Dr. Geoffrey Hammond was elected on March 21, 2007, by North American Mission Board (NAMB) trustees to serve as their president. Dr. Hammond's election came after a ten-month search that was backed by a commitment, "to continually pray, follow a thorough, patient process, and resist outside political influences," said chairman Greg Faulls of Kentucky.
     Dr. Hammond, 49, was born in Nigeria to missionary parents serving with the International Mission Board (IMB). He earned the equivalent of a business degree in administration in Zimbabwe, passing the final examination of the Chartered Institute of Secretaries and Administrators (United Kingdom). He is a graduate of Spurgeon's Seminary in London, England, and holds a doctor of ministry degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, majoring in evangelism and missions.
     Dr. Hammond has served throughout his career as a pastor, church planter, church staff member, IMB missionary to Brazil, seminary professor, director of missions, NAMB missionary, church-planting strategist, and senior associate state executive in Virginia.
     Dr. Hammond and his wife Deborah have two sons, Timothy and Nicholas.

ML: Dr. Hammond, thank you for answering a few questions from Missions Leader^® magazine, letting our readers know your missions heart. You are a third-generation missionary. You were born on the missions field to British parents who were serving in Nigeria. Your father was born in China to missionary parents. How did growing up in this type of missionary family prepare you to be a missions leader in today's world?

Hammond: Growing up in a family that was on mission, as a calling, has impacted my life deeply. Mom and Dad modeled, for me, some things that are essential to being a missionary. First of all, the strong call of God in their lives, which took them to different parts of the world and kept them focused on the task of evangelizing and training new leaders. Then they taught me a lot about sacrifice. In being a cross-cultural missionary, there is a need to sacrifice and lay some things aside in order to reach people. These were basic characteristics that were instilled in me-that missionaries are called to take the gospel, and [that taking] it takes sacrifice. But what it has helped me to do, as I've had the privilege of being a missions leader in the 21st century, is see missions from a global perspective. You [get to] see that what we do in North America touches the rest of the world. [And that] what God is doing in other parts of the world, in bringing people groups here, is touching us. [It gives] a holistic view of how the Great Commission, as expressed in Acts 1:8, fits together.

ML: Our readers love stories from the field, especially from missionary kids (MKs). What is the most memorable experience you had growing up on the missions field?

Hammond: I think the thing that sticks in my mind is the picture of my dad on a Sunday going out to African villages, preaching the gospel and then returning and seeing churches formed among those village people. I remember him giving his life to the training of leaders. One of my great experiences is just thinking about some of the African Christians who made such deep impressions on my life. One of the things I remember is living a long way away from what we regard as civilization. Fortunately, my dad was an all-around fix-it man, and I can remember him always having to fix one of our cars so we could get where we needed to go. He would rope me in to assist, and it seemed like we had to have two or three cars [just] to have one that was road worthy and usable.

ML: At national WMU^®, we desire to equip adults, youth, children, and preschoolers with missions education to help them become radically involved in the mission of God. What does the phrase mission of God mean to you?

Hammond: I think it's summed up in John 3:16: "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have eternal life" (ASV). And God's desire is that all the people of the world would come to know Him. We have the privilege of being on mission with Him in His redemptive plan for this world. I believe there are four areas where you can participate in missions work: praying, sending, going, and welcoming. NAMB has the privilege to support the work of more than 150,000 missionaries and missions volunteers who are participating in one or more of these areas. Southern Baptists from around the country are helping us support this work through praying and giving through the Cooperative Program and the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering^®. I'm sure some of your readers are already praying about whether God is calling them to go to the field here in North America or Canada, which is white unto harvest. And, praise the Lord, there are thousands of faithful Christians who welcome these missionaries and missions volunteers when they get to the field, assisting them in so many areas of ministry.

ML: The term missions education is often used today. How do you define that phrase?

Hammond: Hopefully missions education begins with reading the Bible. Some of the greatest missions principles we need to learn about are found in Scripture. And then as an outgrowth of that, we need to help educate folks on the ways in which these biblical principles are being utilized today, in terms of doing missions. I think there are two parts to it: we need to increase our [intellectual] understanding of missions, but in the 21st century, people want to experience missions as well. Some of the best education we can ever give our folks is to involve them in local, associational, statewide, North American, and international missions.

ML: I have seen that you refer to yourself as being a missiologist at heart. What does that mean to you?

