Strategic Realignment Announcement BAJA

Hello, again.

It doesn’t seem that long since
you were there and I was here,

but thank you for letting me interrupt
some of your workday today.

Let me say thank you for all you do
to help us fulfill our mission statement

to serve Southern Baptists
in carrying out the Great Commission

to make disciples of all nations.

As you know, everything the IMB does

hinges on relationships
and how we steward those relationships.

People are moved to pray for others
as they have a relationship with them.

Generous individuals give
out of relationship.

Our prayers are voiced for those
whom we have relationships.

Surely more volunteers and missionaries
go with the IMB as an outcome -

typically the relationship that they,
their pastor or church has with the IMB.

Most importantly, our work is fueled
by the simple belief that

God desires all to have
a relationship with Him through His Son.

For the past six years, we’ve been
working on renewing old relationships,

deepening our existing relationships,

and establishing new relationships
with all Southern Baptists.

We’ve made several shifts
over the last 6+ years

and launched many new initiatives
hoping to get even better at that.

As we come to this unique moment in time
and wrapping up our 2025 objectives

and looking to the future,
I think the time of opportunity has come

for us to take the next step
on that journey together.

This step is intended to better align our
teams to be even more effective stewards

of these vital relationships that make
what we do around the world possible.

You’ve been invited to this meeting

because you and your team
are directly impacted,

and I want you to hear the news from me
before we share it across the Company

over the course of the upcoming days.

Clearly there’s been some chatter about,
and that’s what happens

when you’re in a large organization

and you’re trying to respectfully
communicate with leaders

and throughout
the chain of communication

without catching everyone off guard

by simply sending an email
on Monday morning to 4,000 people.

So that process that has unfolded
over the last days

and even a couple of weeks
certainly has created some chatter.

That’s not all bad,
but I want you to know the intent,

the method to the madness in that was
to respectfully communicate with those

who have the most at stake

and to work our way through the system
to the proper communication channels.

That’s what brings you today
into this room

when a lot of people
aren’t in this room yet.

As we think about where we’re going and as
I communicate to you where we’re going...

to be clear, what we will be talking about
is a transition that is coming in May.

At the beginning of May,

our Company is going to adopt
a new organizational structure.

This new structure

will be comprised of four teams
under the Office of the President.

You can see from the slide
that’s on the screen

what the impact will look like.

All of our work
is not represented on the screen,

but the shifts in the work
are represented on the screen.

Again, the Office of the President -
four main teams serving from there.

Those four teams will be
the Global Engagement (GE) Team,

the U.S. Engagement Team,
Human Resources,

and the Logistics-
Finance-Travel (LFT) Team.

Let me highlight how we’re moving forward
as an organization in each of these areas.

First, starting in May,

Global Engagement will be responsible for
all field-facing training,

including FPO and CERC as well as the
overseas Theological Education Team.

We have some of those team members
who are in GE, some who are in training.

We’re bringing
all of them together under GE.

Leadership Development will also
be a part of Global Engagement.

The Global Engagement Team will continue
to be led by John Brady.

As you know,
Jacob Boss has been elected

to serve as the next Vice President
of Global Engagement

and he’ll transition
into that role this summer.

We are excited to support the GE team
as they lead out an effort

to reach the Every and the All.

A new team that will be called
the U.S. Engagement Team will be formed.

This team will be inclusive of the work
of the current Mobilization Team,

the current MarCom Team,
U.S.-facing training,

the Affinity Stateside Associates
and the Seminary MAGs,

all coming together in one team.

ASAs, and I assume MAGs.

MAGs currently answer up
to the GE hardline up through GE hardline?

Was that the current…?

No, the training hardline…
Scott Ray in training.

The ASA part of that
is what I wanted to address.

I want to make sure
I didn’t lump the MAGs in there.

The ASAs will continue to be hardline
to field supervision as they have been,

but while on their assignment in the U.S.
embedded in GE here in the U.S.,

they’ll now be embedded
in the work of U.S. Engagement.

We’re excited to see

how a U.S. Engagement Team
will help us strengthen relationships.

As we know, the team…

Different parts of that team
have been undertaking the work

that all face the U.S. side
of our relationship management.

