Can a mission sponsor a missionary?
Let's say that a mission has a member who feels led to go on the foreign mission field. They know him personally. They want to be the "sending church" or entity that sponsors him. Can that mission sponsor the missionary?
(Please be kind in your comments)
Are the members of the mission members of the sponsoring church? If so, then the mission sponsoring the missionary (sending out) would be like a Sunday School class sending out the missionary.
ReplyDeleteNow, if the members of the mission were members of the mission only, and not members of the sponsoring church, then the mission is practically a church if they (a) are saved, (b) are scripturally baptized and (c) have a covenanted agreement to carry out the Lord's work. In this scenario, they "could" sponsor a missionary, but it would cause a lot of "discussion." There would be complaints that if a mission couldn't support itself, then it shouldn't be sponsoring missionaries. The mission could lose support and the missionary sent out by the mission would have trouble raising support. It wouldn't be advisable.
This is not the way it should be, but it is the way it is.
Exactly!
ReplyDeleteWouldn't organizing churches instead of missions solve the whole question?
ReplyDeleteIt would Bro. Robert...and I agree with you. But as you well know, that is not the current climate in the ABA.
ReplyDeleteI ask this question on behalf of a friend who may become directly involved with this in the future. He (and I) are curious about how others feel about this issue.
I think missions (bodies of baptized believers covenanted together to carry out the great commission) are churches in God's eyes whether or not we label them as such.
ReplyDeleteI believe if a "mission" holds membership at another church, yet never assembles with that church, then it would be universal/invisible body. After all, how can you be a church (assembly) with those with whom you never assemble?
After all, if anyone else claimed there were 5 separate bodies who rarely/never assembled with one another, yet all comprised one large church, what would we say? Probably UNIVERSAL HERETICS!!! LoL.
Oh, I just realized I never answered the question. Yes they can, but I agree with Brother Leland. They'd raise much discussion.
ReplyDelete