MISSIOLOGY
LECTURE 20
MISSION BOARDS I
I’ve got a lot of questions
Are Baptist Mission Boards of the Devil? Doubtful! But, they are being manipulated some by the Devil, I believe.
Are there any big problems with a Mission Board? Oh yes!...but, not always.
Is there any possible support for them in the Bible? Absolutely not
Are they nonetheless ‘helpful’ to Missionaries? Yes and No; it’s the no that’s the ‘deal breaker’…
Are they unscriptural? I would say ‘yes’, but many would say no
Should a church support a missionary that is associated with a Board? Probably yes…
Should a church support a missionary that must follow their Board’s decisions? No way.
What about Mission Boards or Clearinghouses that are ‘local church run’? I don’t find as many problems with them, but…
The only time that ‘Boards’ are mentioned in regards to Missions in the Bible is in Acts 27:44 (don’t believe me? look it up!)…
Baptist Boardumb
Here is a listing of 23 Independent Baptist Mission Boards that altogether have 2628 approved Missionaries on the field!
BBF Baptist Bible Fellowship
MBM Maranatha Baptist Missions
BIMI Baptist International Missions, Inc,
BMFP Baptist Missions to Forgotten Peoples
ABWE Assoc. of Baptists for World Evangelism
FBWWM Fundamental Baptist Worldwide Missions
BMM Baptist Mid-Missions
IBFI Independent Baptist Fellowship International
CMC Central Missionary Clearinghouse
BFM Baptist Faith Missions
BWN Beacon World Missions
IPM International Partnership Ministries
BMW Baptists Missions for the World
LAMB Latin American Mission Board
GFA Gospel Fellowship Association
WWBM Word for the World Baptist Missions
WBF World Baptist Fellowship
EMI Evangelism Missions Inc.
EBM Evangelical Baptist Missions
BIO Baptist International Outreach
MWBM Macedonia World Baptist Missions
FBMI Fundamental Baptist Missions, Inc.
WWNTBM Worldwide New Testament Baptist Missions
Anti-Board Spokesperson
Just to start things off on the ‘right’ foot, let’s here from Dr. Roy Dearmore, long time expert on Missions:
“In the first place it’s "tainted" doctrine. It just "taint" in the Bible. (Incidentally, calling a board a "committee" or "clearing house" doesn’t change a thing.) Boards are not even hinted at in the Bible and no examples are given. It seems I hear someone saying, "Oh, but Sunday School is not in the Bible." The commission to teach is in the Bible and the Sunday School is a teaching ministry of the church. Christ and the apostles were always gathering groups of people together and teaching them.
Boards take away the autonomy of the local church and make it subservient to a man-made organization.
Ephesians 1:22-23 "And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all."
Christ is the Head of the church and the church is the organization authorized by Christ to carry out His work here on earth. The church is not one of many organizations left here on earth to do God’s work, but is the only organization mentioned in the New Testament as having authority to carry out the Lord’s work.
Boards take away the glory of the church. Ephesians 3:21 "Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end." Boards usurp the work of the Holy Spirit in the call, financing and leading of a missionary.
Boards misappropriate and waste money. Many boards were founded by sincere men, but you can be sincerely wrong and they were when they went outside the local church to do God’s work. It has been my observation that the older boards become, the more money they waste and misappropriate.
What are some of the advantages of boards? None, really, that I know of. Financial security is touted as a great advantage to boards. I believe my God is more dependable than a mission board. I find all the financial security I need in Philippians 4:19 "But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus."
One supposed advantage of a mission board is ease of getting visas to enter a foreign country. Most boards promulgate the falsehood that you can’t get a visa to enter a foreign country without a board, but this is not true. If God has called you to a country, He will make it possible for you to enter that country without resorting to unscriptural means.”
Pro-Board Spokesperson
Baptist World Mission: “Some have pointed out that there were no mission boards in New Testament times. This, of course, is true. Neither were there Sunday schools, camps, radio stations, Christian colleges, or seminaries. However, is the existence of such entities unscriptural? Is a mission board unscriptural or may it fit into the pattern of missionary work outlined in the New Testament?
We believe there is a case to be made for the legitimacy of a mission board. What are some of the reasons supporting its existence?
When missionary candidates apply to the mission board, they must be approved by their pastor and church before being received as a missionary appointee. Once they are on the field, they are still responsible to their sending church. If problems arise with the missionary, the pastor of the sending church is immediately contacted, the matter is discussed, and an appropriate plan of action is formulated.
