New IMB trustee Cory Gonyo, senior pastor of First Baptist Church, Bettendorf, Iowa, prays during the board of trustees’ plenary session Sept. 26 near Richmond, Va. Dr. Ronnie Floyd, president and CEO of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee, called trustees to pray fervently for the spread of the gospel among the nations. (IMB Photo by Chris Carter)
By Julie McGowan,
Editor’s Note: During IMB’s Sept. 25-26 board of trustees meeting, the board welcomed 23 new trustees, including Pastor Cory Gonyo of Bettendorf. Cory Gonyo has served as Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church in Bettendorf since 2014. For eight years prior, Cory and his family served with the IMB in Southeast Asia. The six years before that, he was an associate pastor and campus minister. Cory received his J.D. from the University of South Dakota School of Law, M.Div. and D.Min. from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and is currently a Ph.D. candidate there as well. In addition to pastoring, Cory is an adjunct instructor in missiology at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Cory and his wife Carla have five children: Caleb, Clayton, Josiah, Micah, and Charis. He and FBC have participated in partnerships in Brazil and have plans for Central Asia.
International Mission Board trustees approved the appointment of 24 new full-time, fully funded personnel to take the gospel to unreached people and places during their Sept. 25-26 meeting near Richmond, Virginia.
The meeting also included the approval of a balanced budget for 2019-20; an update on an external report regarding IMB’s prevention and response to abuse and harassment; and orientation for 23 new trustees. Dr. Seth Polk, trustee chairman and senior pastor of Cross Lanes Baptist Church in Cross Lanes, W.V., presided over the meeting.
The 24 new missionaries were appointed during a special Sending Celebration, which recognized both the new personnel and the churches sending them to take the gospel to the nations. The celebration, hosted by Swift Creek Baptist Church in Midlothian, Va., featured testimonies from each of the appointees. Dr. Ronnie Floyd, president and CEO of the Executive Committee of the Southern Baptist Convention, gave the new missionaries a Scriptural charge, and he brought greetings to the trustees during the plenary session.
‘Unprecedented opportunities’
In his plenary address, IMB President Paul Chitwood reported he has spent significant time in recent weeks meeting with the board’s Affinity Group Leaders (AGLs) from around the world.
“These couples represent a good blend of seasoned veterans and new, energetic leaders,” Chitwood said. “They are also incredibly gifted missiologists, highly effective administrators, and deeply passionate soul winners. They are leading their teams to meet the challenges of urbanization and globalization head on. And they have not lost courage even in the face of staggering lostness, growing persecution or dwindling resources.”
“I’ve been especially pleased to see how they have embraced the growing need of every member of the IMB family, including our field missionaries, to do all that we can to help mobilize Southern Baptists to pray, give, go, and send,” he said. “These leaders know best of all the unprecedented opportunities that are before us around the world, opportunities that will require more laborers for the harvest.”
Chitwood said that over the past 10 months, he has met with approximately 2,300 of IMB’s overseas personnel and more than 1,600 of their missionary kids.
“I can tell you that the Affinity Leaders represent the spirit of all 3,700 of your missionaries who carry the banner of Christ among the nations where, for 174 uninterrupted years, Southern Baptists have had witness,” he said.
