The "alphabet soup" of the Southern Baptist world, in plain language. Keep this open as you read.
The organizations
SBC (Southern Baptist Convention)
— The largest network of cooperating Baptist churches in the U.S. Not a top-down headquarters — a voluntary fellowship of self-governing (autonomous) churches that pool resources for shared mission.
NAMB (North American Mission Board)
— The SBC's agency for missions inside the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico — the home of church planting and replanting. Track A
Send Network
— NAMB's church-planting arm. It does not plant churches itself; it equips and walks alongside churches that plant churches. Your main pipeline for planting in the U.S. Track A
IMB (International Mission Board)
— The SBC's agency for missions overseas. If your calling is to the nations, this is your pathway. Track B
State convention
— The SBC body for a state or region (for example, the California Southern Baptist Convention). A key partner for funding, training, and connection.
Local association
— A cluster of nearby SBC churches that cooperate closely. Often your most local, face-to-face source of help.
How it's funded
Cooperative Program (CP)
— The shared funding stream of the SBC. Churches give a portion of their offerings; that money supports state conventions, NAMB, the IMB, and seminaries together.
Lottie Moon Christmas Offering (LMCO)
— An annual offering, named for a pioneer missionary to China, that funds overseas missions. With the Cooperative Program, it is why the IMB can fully fund its missionaries rather than making them raise their own support. Track B
Belief & identity
Baptist Faith & Message 2000 (BF&M)
— The SBC's statement of shared beliefs, in 18 articles. You'll be asked to affirm it to plant or serve. A confession of common conviction — not a creed imposed from above.
People & process
Sending church
— The local church that commissions, supports, and stands behind a planter or missionary. In this model, the church sends — the agency assists. You need one.
Church planting catalyst (CPC)
— A regional NAMB leader whose job is to find, coach, and deploy planters in a given area. Often your first real human contact in the process. Track A
Assessment / Assessment Retreat
— A structured evaluation — online questionnaires plus a two-day retreat — that measures a planter's readiness across areas like calling, character, family, and leadership. A gift, not a test to fear. Track A
Endorsement
— Formal approval to move forward as a planter or missionary, given after application and assessment.
Kinds of work
Church planting
— Starting a brand-new church where there wasn't one — or not enough of one — to reach a community.
Replanting / Revitalization
— Stepping into a declining or dying church to help it become healthy again. A different calling from planting: you inherit a congregation rather than start from zero. Track A
Send City
— A metro region NAMB has named a strategic priority because the gospel presence there is thin relative to the population. Many are immigrant-dense.
Covocational / Bivocational
— Pastoring or planting while also holding another job. Increasingly common and fully honorable — not a sign of failure.
IMB pathways Track B
Journeyman
— A fully funded, two-year overseas pathway for young adults (roughly ages 21–29). A way to serve and test a long-term call.
Team Member
— An IMB missionary serving mid-term (2–3 years) or long-term (3+ years). Long-term roles are fully funded, and the missionary becomes an IMB employee.
Macedonia Project
— For those with a long-term call but no seminary training yet: serve on a church-planting team overseas while taking seminary classes, with the cost of the degree shared between the IMB and a seminary.
Project 3000
— An IMB effort to send researchers to reach the world's remaining unreached people groups — those with no known gospel presence.
Field Personnel Orientation
— The IMB's pre-deployment training that prepares appointed missionaries for life and ministry on the field.
Legal & practical
501(c)(3)
— The U.S. tax category for nonprofits, including churches. It makes gifts to your church tax-deductible. Churches are automatically treated this way, though many seek formal IRS recognition anyway.
EIN (Employer Identification Number)
— A federal ID number for your church or nonprofit — like a Social Security number for an organization. One of the first practical steps when forming a church.
Bylaws / Articles of Incorporation
— The founding legal documents that define how your church is organized and governed.
Slavic-specific
Slavic Send Network
— An emerging fellowship within Send Network connecting Russian- and Ukrainian-speaking pastors and planters across North America — your most natural SBC on-ramp.