by Jon Konnerup
The Great Commission includes three essential components — evangelism, baptism, and discipleship. The cross-cultural mindset of our missionaries enables them to bring people to Jesus Christ; grounding them in the basics of the Christian life, equipping those who exhibit a faithful desire to serve, and then extending their reach with the Gospel to their own people and the regions beyond. This process of discipleship is demonstrated repeatedly throughout the New Testament.
This is why the BBFI insists on sending men and women who exhibit these qualities and demonstrate an ability to share their faith with others while actively serving in a local church. Missionaries, those who have been discipled, must have the ability to make disciples. If they have not learned how to share their faith, study their Bible, serve others, teach others, and pray in faith, they will have no experience from which to draw while on the foreign field. They would essentially be unable to reproduce a growing Christian who can in turn disciple others. Their church planting efforts would be hindered because their members would lack the ability to make disciples, grow their own ministries, and equip others — they would remain utterly dependent upon the missionary.
In 2 Timothy 2:2, Timothy is challenged to pass on the things he has learned from Paul to “faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.” Here we see four generations of discipleship in one verse: Paul, Timothy, faithful men, and others they would train. This is missions — cross-cultural discipleship.
We remain committed to sending missionaries fully prepared, mobilized to make disciples in hopes they too will one day reach their own.