Denver—Several missionaries with ties to the Bluegrass were appointed as International Mission Board missionaries at a May 20 service at Riverside Baptist Church in Denver.

The Southern Baptist missions organization commissioned 101 new missionaries, the fourth-largest appointed group in its history. The appointees will join more than 5,600 missionaries already on the field worldwide.

Among those appointed were:

Roger and Courtney Hampton, who will be serving in a community outreach role in Bangkok, Thailand. They served as International Service Corps missionaries from 2006-08. Both are University of Louisville graduates and attended Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. They are members of Lone Oak First Baptist Church of Paducah. They have an infant son, Asher.

Reid and Kyra Karr, who will be working with university students in Rome. Roger currently is a student at Southern Seminary and serves as a student missions coordinator with the school. The Karrs are members of Sojourn Community Church in Louisville. They have an infant daughter, Nolyn.

Mike and Rebecca Powell, who will be serving as missions strategy coordinators in Brazil. Mike earned a master’s degree in missiology from Southern last December. The Powells live in Georgetown and are members of Center Point Church in Lexington. They have three children, JohnMark, 11, Jackson, 8, and Jayden, 6.