Akin Calls Students to Step Out in Obedience to the Great Commission 

“If you have been here for any period of time, you know that the Great Commission drives everything we do at Southeastern,” Akin commented during his address. “The stakes are extremely high. … There are more than 7,000 unreached people groups today, and there are still more than 4.2 billion people who have no access to the gospel, which means they will be born, they will live, they will die, and they will go to hell — never having even one time heard the good news about King Jesus and his salvation.”

“This is why at Southeastern you will be challenged again and again to ask, ‘Lord, not why should I go, but, Lord, why should I stay?’” Akin added.

At Southeastern you will be challenged again and again to ask, “Lord, not why should I go, but, Lord, why should I stay?”

Urging students to consider the nations, Akin explained that he would continue his convocation tradition of expositing a biblical passage alongside the biography of a faithful missionary whose life testified to the truth of the passage. Akin’s message reminded attendees to trust the Lord fully, know the Lord intimately, and fear the Lord completely — just as missionary Yvette Aarons had done throughout her life.

Narrating the story of missionary Yvette Aarons, the first Deaf missionary appointed by the Foreign Mission Board (FMB; now the International Mission Board), Akin preached from Proverbs 3:5-8 — a beloved passage that guided Aarons through many obstacles in her missionary journey.

Born Deaf into a non-Christian family in Jamaica, Aarons lacked many opportunities other children had, yet in God’s providence, she was exposed to the Bible at a young age. As a child, she often attended Sunday school where she was encouraged to memorize Scripture, and later as a teenager, she would attend church services where she was taught the gospel. When she was 16, she trusted in Christ for salvation and began her life as a follower of Christ.

It was at that time in her life that God gave her the desire to serve him as a missionary. Yvette pursued seminary training at Southwestern Seminary, and although the seminary could not afford signers, her fellow students helped her until she graduated. In 1985, Aarons applied to the FMB — only to be rejected by them because she was a Deaf woman. The FMB changed its policy in 1987, and in 1989, she was sent on special assignment to Trinidad.

Trusting God’s providence and testifying to his grace, Aarons served as a missionary in Trinidad and Saint Lucia for 13 years before being transferred to Thailand to work among the Deaf in Southeast Asia. Throughout her 29 years of service as a missionary with the International Mission Board (IMB), Yvette wrestled with the emotional and spiritual toll and isolation of often laboring alone, but she trusted God’s faithfulness and obeyed him even during challenging seasons of ministry.

Quoting Aarons comments to him in a personal interview, Akin shared her charge to fellow Christians: “We must go because the lost are everywhere in all kinds of cultures. We go because we have what they don’t have: Jesus. … Take the step. He will take care of you.”

We must go because the lost are everywhere in all kinds of cultures. We go because we have what they don’t have: Jesus. … Take the step. He will take care of you.

Akin shared that the IMB officially recognized the Deaf as one of its 9 affinities in 2008, but by the end of the year, only 14 IMB field personnel will be working among the roughly 80 million Deaf people worldwide. Among the global Deaf population, most are still unreached with little or no access to the gospel. Akin also noted that of the 58 deaf churches in the Southern Baptist Convention, roughly 40% currently need a pastor.

Urging students to consider the deaf as they surrender their lives to the Great Commission, Akin invited attendees to pray how they might take a step of obedience and join 14 IMB personnel in reaching the Deaf community with the gospel.

“My prayer for us is that hundreds will come from this school to follow in her footsteps and be missionaries to the Deaf community, telling them about Jesus,” commented Akin.

Following Akin’s address, Aarons joined Dr. Akin on stage to offer a word of encouragement, being welcomed by a standing ovation to honor her longevity in ministry and faithfulness to Jesus Christ.

During the ceremony, Miguel Echevarria, associate professor of New Testament and Greek; Scott Hildreth, associate professor of missiology; and Ben Holloway, assistant professor of philosophy and history of ideas, signed the Abstract of Principles and the Baptist Faith and Message 2000 following their election to the faculty during the board of trustees’ spring meeting.

By signing these doctrinal statements, Echevarria, Hildreth, and Holloway joined the faculty in their public commitment to the authority, inerrancy, infallibility, and sufficiency of Scripture, resolve to teach in accordance with and not contrary to historic Baptist doctrine.

Seth Bible, acting dean of The College, also recognized 91 dean’s list recipients during the ceremony. Demonstrating exceptional academic achievement, these students completed a minimum of 12 credit hours in the spring and achieved a 3.75 GPA for the semester while also maintaining good academic standing and an overall 3.0 GPA.

Immediately following the ceremony, Aarons joined students, faculty, and staff for a luncheon on campus to share more about her missionary journey. Attendees also heard about unique opportunities to get involved in Deaf affinity ministries through Southeastern’s Center for Great Commission Studies (CGCS).

To learn how you can participate in reaching Deaf people around the world, contact the CGCS at [email protected], or visit thecgcs.org to learn how Southeastern is equipping students to reach the nations.