His burden for the lost began during an eighth-grade geography class in Clinton, Mississippi.

Jerry Rankin learned about Islam, Buddhism and communism while staring at maps and studying distant lands. During those lessons, he was shaken by the thought of how many people didn’t know Jesus.

“It wasn’t because they had rejected Jesus Christ or didn’t want to be saved, but because no one had ever told them,” Rankin said. “I can remember thinking [to myself] … ‘Why don’t you go?’”

That burden led Rankin and his wife, Bobbye, to share the Gospel among the people of Indonesia. Appointed in 1970 by the Foreign Mission Board (now IMB), the couple and their two children, traveled overseas on an ocean liner.

Rankin planted churches among the Indonesian people for more than a decade before taking on leadership roles on the field. After serving overseas for 23 years, he became IMB’s 10th president in 1993.

With more than 5,200 missionaries currently serving abroad, Rankin travels the globe preaching, teaching, leading conferences and encouraging others to answer God’s call to missions.

He has authored or co-authored several books, including A Journey of Faith and Sacrifice: Retracing the Steps of Lottie Moon; Empowering Kingdom Growth to the Ends of the Earth; Lives Given, Not Taken; and Spiritual Warfare: The Battle for God’s Glory.

The Rankins’ two children, both of whom are married, have served on the mission field as well. In 2008, Rankin’s grandson, Zachary, accompanied him on a mission trip to Peru and Ecuador.

On Sept. 16, 2009, Rankin announced that he will retire on July 31, 2010, after 17 years as president of the IMB. The Rankins will live in Clinton, Mississippi, where Jerry undoubtedly will again spend time studying maps of distant lands and praying for those carrying God’s Word to the uttermost corners of the earth.

Fast Facts about Jerry Rankin

Born March 16, 1942, in Tupelo, Miss. Also lived in Clinton, Miss.

Married to Bobbye Simmons of Brookhaven, Miss. The Rankins have two children – Lori (born 1968) and Russell (born 1970) – and six grandchildren (three boys and three girls).

Education: Bachelor of arts degree from Mississippi College, Clinton; Master of divinity degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Fort Worth, Texas; Honorary doctor of divinity degree from Mississippi College; Honorary doctor of missions degree from California Baptist University, Riverside.

Pre-Career Missionary Experience: Pastor of Sadler (Texas) Baptist Church; youth director and associate pastor at Sagamore Hill Baptist Church in Fort Worth, Texas; Baptist Student Union director and Bible instructor at Grayson County Junior College, Denison, Texas; summer (1962) missionary to New York and Vermont for the Southern Baptist Home Mission Board and summer (1963) missionary to the Philippines for the Southern Baptist Foreign Mission Board.

Previous Mission Board Assignments: Appointed missionary to Indonesia in June 1970; general evangelist in East Java and Surabaya, Indonesia. Associate to the area director for South and Southeast Asia, Jan. 1, 1982-July 31, 1986, based in Bangkok, Thailand. Administrator for Southern Baptist mission work in India, August 1986-May 1987. Area Director for Southern Asia and Pacific, May 31, 1987-June 14, 1993. Based in Singapore, he oversaw the work of 480 missionaries in 15 nations.

President of the International Mission Board (formerly Foreign Mission Board) since June 14, 1993.