embracing the world a history of BIMI by Dr. Mary Ray In November of 1959, the Board Members of the Congo Gospel Mission met to discuss the possibility of broadening the scope of the Mission to embrace the needs of the world. That vote led to the organizing of Baptist International Missions, Incorporated. When I first contemplated writing a history of BIMI, I assumed that my research would begin with June 28, 1960, which was the organization date of the Mission. As I began to sift through letters and newspaper articles and read documents and Board Meeting minutes, my research led me back through the pages of time to 1917 when a young couple, Anton and Viola Andersen, left their homeland in America to plant themselves for the sake of the Gospel in the Belgian Congo, where their lives became the seeds of a mighty harvest. The history of BIMI could not be written without including the great missionary heart of Dr. Lee Roberson and the missionary program that he began at Highland Park Baptist Church in 1945 4 BIMI WORLD – Number 1, 2010