Report of the
Board of Missions
“There is no one like Thee among the gods, O Lord; nor are there any works like Thine.
All nations whom Thou hast made shall come and worship before Thee, O Lord;
and they shall glorify Thy name. For Thou art great and doest wondrous deeds;
Thou alone art God.” Psalm 86:8-10 (NASB)
What a great day it will be when we find ourselves a part of that great throng of “all the nations” who worship before the throne of God and glorify His name! The Lord has been pleased to continue to use the BFC in reaching “all the nations” with the Good News of the incarnation, life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ to provide salvation from sin. Because of BFC efforts around the world, that great throng of worshipers will include Mexican, French, Austrian, Kenyan, Greek, Costa Rican, Moroccan, Mongolian, Kyrgystani, Bolivian, Ukranian, Spanish and yes, American people. These are just a few of the 32 countries where BFC missionaries are currently in ministry. These missionaries would be the first to tell you that the glory for any fruit of their ministry goes to God, for He is great and does wondrous things, and He alone is God!
It is a great privilege and joy to serve the BFC and its missionaries through the work of the Board of Missions. The Board of Missions Policy Handbook states: “The purpose of the Bible Fellowship Church Board of Missions is to assist local Bible Fellowship Churches to fulfill the Great Commission of Christ. This is accomplished by directing and promoting the missions program as well as selecting, overseeing and caring for the missionaries of the Bible Fellowship Church (in) cooperation with the local church and sending agency.”
One of the very key phrases in this purpose statement is “local Bible Fellowship Church”
also described as “the local church.”. The Board of Missions is not some independent agency that sets an agenda and dictates the direction of the missions program of the BFC denomination. Rather, it exists to “assist” and work “in cooperation with” individual churches. To that end, the Board of Missions serves the local church by responding to and supporting church-led initiatives in missions; by approving missionary candidates, thus giving them access to many individual churches without having to go through repeated approval processes; and by setting standards of education and preparation that help to ensure readiness for missionary service.
The Board of Missions gets really excited when a Pastor or church representative says, “Will you help us? We would like to be involved in missions by_____________” (fill in the blank with an area that your church is interested in.) Or, “Our church is small but wants to be involved in reaching all the nations. What can we do?” The Board of Missions provides a wealth of resources to assist BF Churches in their missions endeavors:
1. Missionary Care including field visits
We are available and willing to meet with those considering missionary service and our missionaries needing advice or counsel regarding their ministry. Visits to the field of ministry are made to help and encourage our missionaries as the needs arise. Buttress Fund distributions assist our missionary family in time of financial needs. This year’s distribution from this fund was in excess of $68,000!
2. Seminars
The BOM offers to the BF churches a host of informational resources.
• Design Your Impact Workshop – This five-hour seminar enables church leaders to discover their congregation’s key characteristics and resources (their DNA) and move toward identifying a strategic missions focus that can unleash powerful, new global dynamics from their church.
• Knowing God’s Will Seminars are conducted each year on a denominational level at a fall Retreat Within a Retreat (RWR) held at Pinebrook, but is also useful as a weekend course for a youth group in a local church setting.
• P.O.M. (Parents of Missionary) Retreats. This weekend retreat seminar is designed to keep the parents of our missionaries on track with the ministry of their sons and daughters (and grandchildren) overseas.
• Culture Link Seminars is a program that prepares your short-term missionary teams to be fully prepared for ministry. This is a necessary seminar for any church serious about getting the most from a cross-cultural experience.
• Speaker Resource. The office personnel remain available for mission emphasis in local congregations. This includes all stated public worship services, Sunday School, mission conferences, and special events. The office also provides a complete listing on our website (see #3) of all our missionaries that are available for your missionary event needs.
• Mentoring Services are available to assist a church’s board of elders and missions committee in developing a comprehensive, long-range and balanced-outreach plan that uses every member in God’s global cause.
• Short-term planning advice and assistance to help you and your church partner with your missionaries by means of short-term missions trips through the services of Chris Merrick, Short-Term Projects Coordinator and Nelson Randolph, Short-Term Partnership Coordinator.
3. Prayer Calendar
The Prayer Calendar will provide your congregation prayer information that is current. The new format is an attractive readable prayer aid that is offered to the churches at a reduced rate. Nearly 1900 are sent out each month.
4. Board of Missions Website
The BOM website is quickly becoming a focal point of information needed by everyone interested in missions in the BFC. This site continues to grow with useful information for both the church leadership and anyone seeking God’s direction for possible service through the Board of Missions. Personal support needs and biographical information are continually updated and available 24 hours a day. There are also helpful links in planning short-term or career missions involvement. You can log onto the site at www.bfcbom.org.