It should also be remembered that the Board of Directors/Trustees of a mission board is composed primarily of pastors. It is not true, therefore, to say that the mission board replaces, interferes with, or ignores the local church. The mission board is simply an agencyserving thousands of local churches that use it. It is a means of assisting local churches in obeying the Great Commission. It does not seek to usurp the authority of the local church.
Recommending Applicants to Local Churches
The process of screening an applicant for missionary service is extremely important. Over the years leaders of mission boards have learned what questions to ask and what areas of life to probe. Based upon considerable experience, the mission board seeks to determine whether or not this applicant is fit for missionary service.
BWM requires all newly-appointed missionaries to attend two separate one-week training sessions called “Orientation Seminars.” During these times classes are held from morning till evening. Instruction is given on a variety of matters, which have to do not only with their deputation but also with their service on the field. These classes are taught by Mission administrators, missionaries, and other experienced personnel.
From long experience, a mission board finance office knows how to establish a budget for a particular field. By adopting a sensible and adequate budget for the missionary, his welfare when on the field can be reasonably assured. Often missionaries without this guidance go to a field woefully underfinanced and sometimes have to come
home to raise more support.
Few local churches can provide all the services mentioned. The average fundamental church is a smaller church. It does not have the resources to service all the needs of a missionary as described above. Perhaps there are some churches that can do this, and if so, they should certainly do it. Realistically, however, there are few churches, even large ones, who possess the personnel, the finances, and the “know-how” to be able to support the missionary adequately when on the field in a far-away place. For this reason, in most cases, the missionary applicant will choose to serve with a mission board.” (end of quotes from BWM)
So, let’s see if I have this straight: BWM sees themselves as not unscriptural, and therefore scriptural; if problems arise with their Missionary, the Board is involved with solving it, not just solely the sending church; it is not ‘seeking’ to usurp authority of the local church…so, I sure do hope it doesn’t ‘accidentally’ happen; the Board will determine whether or not the applicant Missionary is fit for missionary service; there are a lot of ‘requirements’ that the ‘non-authoritative’ Board demands of their ‘approved’ Missionaries; without the expert guidance of the Board, most churches would not be able to adequately manage their own Missionary; thus, the church is NOT actually capable of fulfilling the Great Commission! Ok…that’s very interesting. Thank you BWM for clearing up all of this for us!
Board’s Birthplace
Why did these Mission Boards ever come about into existance in the first place?! Did they spawn from Roman Catholic hierarchial control of all missionaries that was passed on down to their harlot offspring (the Protestants)? Was it because there was too little ‘ability’ and ‘knowledge’ from independent churches in sending their called missionaries to far away foreign lands? Did they start off innocently, as just a helper…small…as a church ministry that helps other churches? Are they of Satanic origin?
My belief is that their existance came mainly about as a proper ministry outreach of local churches, and then grew into what they are today…large, multi-million dollar enterprises that have big buildings, big staff, impressive names, lots of missionaries, big budgets, lots of media that is sent out, and a fair amount of control/influence on the hundreds of Missionaries that they ‘assist’.
Did you know that most famous Missionaries of yester-year were associated with a Mission board/agency/society? Judson, Livingstone, Knox, Murray, GoForth, Brainerd, Carey…! They’ve been around for centuries; and they’re probably not going away anytime soon, sad to say.
Some Problems with Mission Boards
A group of godly former Missionaries getting together to form a non-church related 501c3 ‘corporation’ that assists missionaries in fulfilling the Great Commission sounds good to some, but there are some very apparent dangers that can enter in in this scenario. Here is a list of 9 of the big dangers with Mission Boards:
1. It is ‘parachurch’; i.e. unscriptural
2. It smells of denominationalism / Catholicism
3. The missionary’s sending church loses at least some of its God given ‘authority’ (on paper and/or in reality)
4. The missionary must adhere at least some amount of submission and allegiance to the ‘board’
5. Men have opportunity to ‘control’ something ‘big’ and become ‘important’
6. It is run like a business, not like a church
7. It takes a lot of money to support the staff, buildings, materials, etc.; where does this all come from?…mission dollars!
8. They have great power of influence on the ‘credentials’ of a missionary seeking support.
9. They can potentially ‘ruin’ a Missionary if they ‘call the Missionary off the field’.
LocalChurch Boards?
If a Mission Board is directly under a church as that church’s ministry, then, and only then, it might be scriptural ‘and’ helpful. The issue is the sending church giving over some authority and responsibility to another church. Why, praytell, do they ‘need’ to do this! A church, by God’s design, is able to carry out the Great Commission, without help from parachurch organizations (Boards), and without help from another church’s ministry. I am pro-church but anti-boards…of any kind.
