Our mission was given to us by the Lord Jesus just before he ascended to heaven. We are to "make disciples of all nations" (Matthew 28:16-20).

Jesus spelled out the strategy for this mission in telling us that, as Spirit-filled believers, we should bear witness in "Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the uttermost part of the earth"; (Acts 1:8).

The specific application of this strategy for us at First Baptist is that we are making disciples in:

Oxford: Our Jerusalem

We intend to make disciples in Oxford through our various small and large group ministries. We also reach beyond our walls to the hurting through the city's Interfaith Compassion Ministry. We support the Baptist Student Union at Ole Miss as our primary means of on-campus outreach and encouragement to university students.

Mississippi: Our Judea

As a cooperating church in the Mississippi Baptist Convention, we combine our financial and spiritual resources with other Baptist churches in the state to reach Mississippians for Christ. In the wake of the Hurricane Katrina disaster, we have had a unique opportunity to minister to our state and will continue to take opportunities to bring relief to the Coast.

North America: Our Samaria

The North American Mission Board coordinates the efforts of Southern Baptist Churches like ours to take the gospel to "our Samaria". One of our former church members, Tony Inmon and his family serve as NAMB church planters in Virginia and have had a unique opportunity to minister in the wake of Va. Tech tragedy. We are praying about a NAMB mission opportunity in New York in the upcoming months.

The World

God has placed in First Baptist a tremendous heart for the nations. We have a long-standing and on-going connection to the Pantanal Region of Brazil, planting and encouraging churches through mission teams that go at least once a year.

The International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention gives absolutely incredible leadership to our praying, giving, and going to the "uttermost parts".

The Lord has granted us a unique privilege in this regard by calling out our Student Pastor, Jeff Holeman and his family, to serve as IMB missionaries to Peru beginning in October 2007 (their blog). We look forward to developing an intense missional relationship with the people of Peru. One of our former students, Lane Brown, is serving there now as an IMB Journeyman.

Moreover, the Lafayette-Marshall Association gives incredible leadership to area churches in combining our efforts to do missions all over the world.

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