Independent Baptist Mission Boards

As for:

1. Yes, we support missionaries working with Baptist Mid, Baptist World, and GFA.
2. The missionaries we support through the three cited above are located all over the world, France, Uraguay, Germany, Japan, and other parts.We don't have to worry about
   1. losing money on retail exchange transactions.
   2. Visas and other travel arrangements.
   3. medical emergencies at 2 AM Pacific.
3. Not Applicable
4. We don't per ce. They just don't come our way.

 

We are a SBC church - but we also do support a missionary thur Baptist Mid Missions.
By supporting thu the Mission agency - they are able to do all the financial assistance - taxes, foreign exchange, ect,

 

I have been following this thread to see where it will lead. So now I will give my opinion on the subject. (As if you cared what I think.)

I believe missionaries are sent by the local New Testament church. I believe it is the responsibility of the local New Testament church to ordain, encourage, support, and supervise the missionary while on the field or on deputation and furlough and provide accountability (doctrinal, financial, and personal), and training.

A mission agency which will help with clearing funds, getting visas, as well as providing legal authority for bank accounts, etc., and other similar matters such as proving a center for fellowship on the field, is perfectly fine with me.

However, when a mission agency begins to usurp the purview of the local New Testament church then I have a problem.

We had a situation some years back where one of our missionaries had been called of God to the mission field where he started a church. That church grew very rapidly to the point where several men had been called into the ministry but there was no training facility anywhere near that could prepare them academically. So our missionary decided to start a bible institute. He got the necessary documents from local government and put out a call for academically qualified teachers to raise support and come help with this great ministry.

Then the mission agency he was with sent him a letter telling him he could not start a bible institute because the mission agency was planning on starting their own institute in that city, under the authority of the mission agency, and they didn't what him to compete with them.

Mission agencies are fine as long as they recognize the missionary is subject to his sending church and not the agency. Sure, the agency can set certain standards and have certain rules. But they have no authority to enforce those rules other than severing the relationship with the missionary.

Another case. One missionary was told by the mission agency they were going to withhold his funds pending a decision of the agency regarding the bible translation he was using in the language of the field in which he worked. He called me and asked what he should do. I arranged for money to be wired into the account on the field, then called the head of the mission agency and told him I was going to fill out a complaint against him and the agency for fraud, theft of funds, and extortion. He said I couldn't do that. I told him to hide behind a cactus and watch me. He released the funds and withdrew fellowship from the missionary and our church. That agency later folded up shop.

A mission agency can be an excellent resource for the local church in sending missionaries to the foreign field as long as they remember the local church is primary. (This is not called "the church age" for nothing!) Jesus said "Upon this rock I will build my church." He didn't say "Upon this rock I will build my mission agency" (or college, or seminary, or publishing house, etc.). The mission agency's job is to assist the church, and be under the church's authority, not the other way around.

Even the very first mission agency, The Particular Baptist Society for the Propagation of the Gospel Amongst the Heathen (subsequently renamed the Baptist Missionary Society) founded by William Carey, eventually tried to micro-manage missionaries and Carey was forced to separate from the mission agency he, himself, created.

And that is my opinion on the subject. (Come on. Admit it. You really do care what I think!)

 

Yes, we do support the co-operative pgm - which in turn finances NAMB and IMB.

I visited First Baptist, Atlanta - several years ago - I was amazed at how many non-SBC missionaries they supported.
When I asked about it- I was informed at one point - FBC,Atlanta; was considering leaving the SBC - and if they did, they wanted to have a
missions program in place.

Several years ago, when I was in Germany, our SBC church was supporting a non-SBC missionary (about $15 per month). At one point we were
going to need a new furnace for our church.- We went to the EBC (our "State " convention) They went over our budget and their basic answer was that
if we could support a non-SBC missionary - then we did not need financial assistance from the EBC.
Our church reluctantly voted to drop the support of our missionary - but the only reason we did, was because our church had just went thur a church split, and the other
church was also supporting the same missionary.

I do not know how many other SBC churches do support non-SBC missionaries - but I have a gut feeling that many do.
The reason we support the BMM missionary, is they we know him personally.

 

Yes, the agencies have salaried employees. The ones I mentioned are not Mom and Pop operations. They are paid by the boards. As for relations, both, though we've only sent two. One has since passed away at an early age.

 

Depends on the board. As I recollect, the ones I mentioned do not take a percentage of their missionaries support. I know we support the "home" office of at least one board on the same basis as we do the missionary we support with them.

 

You are aware, of course, that the only reason I am in an SBC church is that there is no IFB church in the area (at least not a sane one). I chose the most conservative SBC church I could find and got involved.

 

I have seen both, and a combination. I am familiar with one mission agency that requires missionaries to tithe to the agency from their support. Another one charges the missionary a "per transaction" fee for clearing money sent by the supporting churches. And another one is supported by the churches directly. We supported the people working at the agency just like we supported the missionaries. (I know of the bible college here in Texas that does not pay its professors but they raise their own support. It keeps the tuition paid by the students way down.)

 

Back in the days, I was in a mission GARBC church. The Mission agency was Galilean Baptist Missions - (which later merged with FBHM)
I liked the policy of GBM. The Missionary kept 100% of the support he received from churches.
However, the church that he was currently a church planter of - agreed to send 10% of its general offering to the GBM home office.