The Clearinghouse
A Clearinghouse is just one step from being a ‘Board’. A Clearinghouse typically is a parachurch ‘ministry’ that processes the financial and update letter aspects of a Missionary. They have President’s, Trustees, Administrators, buildings, supporting churches, and on and on. They are just not as ‘organized’ and ‘professional’“yet” as their big brothers the Boards!
Boards and Barnabas
The “Board” system applied to first century missions is an interesting exercise. The first missionaries sent out had a falling out, Acts 15: 36-40. Who was right and who was wrong? This much the Scriptures do tell us is that Paul went out with Silas and his ministry was blessed of God. Barnabas took and trained Mark so that later Paul would say "…Take Mark, and bring him with thee: for he is profitable to me for the ministry" 2Timothy 4:11.
Who knows what would have been the outcome if a man made mission board had been involved! Under the mission board method a conflict such as what we read about with Paul and Barnabas may have ended in at least one if not both being terminated by the board for insubordination and the sending church (since they were both from the same church) disciplining them for a lack of love and team work. In turn the men would have been dropped by both the board and the church.
BIMI
The general qualifications for missionary candidates to be accepted for appointment under Baptist International Missions, Inc., (BIMI) are:
• Salvation through the person and work of Jesus Christ
• A testimony of a separated, consistent Christian life
• A definite missionary call from God
• Membership in an Independent Baptist church
• Adequate training in an approved institution
It is imperative that candidates subscribe to the published Doctrines & Standards statement in its entirety.
Application Procedure:
STEP 1--Request a “Preliminary Inquiry Form” from Frances Birkhead. Upon receipt of this completed inquiry we will contact you. The information you provide will allow us to determine the next step to be taken.
STEP 2--Qualified inquirers will be sent the formal application packet. The formal “Application Packet” consists of the application, self-evaluation and physical form, and informative brochures. In the case of married couples both husband and wife must fill out all forms. Return the application forms, biographical sketch, and notarized “Release of Information” forms as soon as possible to the Candidate Director.
STEP 3--When the file is complete, the applicant will be notified of a date to appear at the BIMIWorldMissionCenter in Harrison, Tennessee for a personal interview with the Candidate Committee and Board of trustees. Approved candidates will be invited to attend the annual CandidateSchool held in June at the WorldMissionCenter. The Board of trustees has the final word in the approval of candidates. The Board meets in December and June of each year. All candidates are subject to a doctrinal examination. Final acceptance of a prospective candidate is contingent upon, but not limited to BIMI receiving all application forms, a signed “Doctrinal and Standards” statement, and completion of the two phases of CandidateSchool.
The Boards Mean Well
They claim to conduct mission business on behalf of the local churches missionaries, and not to ‘usurp authority’ of the local church one bit. This is their operating principle, but what actually happens down in the trenches often is not at all that. Ask some Board Missionaries that got pulled from the Board while on the field and then lost most of their support and then were thus forced to come home and now are serving as Sunday School teachers at their local stateside church!
They typically start off right, but when fame and fortune hits them, it slowly, but surely, turns into something ‘ugly’! They still will say that the church has the authority, but the Board knows their own influence, and it is powerful. They also know that he who ‘appears’ to control the Missionary, is in reality the one controlling the Missionary. And, also, he who holds the money, is the one who holds the power.
Brainwashed by Boards
It would be safe to say most of the missionary money from local independent Baptist churches is channeled through mission boards/agencies. Most pastors of independent Baptist churches only know missionary outreach via boards/agencies. The pastor was probably saved in an independent Baptist church and heard only those missionaries serving with a mission board/agency. When the pastor was called to preach he went to a recommended school where he again heard missionaries who were serving with a mission board/agency. In mission classes he was taught missions and in that teaching was included teaching on mission boards/agencies. When the man left school and entered the pastorate he found his church supported missionaries serving under mission boards/agencies. Many pastors serve their entire pastoral life without questioning (at least verbally) mission boards/agencies.
It’s no wonder that our newly trained Missionaries are all excited about Mission Boards; just look at what the 2 top Missionary training schools have to say:
PensacolaChristianCollege:
PCC MI 301 Principles and Methods of Missions (2) This course prepares the student for missionary candidature with emphasis on application to a mission board, candidate school, prefield ministries, as well as the physical, financial, and spiritual preparation for the student’s field. Projects are designed to aid the student in the organization of prayer cards, prayer letters, slide presentations, and display boards.
BobJonesUniversity:
Christian Missions: The purpose of the Christian Missions major is to provide information that will aid the future missionary in understanding the task of missions, the issues related to missions, the personal life of the missionary, the practical aspects of applying to a mission board, deputation, departure to the field, and life on the field.