December 9, as Baptists pleaded for more missionaries to come and spread the hope of Jesus Christ amid ongoing violence.
American military officials in the area said a suicide bomber wounded the troops near the tense northern city of Mosul, while an explosion at a mosque in Baghdad killed three Iraqi civilians.
Despite the bloodshed, the Southern Baptist International Mission Board (IMB) announced Tuesday, Dec. 9, it wanted to send more missionaries to Iraq but added that a lack of financial resources and volunteers are making it difficult to realize these plans.
IMB representative Mike Creswell told Mission Network News (MNN) that his organization urgently needs 150 workers.
"HANDFUL OF WORKERS"
"We’ve been asking and praying for years for God to open the doors into Iraq so we can do something. And now that it’s happened we just have a handful of workers, " he complained. …"We’re scrapping for money to be able to really take advantage of the opportunity there."
Youth With a Mission, another mission organization active in Iraq, recently urged Christians around the world "to move in faith not react in fear, in response to the needs of the people of Iraq."
Creswell stressed IMB officials are praying for a good Lottie Moon missions offering this month from churches.
"If Southern Baptists are going to do something significant, if they haven’t been giving very much in recent years to the offering, now is the time to do that because there are so many opportunities around the world where people are responding," he said.
MORE PEOPLE NEEDED
"We really need to send more people," explained Creswell, adding that the poor economy in the U-S has hurt in the past but that he hopes a rebound "will increase giving" so they will be able to meet the needs in Iraq and other countries around the world.
Baptist and other church denominations have been involved in several social projects at a time when the International Red Cross and United Nations have reduced their foreign staff following several attacks against their facilities.
Tuesday’s bombings were also seen as part of an organized plan by insurgents and loyalists of the former Saddam Hussein regime to intimidate coalition forces and foreign aid workers.
GUNNERS OPENED FIRE
The American military said that Gunners opened fire on a vehicle near a U.S. compound which then exploded, wounding dozens of soldiers attached to the 101st Airborne Division. None of the soldiers reportedly received life-threatening injuries in the attack in the town of Tall Afar, about 50 kilometers (apr.30 miles) west of Mosul.
About two hours later, an explosion rocked a Sunni mosque in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad. The imam told the Voice of America (VOA) network that the blast killed and wounded several people.
It is not clear what caused the explosion, but it left a gaping hole in the wall of the mosque. Reporters saw a crowd of angry, tearful mourners had gathered around the compound by mid- day, and tension was running high.
The imam blamed several Shiite groups for the blast, but neither the Iraqi police nor the U.S. military have said anything about who might be behind it, VOA said. MNN urged Christians to pray for more missionaries to come to Iraq at a time when Iraqi believers claim the country is open for a revival amid the struggles.
