Report of the
Board of Missions
Things have changed! It is now 9:00 A.M. on a wintery day and already I have:
• distributed Friday Prayer instantly to our prayer partners here in the States as well as our missionaries in over thirty nations!
• sent out two urgent prayer requests that came in overnight to all of the BFC pastors and delegates of Annual Conference.
• had an instant message, including video, with a former international student in Thailand.
• communicated with a missionary in Morocco with both audio and video.
Technology has changed the way we carry out missions in the BFC! I have communication access to nearly every missionary in the BFC. At this very moment, I have contact with missionaries in ten nations who are available to take an internet call; green check marks appear after their names if they are at their computers. It is incredible! Because of the internet, we can, within moments of a crisis, mobilize the entire denomination in prayer. We keep the Daily Prayer Calendar current with relevant requests and receive feedback immediately.
Even with all of this technology, the heart of missions remains the same. There is a burning urgency to take the Gospel to those who have little opportunity to hear. This is our Lord’s commission to the Church. Our missionary family fulfills this commission either directly on the front lines or in support roles so that others can minister directly. That has been the BFC priority for over a hundred years.
As older missionaries complete their calls and return to the States, God is stirring the hearts of others to go. Just this month, I received three applications from young people willing and eager to serve their Lord in career missions! Four commissioning services are already scheduled for this spring! New horizons are opening via denominational projects like the unreached people groups in Tanzania. Others are called to China, Togo, Japan, Central African Republic and Thailand.
They join forces with those already serving in over thirty nations – ministering to refugees, teaching in seminaries, translating the scriptures, working with the handicapped and orphans, doing street evangelism with transients, evangelizing unreached communities, planting churches, and working in camping ministry, clinics, and sports ministry. Still others support these outreach ministries by serving in home offices, repairing cars and airplanes, shipping goods, and keeping missionaries connected through aviation. Two of our missionaries work in the home office coordinating and leading short term ministry, service, and humanitarian teams for the BFC.
God continues to use some of our missionaries, like Dave Riddell and Dan Scott, in important leadership roles. It is a blessing to see such men receive recognition from their sending agencies and peers. Still others share their knowledge and experience by creating much-needed books and other publications relevant to a particular area of the world. A recent book written by Phil Morrison to assist pastors of multiple churches has become a standard in Africa and has already been translated into several languages.
Short term ministry continues to be a priority for many of our BFC churches. God continues to call people to full time career missions from the host of people who spend part of their summer or vacation serving our missionary family. Nearly every BFC applicant for career missions states that it was short term missionary service that sensitized their hearts to God’s calling in their lives. The BOM continues to provide resources for short term ministry through the services of Nelson Randolph and Chris Merrick. The weekly e-publication, “Let’s Fish,” promotes prayer and resources for short term ministry.
Our missionary families that face unexpected, urgent financial needs may find assistance with the BOM Buttress Fund. This Fund has grown because of the generous gifts of concerned BOM friends and through dear saints that recognized the need to include the BOM in their estate planning. The BOM financial statement demonstrates the fund’s resources and the substantial grants that were awarded to our missionary families this year. Missionaries may apply for grants in January and June; emergency applications are also accepted for immediate distribution.
Of course I cannot talk about what God is doing through our missionary family without mentioning the sacrificial giving of the BFC churches and individual BFC members. Our financial report bears witness of this commitment. The finances needed to follow our Lord’s command to go into His entire world are astronomical, yet feasible, when God’s people follow His prompting to give. We praise God for all of our BFC churches that have sacrificially taken on this challenge. One hundred percent of every dollar given to the BOM designated for a BOM missionary is passed on to the missionary; no fees are assessed. In light of this, we praise God for those churches and individual BFC members (we call them Collegium) who continue to support the BOM. Without that faithful support, we could not serve our missionary family and the churches.
I encourage you to read over the roster of BFC missionaries included in this report. Notice the variety of ministries to which God has called them. Review the financial statements and see how we attempt to give accounting of every cent of the sacrificial gifts from our churches and members. Then, please realize that prayer remains the most important activity of the BFC church. I encourage each church to become proactive in promoting the Missionary Prayer Calendar. We desperately need the continued corporate prayer of the BFC.