Now this large team will encompass
all of that U.S.-facing side of our work,

and it will allow our company to have
a more united effort

to engage Southern Baptists and develop
stronger relationships with them.

The two things that the IMB needs most:

more money
and more missionaries, as I often recount.

Those things are in our churches,
but we must ask for them,

and we’re excited to see how
a united U.S. Engagement Team

will help us strengthen the relationships
that we manage and make those asks.

That team will be led by Ed Herrelko.

Jeff Ginn has been asked to serve

as Senior Ambassador for U.S. and Global
Engagement in my office,

the Office of the President.

Zane Pratt has been asked to serve as
Senior Ambassador of Seminary Partnerships

and Theologian-in-Residence with the IMB.

He will be serving
on the U.S. Engagement Team.

In addition to HR’s current assignment,

as of May it will include
Field Assessment and Deployment

and also the training part of our work

that’s designed internally
for our IMB staff.

With those additional assignments,
HR will be able to lead out

in all aspects of employee recruitment,
hiring and relationships.

HR will continue
to be led by Brian Trapnell.

I’m sure he’ll continue
to serve our Company with excellence

both in the U.S.
and around the world.

There are a few smaller but key changes
that are also being implemented.

One is that the Strategic Access Team
assignment will be moved to the LFT Team

to better serve company needs overseas.

LFT will continue to be led by Jim Madison
in the interim as interim Vice President.

As you may be aware,

Technology has moved during the interim
to the Office of the President

to link more closely
with Information Security,

and that will remain the case
in May and beyond.

Technology making
a permanent move there,

at least as permanent
as anything is at the IMB.

If you didn’t hear me reference any change
to where your team is currently aligned,

then there is no change

except to potentially welcome coworkers
who will be merging into your team.

Our ultimate desire
in this effort is twofold.

First, we desire to be One Team

working together to mobilize
more Southern Baptist resources,

prayer, money, missionaries
and volunteers to the nations.

The U.S. Engagement Team
will lead us in that effort.

Second, as those resources

are strategically aligned around the world
through Global Engagement,

we desire to see greater engagement
of the lost through a missionary presence.

To make those efforts work
both what we’re doing overseas

and what we’re doing with U.S. audiences
and our constituencies and our partners,

we manage people resources through HR,

and our financial and other assets
are managed by the LFT team.

In that regard,
as we seek to connect the work

of U.S. Engagement
to Global Engagement,

teams in HR, LFT,
and the Office of the President

serve as the rails upon which
our work runs smoothly.

As indicated to you
in Monday’s e-mail,

this realignment
is not a reduction in force,

though your chain of command

might be changing for some of the people
in this room or people downline to you,

and some will be working
with new teams,

we still need you, especially
as we chart a course forward.

Change can be challenging
and even difficult at times.

That’s why I wanted
to share this news directly with you

and for you to hear it
coming directly from me,

and to communicate what we hope to achieve
and how much we need everyone,

including each of us in this room,
especially those of us in this room,

to help us achieve it.

As we move forward, I ask a couple
of things from you, specifically today.

First, I pray
that you can remain positive.

Second, that you will stay flexible.

Coming into alignment to see more prayers,
money, and missionaries

will require both of those things
of each of us,

especially as we’re managing change
together.

Over 180 years, the IMB has always been
made up of people committed to the mission

and willing to navigate a changing world,

but never has the world changed
at the pace that it’s changing today.

So we must remain nimble, creative,
and ready to adapt, and I believe we are.

To aid in communicating this appropriately
across the organization,

I’m asking you,
in concert with your supervisor,

to share this information
with your teams.

You have permission
leaving this meeting to do that,

and we hope that you can get
to all of them by the end of this week,

so between now and Friday.

To assist you in doing that,

we’ll be delivering talking points
to you that should include the slide.

If we can make sure that the slide as a
visual image gets to everyone in the room,

that would be great for Julie and Ann
and that team to help us with.

You’ll be getting that right away,
by the way, after this meeting closes.

You’ll also see an all-company e-mail.

It’s going to go out Monday morning
for those who aren’t impacted

or affected in any way and certainly
a lot of our field folk will not be.

Everyone will get the big update
on Monday morning.

