People often ask this question, and even if they don't, they wonder about it! The answer dates back to our early history.
By the early 1900s, missionaries had already evangelized the more easily accessible coastal regions of continents where Christianity had not historically been practiced. At the time of Baptist Mid-Missions' founding in 1920, missionaries were eager to press on into the middle of these continents' to reach those who had not yet heard the gospel. The heart's cry of our founder, William Haas, was to reach Africa's center and to send others interior as well.
Baptist Mid-Missions' original name was The General Council of Cooperating Baptist Missions of North America, Inc. This cumbersome title was accurate, but it was not easy to use. Individual fields commonly named themselves with “Mid-” to reflect the emphasis of reaching into the heart of the country: “Mid-Africa Mission,” “Mid-Liberia Mission,” and “Mid-Venezuela Mission.” Our organization as a whole became known informally as "Mid-Missions," a title we also used for a newsletter we published.
In 1953, the original title was dropped and our present name, Baptist Mid-Missions, was officially adopted.