Below is a summary of the BOM services:
1. Missionary care, including field visits
We are available and willing to meet with those considering missionary service and with our missionaries who need advice or counsel regarding their ministry. Visits to fields of ministry are undertaken to assist and encourage our missionaries as needs arise.
2. Seminars
The BOM offers a host of informational resources to BFC churches.
• 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 dynamic from their church.
• Knowing Gods Will Seminars are conducted each year on a denominational level at a fall Retreat Within a Retreat (RWR) held at Pinebrook. This information 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 our missionaries that are currently 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 is designed to help you and your church partner with your missionaries. Chris Merrick (Short-Term Projects Coordinator) and Nelson Randolph Short-Term Partnership Coordinator) will assist with short term missions trip plans.
3. Prayer Calendar
This publication provides current prayer information for your congregation. The new format is an attractive, readable prayer aid and 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 for 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 for planning short-term or career missions involvement. You may log onto the site at www.bfcbom.org.
5. Email Subscriber Lists
a. Daily Prayer
This is a daily e-mail that allows subscribers to view the Prayer Calendar request for the day, in addition to receiving up-to-the-minute news and prayer requests from the field. Readership is approximately 125.
b. Friday Prayer
This is an in-depth prayer document produced each Friday and sent by e-mail. This communication, designed for missionary-to-missionary contact, is also available to a select group of other prayer partners. Readership is 190.
6. “Let’s Fish”
This newsletter, produced each Wednesday, is designed to keep those interested in short-term missionary trips and possible career missionary involvement on the cutting edge. It is an outlet for the exchange of ideas, as well as prayer and ministry opportunities. This document enjoys a readership from ages fourteen years through adult, and includes pastors, missionaries, youth leaders, mission chair persons, laymen, and students. There is a readership of nearly 250 each week. A full archive is available on the BOM 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 is an opportunity for networking and interaction among individuals as they endeavor to draw attention to God’s heart for the world in their churches. 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 8, 2008 at Faith BFC, Lancaster, PA.
8. Missionary In-Residence at Pinebrook Bible Conference Summer Family Camp
The BOM provides a missionary family for each of the seven weeks of family camp to promote missions in the Bible Fellowship Denomination. Each week the campers have opportunity to interact with a missionary from the BFC at a very personal level. Additionally, the missionaries have opportunity to present their ministries 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 individuals and churches abreast of the financial needs of the entire missionary family. Receipting of financial donations is meticulously recorded for both the donor’s and the missionary’s records. Addresses and birthdays are kept up to date.
Thank you for your partnership in ministry!
Dana E. Weller
Director
The Board of Missions makes the following recommendation to the 125th Annual Conference:
Resolved, that Daniel G. Oswald be ratified as Financial Secretary of the Board of Missions for a three year term.
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, Kevin W. Kirkpatrick, Thomas P. Shorb, Philip E. Yerrington
Missionary Units as of December 31, 2007
General Statistical Report on December 31, 2007
1. Number of Sending Boards under which our
missionaries are working. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42
2. Number of countries in which our missionaries
are working. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
3. Number of Missionaries:
Family Couples Singles Total
Units Adults
Active Missionaries 78 63 15 141
Leave of Absence 0 0 0 0
Appointees 13 9 5 23
Active Applicants 4 1 3 5
TOTALS 95 73 23 169
4. Geographical Areas where our missionaries are assigned and their number
Area Families Adults Countries
| USA | 35 | 60 | 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 | 18 | 39 | Austria, France, Germany, UK, Greece, Hungary, Spain, Northern Ireland, Yugoslavia, Czech Republic, Spanish Canary Islands |
| Africa | 11 | 18 | Kenya, Tanzania, Morocco, Central African Republic |
| Asia | 9 | 17 | China, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, India, Thailand, Ukraine, Japan |
| Southeast Asia& Pacific | 5 | 7 | Philippines, Australia, Malaysia, Indonesia |