Hammond: I have had the privilege of living in different cultures of the world and looking at the world from the eyes of a missionary. Missiology is the study of missions and how we effectively reach people. I believe that one of the gifts God has given me is an understanding of missions and how that can turn into strategic methodology, which can be effective in reaching people for Christ. The important thing to remember is that missiology has to be lived out in practice. Another part of this for me is seeing North America as a missions field. We need to understand our missions field, execute [that understanding], and apply missionary principles [to] take the gospel in a relevant way to the people in our missions field.

ML: Dr. Hammond, you are bilingual. How can missionaries and missions leaders in North America use their language skills to reach the world that has come to their doorstep?

Hammond: I had the privilege of learning a language in Africa, which I don't remember very well. But then, as an International Mission Board missionary, I had to become fluent in Portuguese, and God has given us opportunities, even back in the United States (US), to witness to people who speak Portuguese. There is an opportunity for anyone in the US who is bilingual to reach out to different people groups. In fact the last couple we had the privilege of leading to the Lord in our home this past summer, they prayed the sinner's prayer with us in Portuguese. But even if you only speak English, one of the great mission strategies for us is teaching English as a second language. We form relationships with folks from other countries and cultures and as we teach them English, we are able to share the gospel with them.

ML: You understand our country's complex and diverse missions field. Tell us about your relationship with state Baptist conventions, the partners who are working with NAMB on the missions field. And how you see NAMB relating to these partners in the future?

Hammond: One of the great privileges we have at NAMB is that our ministry is multiplied through our partners. As we work with state conventions and local associations in assisting churches, there is an army of volunteers and trained people who can enlarge our efforts and make us more effective. Partners help us contextualize what we do. They sharpen our methodology, and they take our ministry closer to the missions field. Together, they help us put real faces and real lives onto the missions that we do. At NAMB, we highly value our partners.

ML: WMU^® regularly receives testimonies from WMU missions groups as they support North American missionaries. We also hear from groups on the missions field from missionaries who tell how they are impacted by WMU. What type of partnership do you envision NAMB having with WMU?

Hammond: Our partnership with the WMU is a long-established and historic partnership. WMU does a wonderful job of telling the mission story throughout the Southern Baptist Convention, and no one has done more to be sure our missionaries feel loved and appreciated. WMU has been a tremendous prayer partner, an important missions education partner, and we are so grateful to WMU for the heroic efforts they have gone through to help us raise the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering. We couldn't do it without them.

ML: Many people think North America is becoming or has become godless. Or at best, God and spiritual matters are less important than they used to be. How do you react to such statements, and how will your answer impact NAMB's efforts to share the gospel in North America?

Hammond: I believe that North America is becoming more secular but also more spiritual. This seems like a contradiction, and it's a challenge because this spirituality is not necessarily directed toward the Word of God or the message of the gospel. But we can use the spiritual interest of people in North America as a way to open the door to bring the true gospel of Jesus Christ to men and women of all ages. A missionary from Hawaii recently told us that spiritual conversations are easy to get into. However, when we start talking about Jesus, the spiritual battle gets very intense.

ML: You are so passionate about doing God's work, a trait obviously passed down from your parents and grandparents. How can today's missions leaders pass along the same passion to their children and grandchildren?

Hammond: I'm excited about trying to teach Southern Baptists families to be on mission together. Missions is not something that you have to wait until you are an adult to do. We can educate our families at home about missionaries, pray for missionaries, give to missions, and then perhaps take a missions trip together as a family. By doing this we will sew, into the DNA of our children, the idea that God has called us to be on mission and that in order to be faithful to Him, as an obedient Christian, we need to make missions a priority in terms of praying, giving, and going.

ML: Our readers are praying people. How can they pray for you?

Hammond: Pray for us, as a family, as we adjust to life in Atlanta, Georgia, and for me, particularly, as I am on a steep learning curve, learning about the multifaceted and huge ministry of the North American Mission Board. We have a son, Nicholas, who has just transferred here as a senior. Pray for him as he finishes up his high-school studies. Our other son, Timothy, is doing his graduate studies, at Liberty University, in worship ministries. And then please pray for Debbie, as she has a heart to minister to missionary wives and as she supports our family being on mission.

ML: On behalf of Missions Leader magazine, thank you for sharing with us. Thank you for all you have done for the kingdom. May the Lord continue to bless you and use you in the days ahead.