5. Email Subscriber Lists
a. Daily Prayer – Daily Prayer is a daily e-mail you can receive that allows you to not only view the Prayer Calendar request for the day, but also receive up-to-the-minute news and prayer requests from the field. Readership is around 125.
b. Friday Prayer – This is an in-depth prayer document produced each Friday and sent by e-mail. This document meant for missionary-to-missionary communication, is also available to a select group of other prayer partners. Readership is 190.
6. Let’s Fish.
A newsletter produced each Wednesday intended to keep those interested in short – term missionary trips and possible career missionary involvement on the cutting edge. It is a place for the exchange of ideas, as well as prayer and ministry opportunities. This document enjoys a readership from ages 14 years thru adult, with backgrounds that include pastors, missionaries, youth leaders, mission chair people, laymen, and students. There is a readership of nearly 250 each week. A full archive is available on our website.
7. May Missionary Rally
This annual gathering of missionaries and Bible Fellowship Churches provides a world-wide panorama of missions, both local and overseas. It also provides networking opportunities and interaction between churches as they endeavor to highlight God’s heart for the world in their church. A children’s program for Kindergarten through 8th grade has become a successful part of this day. This year’s rally will be held May 11th at Cedar Crest BFC.
8. Missionary In-Residence at Pinebrook Bible Conference Summer Family Camp
To promote missions in the BFC, the BOM will supply a missionary family for each of the seven weeks of family camp. Each week the campers will have opportunity to interact at a very personal level with a missionary from the BFC. Additionally, the missionary will have opportunity to present their ministry during public meetings.
9. Office activities
The office remains the hub for donor and church information and financial processing. We compile and maintain all the necessary information to keep you abreast of the financial needs of the entire missionary family. Addresses and birthdays are kept up-to-date for missionary committees and societies. Receipting of financial donations are meticulously recorded for both the donor’s and the missionary’s records.
The members of the board and the home office thank you for your continued sacrificial giving to the needs of our missionary family. We remind you that the operations of the board are totally dependant upon the financial support of the BFC.
Found elsewhere in this report is the financial and statistical information that will give you a glimpse of what God is doing. An updated list of all the missionaries and sending boards is also in the Annual Conference Yearbook.
Board of Missions: Ralph M. Soper, Chairman; Dana E. Weller, Director; Daniel G. Oswald, Financial Secretary; Robert W. Davies Secretary; Donald S. Faust, Sue Figard, Leroy O. Herb, Jacob J. Susek, Jr., Thomas P. Shorb, Philip E. Yerrington
Missionary Units as of December 31, 2006
General Statistical Report on December 31, 2006
1. Number of Sending Boards under which our
missionaries are working. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39
2. Number of countries in which our missionaries
are working. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
3. Number of Missionaries:
Family Couples Singles Total
Units Adults
Active Missionaries 85 64 19 147
Leave of Absence 1 0 1 1
Appointees 3 3 0 14
Active Applicants 3 0 3 3
TOTALS 92 67 23 165
4. Geographical Areas where our missionaries are assigned and their number
Area Families Adults Countries
| USA | 37 | 64 | United States of America |
| North America | 4 | 8 | Canada, Mexico (excluding U.S.) |
| Central America | 3 | 5 | Costa Rica, Guadeloupe |
| Caribbean | 1 | 2 | Bonaire |
| South America | 2 | 4 | Bolivia, Brazil |
| Europe | 19 | 32 | Austria, France, Germany, UK, Greece, Hungary, Spain, Northern Ireland, Yugoslavia, Czech Republic, Spanish Canary Islands |
| Africa | 6 | 10 | Kenya, Tanzania, Morocco |
| Asia | 8 | 15 | Kyrgyzstan, China, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, India, Thailand, Ukraine |
| Southeast Asia& Pacific | 5 | 7 | Philippines, Australia, Malaysia, Indonesia |
Our Missionary Family [not included here]
Candidates and Commissionings
The local church continues to produce world-bound missionaries. This year, the Board of Missions processed a number of new applications and approved 2 candidates: Denny & Nancy Mitchell, and commissioned 3 missionaries: Larry & Michelle Davies & Melissa Hause.
Individuals Ending Their Active Missionary Service
Jim & Trudi MacArthur
Jennifer Palmer
Annual Reports From Missionaries
Annual activity reports from missionaries will be sent out by the missionaries themselves. These reports for 2006 will be sent out in early 2007.
Dates To Mark On Your Calendar Of Events:
Friday, May 11th 2007 Conference-Wide Missionary Rally 10:00 am to 3:00 pm at Cedar Crest Bible Fellowship Church, Allentown, PA
BFC Board of Missions
Statement of Financial Position
[not included here]