Information for "Pre-Fielders"
(those on pre-field ministry or "deputation")

As you know, in missions today, often missionary candidates or appointees must "compete" for space on church calendars and missionary budgets. As much as we realize a missionary needs exposure to churches for prayer and financial support, unfortunately we cannot possibly accommodate all the missionaries who contact us requesting a meeting. Our pastor would never get to preach! :)

In an effort to streamline your search, we're providing here some basic information about our church's missions program, and some guidelines for contacting us about scheduling a meeting. We know it is a rough trail out there, but we hope this information helps you know if Bible Baptist Church is a place you might stop.

Our Missions Philosophy
Bible Baptist Church defines mission work to include evangelization of the sinner, the encouragement of the saved (baptism and discipleship) and the establishing of those people into a local New Testament church. An established local New Testament church is the end result of Biblical missions. Auxiliary work that assists in these tasks may also be considered.

Our Support Prerequisites
Of course, we can't promise anyone space on our missions budget--but these are the guidelines laid out in our missions policy regarding new financial support.

It is the policy of Bible Baptist Church to consider support only for fundamental Baptist missionaries who are known to be in agreement with our Articles of Faith, philosophy of ministry, and separatist position. The missionary's sending church and agency if applicable must also meet these guidelines.

Candidates must evidence salvation and the call of God (in the case of married couples, this includes both husband and wife), as well as the gifts, abilities, and preparation necessary to fulfill the ministry they will be involved in.

While it is beyond the scope of this page to enumerate specific procedures for selecting missionaries for support, these basic above-mentioned qualifications would be considered as the missionary seeking support shares his/her work in one or more regular services of the church.

Meeting Request Guidelines
When requesting a meeting, we request that you do so first by sending your materials by mail to the church office. Use the following address:

Pastor Comings or
Missions Committee
Bible Baptist Church
15 West Rd.
Cortland, NY 13045

We regret that we cannot reply to all inquiries, due to the large number we receive. However, we will keep your information on file and the pastor or missions committee will respond if we find a place of ministry for you on our schedule, or if we'd like more information.

It should be noted that we are often scheduling missionary meetings for new candidates (those not already supported or in a previous relationship with our church) over a year in advance, although exceptions can sometimes be made. As a guideline, regular meetings are generally scheduled once per quarter, and our missions conference is currently held every other year. Other opportunities may occasionally exist in the form of youth or children's ministries, academy chapel services, or other special events.

As a missionary heading to the field, it's unfortunate that by sheer volume the necessary task of scheduling meetings is somewhat akin to telemarketing. We appreciate your situation, however we ask that you do not contact the church by phone to request a meeting unless a contact with you has been initiated by the church office in response to your mailed materials.

Please, don't be discouraged from contacting us! We simply ask that you do so first by mail.

Return to Missions Index