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by David R. Cox
Resume of this page: This page is an index page for pages dealing with our ministry, our focus, our beliefs, our stand both doctrinally and in practice, as well as our preparation and experiences which would apply towards the ministry.
We believe that biblical missions has to be restricted to the Great Commission, that plainly put is evangelism and discipleship in the context of a local church plant. (When other ministries are valid)
Definition of Evangelism - To be perfectly explicit, evangelism is the presentation of gospel to the unsaved in a clear, uncomplicated, direct way, where the unsaved are encountered (in their homes, work, business, or public activities). Evangelism should also be pure and free of deceptions to get people under the hearing of the gospel. Giving away desirable things (candy, toys, prizes, food, cash door prizes, etc) in order to trick the unsaved to enter and hear the gospel is not the way God does things. God's identifying "banner" (flag around which all rally) is truth, not deception of any form. The unsaved should come because they know the gospel will be presented, and they are willing beforehand to at least hear it.
All biblical evangelism is simply half of the equation, and always has a view towards discipleship to prepare a mature Christian functioning in a local body of believers (i.e. a local church). We do not father children to leave them in the street to their own means. This is irresponsible and unbiblical. The cults, false religions, and other churches without our proper view towards the ministry and salvation will collect these "orphans" that we leave about because of an unbiblical focus losing them to all purposes of God. We believe the biblical focus is that of evangelism to discipleship to fully functioning Christian in a local church.
Definition of Discipleship - Discipleship is defined as the teaching of the recently saved to understand their position in Christ (their salvation), understand their obligations, responsibilities, and privileges in relation to God and in relation to the redeemed (the church, of which any representation in any place is a local church, a functioning body). Although we may loosely speak of all Christians as "a part of the body of Christ" wherever they may be, we do not see a hand, foot or eye lying about and say that is Christ. The body is made up of members but has a unity, a whole, that must be in tact and functioning to identify it as a body. (Body parts separated and strewn about without that integral relationship one to another and the body as a whole is a massacre, not a person.) Disciple has the goal of making firm and stable the person in his relationship to Christ and the redeemed, both in his understanding and functioning.
Discipleship has as its goal to make mature Christians, and a mature Christian is defined as a fully functioning adult Christian, able to provide and care for himself, reproducing others (evangelism).
Biblical missions is not about a lot of "ministry" that does not present the gospel and does not have a priority in seeing people saved, nor does not have a priority in making disciples among those saved in the context of a local church so that they may be stable in doctrine and their personal, enter into the ministry, and carry on a healthy relationship with other believers in the context of a local church.
Therefore our conviction is that our ministry and calling is that of a biblical missionary, not breaking the Great Commission into parts, nor reinterpreting it to mean a social gospel outreach, but our ministry is to evangelize the lost, baptize the recently saved (being a public confession of Christ as their Savior and the act of entrance into a local church), and make disciples of them such that they contribute, participate, and are active and fully functioning in a biblical, Fundamental local church, preferably in one in which we have started and organized among our converts for this purpose.
We believe that each local church should amply minister to others in their own church (their priority), evangelize the lost in their community and around the world (focusing on a biblical missionary ministry as defined here), and minister to any other needs of the unsaved or brethren outside their own congregation (this is the least important or lowest priority of these three goals).
We do not wish to become judges of other people's ministry, but we must clearly define what we do in our ministry. Each person must one day stand before the Lord and give account for what they have done with the knowledge they had. The lack of biblical study to find that good and sound will of God is difficult to understand in an supposedly obedient Christian, and worse in a minister of the gospel given his life over to serving God fulltime.
Each to his own I suppose. But personally we see biblical missions are the reproduction of God's principle and primary methodology and way of doing His work, that is a local church with saved members, fully functioning and mature. Without somebody dedicated to this biblical missions, Christianity will shrivel and die in a generation, as it well appears to be doing in our age.
The reason why biblical missionaries do not have funds is because so many other kinds of missionaries are out there going church to church begging funds for ministries that should be under a single local church, both sponsored and paid for by that single church. They have a fractured view of the ministry, refusing the parts they don't want to do (such as evangelism, discipleship, or church planting), and focus on one single part to the neglect of the rest. It is not that these "specialized ministries" should not exist, but that they should exist under the authority of a local church which oversees it, funds it, and administrates it. Since these men refuse to submit to anybody else, they make up a ministry "not under a local church" but make up a board of pastors of local churches. The thinking being that many are better than one. In reality, anybody on such a board who disagrees with the "head honcho" simply is removed next rotation never to return. This is not oversight, but a rubber stamp, and it does not deal with problems within that ministry, asking questions and demanding changes when things are wrong. Authority must involve orders, rules, and policy as well as honesty and openness. This is best handled "in house" in a single church, and not with a board where the commitment of each board member is minimal, just "for good looks" or to "make things look honest."
As such our view is the only valid missionary is one who is involved in all three aspects, and this type of missionary should receive all or the bulk of churches missions dollars. Biblically speaking, the only biblical defense for ANY MISSIONARY MINISTRY is that of Paul, which means that Paul specifically did evangelism, discipleship, and church planting. There is no biblical example of any other kind of missionary ministry (receiving funds from other churches for a ministry), so the burden of proof is on those who would invent other ministries. The biblical mandate is clearly what we set forth here.
Last Update of this page was on: 06/15/04
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