Report of the
Executive Director
of Church Extension Ministries
…Your God reigns! Listen! Your watchman lift up their voices,
they shout joyfully together;
for they will see with their own eyes(eye to eye)… Isaiah 52:7,8
News had come to the Jews in Zion of the Persian victory over Babylon. The messenger coming over the mountains gave the shout of victory, but not so much with a focus on the freedom, which the captives would experience from the defeat of Babylon, but rather the declaration that God is the victor, Your God is God almighty over all things and is King! One great outcome of God’s victory was the redemption of His people, “…he has redeemed Jerusalem”vs.9. And a second great outcome was that God had accomplished this great victory in “the sight of all the nations; that all the ends of the earth may see the salvation of our God” vs.10.
Our God is a missionary God with a redemptive purpose of saving His elect from every tongue tribe and nation and from our Jerusalems onto the foreign soils of the world. He displays His sovereign greatness and victorious Kingship through the means of the church’s proclamation and church planting. This year, Annual Conference will further discuss a strategic vision of “extending” the Bible Fellowship Church. It would be easy to become caught up in the theory of such a statement, but in reality, if this denomination is going to be a strategic part of building up the kingdom of God by means of extension, then we need to have the vision of God as our victorious redeeming King. His victorious glory is manifested to the nations when sinners are redeemed and churches planted for the purpose of making obedient and committed disciples of His Son.
This past year I took this message to many of our churches, following up on previous visits and reinforcing the need for this denomination to proclaim the Gospel, see people saved, and plant churches where these new believers can be made into disciples. I was blessed in being able to visit with over forty churches this past year and spend some valuable time participating in a number of Missions Conferences. I also organized meetings with our Regions and was able to present our strategic plan, “The Plan To Plant,” to all but one Region. There was good response to the Plan and some good suggestions taken for consideration. There were several goals stated in the Plan and I would like to give you an update on our progress toward accomplishing the goals. The goals were to be accomplished by the end of 2004:
• To hold meetings to present the Plan To Plant in each Region. This is almost accomplished with one Region remaining.
• To facilitate the start of three daughter churches. The Hellertown Mission Church was a cooperative effort with the Coopersburg BFC and has now become a part of Church Extension. Recently I discussed a daughter church plant with Newark, DE BFC, as a part of the DELMARVA Project. Two other churches have shown interest in daughter church planting and I will be working with these churches to see if it is the Lord’s will for them.
• To establish three new Mission Churches. We have launched the Hellertown and Rehoboth/Long Neck Mission Churches and will look to open two more Mission Churches as a part of the DELMARVA Project in 2003 and 2004.
• To have six Mission Churches received into Annual Conference. New Community Bible Fellowship Church was taken into Annual Conference and this year the Thompson, CT Mission Church will be received. In 2004 we hope to have the Newark, NJ, Hellertown and South Allentown, PA and Rehoboth/Long Neck Mission Churches received.
• To have two or more Churches in our Mission become self-supporting. This past year the Walnutport BFC was fully self-supporting and graduated from Church Extension. We are working with the Aberdeen Church and will hopefully be able to graduate the church by the end of 2003. We will also be preparing the Ocean County, NJ Church for graduation at the end of 2004.
• To establish an Hispanic Mission Church in Lancaster, PA in conjunction with the Joint Committee on Ethnic Church planting. We have not only assisted the Ethnic Committee with a possible Hispanic plant in Lancaster, PA but also worked with the Berks County, PA Region and a possible plant in Reading, PA.
As you can determine, we are on track with reaching the goals of the Plan To Plant. This has been accomplished through the prayers and support of our committed partners and the increased interest and participation from the BFC Churches. The support from the churches is vital and necessary. There is a direct correlation between the success of the Mission of Church Extension and the extension of the BFC to the degree of support and interest that the BFC Churches give to our Mission of reaching people with the Gospel and planting new churches. I want to direct your attention to an Addendum to this report titled, Church Extension Activity Chart. You will see in this how we have charted our course for the next several years and where my focus and work will be concentrated.
Here is a report of what has been accomplished this past year in Church Extension.
RECAPPING 2002 – “TAKING THE LIGHT TO THE LOST”
– 33 people were saved and 31 baptized in the Mission Churches and Churches.
– Two new Missions were launched: Hellertown, PA under the leadership of Stephen C. Mann, and Rehoboth/Long Neck, DE under the leadership of Kenneth F. Barber.