There’ll be information on the Intranet,
Connections+, the April TOTOM -

all of our typical communication channels

will include updates and summaries
of what you’re hearing today.

As I bring to a finish
what I want to share with you,

let me emphasize to each of you
that you are valued

and you are appreciated
or you wouldn’t be in this room.

We face many challenges
as an organization.

We also have incredible opportunities.

Regardless of where any team member's work
is aligned in an organizational structure,

we are One Team,

and we get to be a part of the most
important work in the universe.

As a leader, I’m asking you to help us
push forward through these changes

with as little interruption
to that important work,

that all-important work as is possible.

The work that we get to do,
we get to do together.

And the more we’re linked together,

the more we’re committed
to working together,

the more effective
we will be in that work.

One final disclaimer
before I turn to questions.

And that is Robby Ambler’s message

as he shared it earlier today
in staff worship.

I did not write it,...

but it was encouraging,
inspiring to me,

so much so that I wish
all 4,000 members of the IMB team

could hear the gratitude
that he expressed

from the perspective
of a field missionary

who received the support and who
recognized the depth, the intensity,

the care and the support

that he and his family received
while they were overseas.

But also insights into the work overseas
that we’re all able to be a part of.

What a beautiful thing that the Lord
has allowed me and each of us

to join together in
in this great work.

I’m certainly glad to answer
any questions you may have at this time.

I certainly know, as well,

that you may need to process
the information that I’ve shared

and the talking points that are about
to arrive into your inbox.

So feel free to reach out to me,
to Todd, to any members of the core team

or upline to your supervision as that
seems appropriate as your questions arise.

But I did not want
to share these things with you

without being available to you right now

in the event that there may be
an immediate question that comes to mind

or more information that you’d like
to receive as I’m able to share it.

So let me pause now and ask,

is there a question?

OK, again, questions will no doubt arise

and we want to be available
to answer those.

So Teams message, e-mail, stop by,

catch us when you can
and where you can.

Again, thanks for being
in the room today.

Thanks for hearing this news

and thanks for helping us now
as stewards of the news

with other team members throughout
the organization who will want to know

and certainly want to know
how it impacts them.

I want to pray for us and then
let you get back to your day.

Father, I thank you for the privilege

that you do give us
to be a part of your work.

I thank you
for the men and women in this room.

Thank you, Lord, for all 4,000

spread across Richmond,
the U.S., and around the world

that we have the privilege
of being linked with in this work.

I thank you, Lord, for the evidence
of your favor

that we have experienced

over the course of the last few years.

I thank you, Lord, for that surging
missionary candidate pipeline.

I thank you, Lord,
for the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering,

the Cooperative Program offering dollars
that have been sufficient

to meet every need that we’ve had
over the course of these past few years.

Lord, I thank you for all
who dedicate themselves to this work.

And I thank you, Lord, for the impact

that even as Robby
shared some stories earlier today

that we are able to celebrate
of what you are doing around the world

through each of us.

Lord, I pray that as we seek
to not squander the favor you’ve given us,

as we seek, Lord, to steward well
the relationships that you’ve placed us in

with one another,

with every member of the organization
from our seats with Southern Baptists.

Lord, I pray that you will continue
to lead us forward.

I pray as news is shared
even beyond this room

throughout the day
and the upcoming days,

that you would find us optimistic,

not in a staffing structure,

optimistic, not in a supervisor
or a leader or a team,

but optimistic in you, in who you are
and what you have promised to do,

Lord, what you allow us to be a part of.

And so, Lord, might that optimism continue
to carry us along,

even if news we hear may not be
deemed as good news,

or even if it’s deemed as great news.

Lord, might our trust
always be fully in you.

Continue to guide us.
Continue to use us.

We thank you for 180 years of legacy
and those upon whose shoulders we stand.

And we pray, Lord, that as this
180-year-old building stands

and counting the generations
over the course of time,

we’re at about generation 9 now.

And so as we build floor 10 together
in our generation,

Lord, if you tarry, might it be
that we are able to hand off

to the next generation

an IMB that is stronger,

more effective

and having a greater impact

for your glory among the nations

and for the lost to hear the gospel

than ever before in our history.

We long for that.
We pray for that. We ask for it.

In Jesus’ name, amen.