Reflecting on twenty years of Blackaby Ministries International
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This year, 2025, marks the 20th anniversary of Blackaby Ministries International. Only heaven knows the numerous ways God has used this ministry to impact eternity. I fondly recall sitting in a board meeting with my parents and a handful of others as we sought God's will for this organization. My dad had been "retired" for five years at that point. He never did retirement well! His bosses at the Southern Baptist Convention didn't want to lose him. He was the busiest, most divinely empowered employee they had. But Dad felt that if he retired, he would be free to respond to whatever God initiated in his life next. He was right.
Dad originally established Henry Blackaby Ministries and served in that organization for a few years. But after learning much from that original ministry, we felt he should launch a new one: Blackaby Ministries International. This new effort would bring together everything God was teaching us about how my dad and his successors should continue sharing the powerful message God had given him.
Dad's original ministry was called Henry Blackaby Ministries. He never liked that name! We originally assumed the organization wouldn't outlast him, but we soon realized our ministry was built on a message, not a man. Dad is now in heaven, but the message God gave him continues to impact lives around the world. We also added the word "international" to the title. We had seen that the message we were sharing was not only for Americans but for people everywhere. Dad traveled to 115 countries during his life. People all over the world responded eagerly to the message he shared.
It is perhaps fitting that I was speaking in Cape Town, South Africa, when my father died. At first, I felt guilty that I was so far away. I soon realized there was no better way to honor him than by traveling the globe teaching people the lessons God first taught my dad on the windswept prairies of Canada more than half a century earlier. I was recently speaking in a large, dynamic church in Brazil. The prior year, the church had translated Experiencing God: Day by Day,a devotional my dad and I wrote, into Portuguese. The entire congregation had used it during their daily quiet times. Many of the church members told me how God had used those truths to bless their life and their family. Now that church is promoting the message everywhere it can.
We never sought to make BMI a large ministry. We didn't invest in buildings and infrastructure. We kept the staff small and essential. We invested as much as possible in getting the message out as widely and broadly as we could. That has been BMI's focus for the last twenty years.
I have served either on the board or as the president of BMI since its inception. What an undeserved privilege that experience has been! No one traveled and spoke with my dad more than I did. I will never forget what I witnessed on those trips. Dad was famous for talking with attendees at the meetings where he spoke. Many hosts would marvel that Dad was not whisked away after he preached. My dad never forgot that he was a servant, not a celebrity. He was usually the last person to leave the auditorium. He always stayed until he had conversed with everyone who wanted to talk with him.
I was recently speaking in New Jersey. Due to flight delays the evening before, I had not arrived at my hotel room until 3:30 a.m. To make matters worse, I had been wearing new shoes. As I raced from one end of the airport to the other, I developed large blisters that left my heels bleeding and extremely sore. I preached later that morning. Then I stood on my searingly painful feet for more than an hour while talking with attendees. My host, knowing my painful condition, asked why I had stayed so long. I told him, "That's what Blackabys do." I wasn't bragging. I learned from my father that we are servants, and God strengthens us to serve him in whatever way most glorifies him.
Whenever I accompanied my dad, I saw people line up to tell him how his ministry had changed their life. I never grew tired of hearing those stories! I recall visiting Cuba and learning that people were printing Experiencing Godand giving it away so others could find hope in Christ. They apologetically told me it was impossible for them to purchase those books. I happily encouraged them to keep sharing the message any way they could! I recall being in another closed country where people were studying Experiencing Godand starting churches across their nation. I traveled to a Muslim country where three people had begun studying Experiencing God.When I visited, hundreds of young people were exuberantly worshipping God in the church that had resulted from that study. I felt humbled.
Hardly a week goes by that I don't learn of a new ministry or church that was started because someone studied Experiencing God.I can't begin to recount all the stories people have told me about how they had to change careers, sell family businesses, or cancel their wedding after they went through Experiencing Godand learned that God had something else in store for them.
Now that my father is gone, I have reflected a great deal on the future of BMI. As I watch university students respond to the gospel in large numbers and work with marketplace leaders who are seeking to do business in a way that pleases their Lord, I'm encouraged that people still want to know and experience God personally. Our message is more needed now than ever before!
I am also grateful to be working with one of my sons, my daughter, and my son-in-law. My older son is a pastor in Canada and serves on the BMI board. I know my parents were pleased to see their grandchildren embracing the spiritual legacy that was handed to them. My parents were not perfect, but they were faithful to their God until the very end. On the last Sunday of my dad's life, he sat with a group of people as they watched a video of him preaching. That seems like a fitting way to complete a well-lived life. Shortly before my mom passed, her two oldest grandchildren were baptized at her church. My parents are irreplaceable, but they passed on a spiritual legacy.
I have been president of BMI for 19 years. What a joy! My calendar is full. People still long to learn how to experience God and know his will. I am praying about how best to spread that message globally in the years to come. Please pray for God to grant us wisdom, strength, and protection as we continue our mission.
I have been privileged to serve as a senior pastor of a local church, as president of a theological seminary, and now as president of BMI. Each assignment has been rewarding and enjoyable. But at this time in history, I'm thrilled to be serving in the seat my father once occupied, sharing a message God first gave to my parents, and serving the same God they so joyfully followed all their lives. I'm also excited about the messages God is giving our team, messages that continue to resonate with people around the world. I don't know what the future holds, but I know the One who holds the future. I am praying that these will be the most fruitful, impactful, and God-glorifying days our ministry has ever known. May it be so.
 | Richard Blackaby is the president of Blackaby Ministries International and lives in Georgia. He travels internationally speaking on spiritual leadership in the home, church, and marketplace as well as on spiritual awakening, experiencing God, and the Christian life. Richard regularly ministers to Christian CEOs and business leaders. He has written or co-authored 33 books . This article was first published on RichardBlackaby.com. Used with permission from Blackaby Ministries International. Learn More » |
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