by Mark Hodges
Think about the power of a tiny grain of wheat. One single grain can grow into a fully mature stalk of wheat. That stalk can in turn produce countless more grains of wheat. It all begins with planting a single seed. It ends with a mighty harvest. “…Behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest” (John 4:35).
For almost 60 years the BBFI has facilitated a vital partnership between churches and missionaries worldwide in fulfilling the Great Commission. It all began as a small seed, but now we rejoice in seeing the spiritual increase around the world. Missionaries went to foreign lands, some even in barren and unresponsive places; they cultivated the ground, repeatedly sowing and watering the seed. In spite of the weeds, birds, and pests, the seed has sprung up and has yielded many times over. This has brought the BBFI a harvest of souls and now we are witnessing the same process of growth in foreign countries. The BBFI churches in the Philippines are now sending missionaries out to Cambodia, Russia, East Asia, and other regions of the world. In addition, Mexico, Costa Rica, Australia, and many other countries are sending forth Fellowship missionaries.
One of the key factors to our churches’ relationship with the missionary is the Mission Office. As the new first vice president of missions, I traveled to Springfield in October to meet with Mission Director Jon Konnerup and to familiarize myself with how we care for our missionaries. The scripture entreats us to give honor to whom honor is due (Romans 13:7). First of all, let me say that we are extremely blessed to have Jon Konnerup serving our Fellowship. He is a man of integrity and one who loves the Lord’s work and missionaries. Even though his work is rewarding, and his responsibilities are great, he willingly shoulders a heavy load so that God’s work through our missionaries might be accomplished. I look forward to our work together over the coming years. His sweet wife, Pam, also exhibits that caring love for our missionaries.
The Mission Office associate directors are godly men who are willing and capable of assisting our director in various aspects of missionary needs. It was also my privilege to meet each member of the Mission Office staff. These wonderful people exhibit such an amazing spirit of devotion and service. After my three-day visit, I came away with two vivid thoughts: First, I had no idea our Mission Office was responsible for doing so much!
Our churches and missionaries should really be grateful to have such dedicated people who are so eager to serve. As a result, I came home and increased our giving to the Mission Office by 50 percent. Second, I wish it were possible for every pastor and missionary could take a full tour of our Mission Office and witness all the work they do assisting our missionaries. The BBFI Mission Office processes designated gifts for over 4,000 churches and 896 missionaries. They are also involved in processing the funds of other entities of our Fellowship such as our Bible colleges, National Church Planting Office, Mission Office, the Tribune, BBF Builders, MANNA, etc. The BBFI Mission Office provides a variety of services — bookkeeping, banking, mailing, reporting, medical fund processing, training, counseling, and prayer. Every year they assist in raising funds to help build church buildings and missionary homes on foreign fields. Our churches receive the benefit of mission conference resources, videos, a daily ConnectionPoint newsletter, trips, and more. With such a small staff, I honestly don’t know how they are able to accomplish all that they do. One of our sister missionary organizations, one that ministers to nearly the same number of missionaries, employs more than double the number of staff we have employed in our Mission Office. We owe a great deal to these precious people who make great sacrifices for our churches and our missionaries, and who do their work with such efficiency. Many of these workers have worked untold hours this year on the reporting project so that all of our missionaries and the Mission Office will be current with IRS, homeland security, and new non-profit organization regulations.
I know that this has been a difficult year for many missionaries (especially economically), but our missionaries are resilient and God is going to bless their willingness to serve during these trying days. As we look at what has been accomplished for the Lord through our BBFI churches and missionaries, let’s rejoice and remember what the Bible says, “I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase” (1 Corinthians 3:6-7).