Missions

What is a missionary?

While the word "missionary" is not in the KJV, it has the same meaning as the Bible word "evangelist." An evangelist, defined, is "a bringer of good tidings, a preacher of the gospel." We all are to be missionaries wherever we go, be it near our home or anywhere we go. However, God does call Believers to specific fields (or areas of the world) where there is no Gospel message. Jesus sent out his disciples to preach to others. The churches in the book of Acts sent out men of God to preach in other regions, the Apostle Paul being the most well-known missionary.

Why do we send missionaries?

1. It is a command from Jesus. Jesus told us in Matthew 28:18-20 "go ye therefore, and teach all nations..."

   Acts 1:8 - "But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth."

2. God is also not willing that any should perish (2 Peter 3:9).
3. We send missionaries on our behalf because we cannot all go to the uttermost part of the earth.
4. We desire to start other churches in the regions beyond.
5. We know that Hell is real. Millions of men, woman, and children will spend an eternity there if we do not reach them with the Gospel.

Who do we support as missionaries?

We support local church missionaries whose home church sends them out and who are not affiliated with a mission board. (We believe that mission's work is carried out by churches, not mission boards.) These missionaries line up doctrinally with the KJV Bible. We support several missionaries that are sent out from our own church, as well as missionaries from other New Testament Baptist churches.

How do we support our missionaries?

We financially support our missionaries through faith promise giving. Each year at our Missions Conference, we are challenged by the preaching to personally designate to missions whatever God lays on our members' hearts. We believe faith promise giving is the only way taught in Scripture for supporting missionaries.

We also support our missionaries through prayer and personal communication. This encourages the missionary and helps them to continue on preaching the Gospel.

In addition, our Pastor makes it a point during our mid-week services to read the missionary letters that we receive. This is encouraging to our people to see how God is working in the lives of people around the world. It also helps our people to pray more specifically for the needs of our missionaries or those with whom they are working.