areas featured interactive displays representing different regions of the world. Students could walk through exhibits dedicated to Southeast Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, or the Middle East, learning about the unique cultural contexts, spiritual needs, and strategic opportunities in each area.
These areas were staffed by IMB missionaries who had spent decades living in these cultures. It was an opportunity for students to not only see artifacts and read statistics but to ask direct questions: What is it really like to raise a family in a restricted-access country? How do you share the gospel in a predominantly Buddhist or Islamic context? What are the greatest challenges and the most profound joys of your work? This multisensory approach helped demystify missions, making distant lands feel closer and the call to “go” feel more attainable.
Voices from the Field: The Heartbeat of Missions Week
While the sermons provided theological grounding and inspiration, the true heartbeat of Global Missions Week was the presence of dozens of IMB missionary families. These individuals and families, many of whom serve in sensitive locations and whose names and faces cannot be publicly shared, are the living embodiment of the seminary’s mission. Their willingness to be present on campus for the week, sharing their lives and experiences, bridged the critical gap between academic training and real-world ministry.
The stories they shared were not sanitized, highlight-reel versions of missionary life. They spoke with honesty and vulnerability about the immense challenges: the loneliness of cultural isolation, the spiritual warfare that is a daily reality, the heartbreak of slow progress, and the personal cost to their families. Yet, interwoven with these struggles were breathtaking accounts of God’s faithfulness. They told of dreams and visions leading people to Christ, of hostile village chiefs becoming passionate evangelists, and of the explosive growth of underground church networks.
For students, hearing these firsthand accounts is transformative. A classroom discussion on contextualization comes to life when a missionary explains how they use local storytelling traditions to communicate biblical truth. A lecture on spiritual disciplines gains new weight when a couple describes how desperate prayer sustained them through a period of intense persecution. These interactions move missiology from a subject to be mastered to a life to be lived. The missionaries become more than heroes to be admired from afar; they become mentors, friends, and tangible proof that God can use ordinary, yielded people to accomplish extraordinary things.
The Judson Legacy: Cultivating the Next Generation of Missionaries
The active and central involvement of The Judson College of Ministry in Global Missions Week is deeply significant. The college, Southeastern’s undergraduate program, is named after Adoniram Judson, one of America’s first and most celebrated foreign missionaries. Judson’s life was a portrait of relentless perseverance and unwavering commitment. He endured imprisonment, starvation, and the tragic loss of his wife and children while serving in Burma (modern-day Myanmar), yet he remained steadfast, eventually translating the Bible into Burmese and establishing a thriving church.
This legacy is woven into the DNA of the Judson College. The college exists to equip young men and women at a formative stage of their lives, helping them build a robust theological foundation while discerning God’s specific calling. For these undergraduate students, Global Missions Week is particularly impactful. It exposes them to the vast possibilities of global service before their life paths are firmly set.
Throughout the week, special breakout sessions and mentorship opportunities were tailored specifically for Judson students. They could explore how a degree in history, English, or business could be leveraged for kingdom work through bi-vocational “tentmaking” missions. They learned about pathways to the mission field, including journeyman programs and other short-term opportunities that allow them to “test the waters” of cross-cultural ministry upon graduation.
By invoking the name of Judson, the college constantly reminds its students of the high cost and high privilege of missionary service. Global Missions Week serves as an annual renewal of this founding vision, ensuring that the spirit of Adoniram Judson—a spirit of sacrificial love for the unreached—is passed down to the next generation.
Beyond the Chapel: Practical Training and Personal Connections
The impact of the week extended far beyond the main worship gatherings. A rich schedule of workshops, panel discussions, and informal gatherings provided students with practical tools and invaluable personal connections.
Practical Training and Strategic Insights
Dozens of breakout sessions allowed students to dive deeper into specific areas of missiological interest. These workshops were led by seasoned practitioners and offered a “how-to” dimension to the week’s inspiration. Topics were both practical and strategic, including:
- Creative Access Platforms: Learning how to use business, education, healthcare, and technology as platforms for ministry in countries closed to traditional missionaries.
- Cross-Cultural Communication: Understanding worldview differences and learning to communicate the gospel in a way that is both faithful and culturally resonant.
- Church Planting Methodologies: Exploring different models for starting and multiplying healthy, indigenous churches among unreached people groups.
- Raising a Family on the Field: Hearing from missionary parents about the unique challenges and joys of raising “third-culture kids” and navigating their education and spiritual development.
- The Single Missionary: Addressing the specific opportunities and challenges faced by unmarried individuals serving in cross-cultural contexts.
These sessions provided a realistic picture of missionary life and equipped students with the initial knowledge needed to take their next steps, whether that involves further study, short-term service, or beginning the formal application process with the IMB.
The Power of Personal Conversation
Perhaps the most fruitful moments of the week occurred not in a formal session, but over a shared meal in the cafeteria, a cup of coffee in the student center, or during a “Global Finger-Food Fellowship” event. The seminary intentionally created unstructured time for students to interact directly with missionary families.
These informal conversations are where deep, personal questions could be asked and where lifelong relationships were forged. A student wrestling with a sense of calling could receive prayer and counsel from someone who had walked that same path decades earlier. A married couple considering missions could talk with another couple about the realities of marriage and ministry in a high-stress environment. It was in these quiet, unscripted moments that the Holy Spirit often provided clarity, confirmation, and the courage to say “yes” to God’s call.
The Indispensable Role of the Local Church
A consistent theme throughout Global Missions Week was the vital partnership between the seminary, the mission board, and the local church. SEBTS operates with the conviction that missionaries are not sent by seminaries or mission agencies alone; they are sent by and from local congregations. The seminary’s role is to equip the saints that the churches send.
Several sessions were dedicated to this crucial relationship. Pastors in attendance and students training for pastoral ministry were challenged to cultivate a “sending culture” within their churches. This involves more than just writing a check for the missions offering; it means actively identifying, developing, and commissioning members for global service. Discussions centered on how churches can provide robust care for their missionaries on the field—through consistent prayer, meaningful communication, and logistical support—and how to effectively reintegrate them when they return on stateside assignment.
This emphasis ensures a holistic understanding of the missionary task. It reminds the entire community that the Great Commission is not just for a few specialists but is the shared responsibility of every believer and every local church. The seminary sees itself as a servant to the churches, a partner in the grand enterprise of equipping and sending laborers into the harvest field.
Looking Ahead: The Enduring Impact of a Consecrated Week
As Global Missions Week drew to a close, the immediate energy on campus was undeniable. The “Go Center,” which facilitates student mission opportunities, was flooded with inquiries. Commitment cards were filled out, and countless students entered into a new phase of prayer and discernment about their future.
But the true impact of this week will not be measured by the initial wave of enthusiasm. It will be seen in the years to come. It will be seen in the student who changes their degree program to better equip them for cross-cultural work. It will be seen in the young couple who, inspired by a missionary’s story, begins the IMB application process. It will be seen in the future pastor who leaves Southeastern with a non-negotiable commitment to lead their church to be radically generous and mission-focused.
The vision cast for 2026 and beyond serves as a powerful motivator. It is a reminder that the task is urgent and the time is short. The celebration of Global Missions Week at Southeastern and Judson was more than just a successful event; it was a sacred convening, a powerful reaffirmation of identity, and a catalytic moment of consecration. It was a clear and compelling declaration that as long as there is a single nation, tribe, or tongue that has not heard the name of Jesus, the work is not done, and the Southeastern community is committed to being found faithful in its part of the mission.
