From Wichita to the World How a Kansas Church is Supporting Global Mission avid Crowther has experienced how knowing the biblical text thoroughly has shaped his faith and the way that he teaches his congregation on a weekly basis. He’s helping to connect the dots of Scripture to his congregation through showing the overarching narrative of Scripture—God has a mission for all peoples to know him and it has existed throughout history. Crowther believes there’s much to learn about studying God’s Word from godly people and resources, but learning the tools to study the Bible for oneself is irreplaceable. It was in 2012 that Crowther decided to begin his PhD in Biblical Studies at Southeastern, believing that knowing God’s Word deeply helps inform the way he could teach it to others. Southeastern was also a place where he knew he would receive guidance and teaching that would be biblically-founded and missionally-focused. “I really liked [Southeastern] because of the confessional nature, the direction of the school, the commitment of the school to the Word of God, as well as the Great Commission,” said Crowther. Crowther began serving at Immanuel Baptist Church in Wichita, Kansas in 2019 after serving as pastor of Mount Olive Baptist Church in Pittsboro, North Carolina. Crowther graduated with his PhD in 2017 and continued pastoring Mount Olive. However, he began to sense the Lord calling him somewhere else, but he just wasn’t sure where. It was soon after that the Lord brought about the opportunity to talk with Immanuel about becoming their pastor. Crowther remembers reading through Acts 16 and Paul’s call to go to Macedonia. Through this passage and the confirmation of meeting with the pastor search committee, God affirmed the call for Crowther and his family to move to Wichita. As Crowther leads Immanuel, he seeks to put forward a Great Commission focus in his
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preaching. One way Crowther and his congregation at Immanuel are fulfilling the Great Commission in Wichita is through their partnership with Southeastern’s Global Theological Initiative. Through Crowther and his wife’s involvement with the Southeastern Society, they began hearing about the ways GTI was equipping leaders around the world. As the church was later considering where to allocate funds for mission work, naturally Crowther immediately thought of GTI. GTI’s goal is to equip these national leaders so that they will train the local pastors and missionaries within their various contexts. GTI is currently equipping over 3,000 vetted, positioned leaders in over 40 nations and global cities. This is done through partnership with educational and missions entities in these countries and by locking arms with these global leaders in helping to develop curriculum, organizational strategies, and more. “Because [God’s] given us every means, then we should give out of a heart of gratitude to help other people know about Christ and who he is,” said Crowther, who noted that he has watched as God has provided for Immanuel while they have chosen to give generously. In the midst of a pandemic, God has been faithful, with the church experiencing growth in membership, baptizing 60 people, and seeing their members exceed giving to the annual budget for the first time in two decades. While giving generously is costly, Crowther and his church have found that God’s faithfulness and provision are far more abundant than their sacrifice.
Last year Southeastern received over $285,000 from donors supporting the Global Theological Initiative.
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