by Eddie Lyons
In 1950, the Baptist Bible Fellowship was incorporated in the State of Missouri. The genesis documents that are held by the Secretary of State declare the following purposes for why we exist: to foster home and foreign mission work, to support Bible colleges, to publish religious newspapers and periodicals, to engage in religious educational work, to aid and encourage the building of churches, to own, buy, and sell real estate for religious purposes, and in general further the Christian religion.
The world has changed in the last 66 years. BBFI leaders and participants have gone through typical generational changes. What has not changed is the stated purpose. We still exist to “foster home and foreign mission work.”
It is clear an equal emphasis was placed on home and foreign church planting. Planting churches in the United States is vital to the health of our Fellowship.
Tim Keller writes about the importance of planting local churches:
“The vigorous, continual planting of new congregations is the single most crucial strategy for 1) the numerical growth of the body of Christ in any city, and 2) the continual corporate renewal and revival of the existing churches in a city. Nothing else — not crusades, outreach programs, para-church ministries, growing mega-churches, congregational consulting, nor church renewal processes — will have the consistent impact of dynamic, extensive church planting.”
Our founders had it right. Planting local churches is our strategy both at home and abroad. There is nothing as life-giving as the passion and energy I see in the church planters of our Fellowship. When we provide resources, support, and encouragement to these men, we fulfill our stated purpose.