– Thousands of Gospels and evangelistic literature were distributed during our outreaches, demographic surveys in new communities, and door-to-door.
– We were able to pay all our bills and we are thankful for all those who partnered with us in support of this vital Mission.
– The Ocean County, NJ Church, acquired a new building and work proceeded on the building of a new meeting place in Newark, NJ.
– The BFC Churches and individuals increased their financial support and interest in Church Extension.
– We sent two men to Church Planters Boot Camp training in the summer: Willis I. Dowling and Timothy J. Schmoyer.
– Tom Morrison was our Summer Intern to the Las Cruces Mission Church and is going through evaluation for assisting Pastor Becker at Las Cruces.
– I attended 16 BFC Missions Conferences and Missions gatherings and was in 40 churches presenting our work the past year.
– We worked with the Ethnic Church Planting Committee and gained the approval of the Capitol Consortium for an Hispanic Church Planting Project in Lancaster and also helped establish the Berks County Hispanic Task Force.
– Raymond Bertolet, former missionary to Guam with TWR, was called to be our Assistant Church Planter in the DELMARVA PROJECT.
– John Pello continued as Outreach Assistant and worked primarily with Elliot Ramos and Steve Mann. John reached many people this past year with the Gospel and led a number of individuals to the Lord.
– Ruth Richards, our Administrative Assistant, took on many projects and was a tremendous asset to Church Extension.
– Carol Snyder remained active in the Mission and handled the production of our monthly newsletter, “The Extension Call,” along with the “It Happened Like This” publication.
– We interviewed six men who are considering church planting.
– Our Policy & Strategy Committee worked at developing a Policy Manual. Work on this continues and may be completed this year.
– The Thompson, CT Mission Church presented two men for elder assessment who were approved by our Board. The Thompson, CT Mission Church will be recognized as a “Particular Church” at this year’s Annual Conference.
– The Walnutport Church graduated from Church Extension fully supported and is doing well.
– The Board of Church Extension resolved, after an extensive evaluation process, to disengage from the Scranton Church and turn over the Church to the care of the Ministerial Relations Committee.
– I served on the Ministerial Candidate Committee and had the privilege to attend a number of Regional Meetings of our Pastors.
– I served on the Inter-Cultural Ministries Study Committee and worked on a plan for presenting the Biblical Principles For Living to Annual Conference.
– We completed the sale of the Staten Island, NY and the Somers Point, NJ properties.
– A new “Team Structure” was drafted for new Mission Churches. We were able to implement the “Coaching” aspect of TEAM at the Chesapeake Mission Church with Willis I. Dowling being coached by a former successful church planter.
– At the end of the year, we began a plan to purchase property for the Rehoboth Mission Church that will act as a hub for the DELMARVA PROJECT.
– I served on our Personnel Committee and participated in the annual evaluation meetings with our men.
– I continued to work with the Board of Foreign Missions in investigating
ways the two Mission Boards can cooperate with each other.
– The “Aquila & Priscilla” partnerships were encouraged and implemented this past year. We currently have four couples involved in these partnerships.
I think that each of us has our own sort of wish list when it comes to ministry or to put it more spiritually, “priority prayer desires.” My priority prayer desires are that the Bible Fellowship Church would be unified with a common focus of reaching people with the Gospel and planting new churches to make disciples. There are still churches that give little attention to the vital Mission of Church Extension and supply very little or even no financial support to Church Extension. It will be impossible to reach the denomination’s goals for extending the BFC if church planting in our Jerusalems, Judeas and Samarias is neglected. May our God, who reigns over His Church and calls His Church to be one, grant us unity of purpose in the days before He returns.
I praise God for the privilege it is to serve the Sovereign King of the Universe. All glory to Him! Please pray for me in 2003, that I will be a servant to the BFC and the Board of Church Extension. Pray that God will give me wisdom. Pray for our Team: Ruth Richards and the vast amount of work she has the responsibility of overseeing, Carol Snyder and her duties, John Pello as he works along side our Church Planters, and Ray Bertolet as he assists in church planting. Finally, pray for our men and their families who serve in the Church Extension Ministries. They are the true sacrificial servant missionaries on the home front.
In His Love & Service, Respectfully Submitted,
David E. Gundrum,
Executive Director of Church Extension Ministries