How Do I Become a Missionary?

The BBFI offers several ways you can be personally involved in missions.  Following is a brief description of the different tracks available.  You may also access a list of FAQs by clicking here.

Career Missions – This is for individuals who feel the Lord is leading them to another country for a lifetime of missionary service.

TEAM (Total Exposure Associate Missionary) – The TEAM program allows an individual to experience cross-cultural ministry first hand through working with a veteran missionary. TEAM requires a one to three year commitment and a work agreement with a veteran BBFI career missionary.

Chaplain Endorsement – The BBFI offers endorsement to individuals who feel God’s leading to serve as a Chaplain in the military and who meet the qualifications of the Armed Forces.

 

Career Missions

 A career missionary has a proven track record in ministry and believes God is leading him or her to a lifetime of missionary service. Career missionaries are involved in church planting ministries including, but not limited to, evangelism, mentoring, counseling, training national leadership, and Bible institutes. Although each missionary has his or her own set of unique abilities, gifts, and training, each must meet the following specific qualifications for approval:

  • Be a member, in good standing, of a church which supports the BBFI
  • Be ordained in a church of like faith and practice (men only)
  • Be a graduate with at least 18 credit hours of mission courses of a full membership and/or approved school. A minimum of 18 credit hours of mission courses from another training institution may be accepted by the Mission Field Committee after approval by the Mission Office on an individual basis.
  • Complete a one-year vocational internship (this may be at a church in the US or through the TEAM program)
  • Attend two-week Candidate School (one week during the year of approval and one week the following year)
  • Be at least 25 years of age upon arrival on the field
  • Be a US citizen
  • Personal debt will be discussed on an individual basis.  Unsecured debt should be minimal as determined by the Mission Office. 
  • Be in good health and able to submit recent health exam results

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TEAM

The TEAM program was specifically developed to assist individuals who meet the requirements to gain experience in cross-cultural ministry. Under the mentorship of a veteran career missionary, the TEAM missionary develops his or her ministry skills. This time may help confirm God’s leading into career missions, and may be used to fulfill the internship requirement for career missions. While God has gifted each individual with their own abilities and talents, specific requirements for recognition are: 
  • Be a member, in good standing, of a church which supports the BBFI
  • Have completed at least one year of college
  • Be willing to work with a veteran BBFI missionary
  • Committed to a one- to three-year term of service on the mission field per the terms of agreement with host missionary
  • Attend Candidate School in the same calendar year as recognition
  • Be at least 20 years of age
  • Be a U.S. citizen
  • Personal debt will be discussed on an individual basis.  Unsecured debt should be minimal as determined by the Mission Office. 
    Be in good health

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 Chaplaincy

The Baptist Bible Fellowship International serves as a recognized Endorsing Agency by the U.S. Department of Defense. A chaplain endorsed by the BBFI is to live out his professional life at taxpayer expense within a military service environment as a witness for Jesus Christ. He will be representative of the constituent churches of the BBFI. His specific task is to win people to Christ, disciple and nurture believers, and otherwise provide scripturally oriented processional and clerical services to his specific community.

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

  Please click on a question below to see the answer. 

How long does it take to go through the application process?
Do I have to raise my own support? Can I participate in the TEAM program and then seek career approval?
Do I have to be a member of a BBFI affiliated church for a certain amount of time?
 

 Who can I talk with about missionary service?

Jim Smith is our Associate Director in charge of new candidates. He and his wife, Sharon, served for 30 years as missionaries to Ecuador. The Smiths like to personally speak with those interested in missionary service. You may contact his office at 417-862-5001 or e-mail via applications@bbfimissions.com. If he is not available, his assistant, Sally, can answer questions or set up an appointment for you. You are not making any commitments for service by contacting our office.

 

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Candidates work with the Mission Office to help establish where they are in the preparation process. Providing all of the qualifications are met, the application process can take as little as six months. This includes completion of application paperwork, health requirements, approval at a National Fellowship Meeting (held in May and September), and attending the Deputation phase of Candidate School.

 

Most pastors appreciate the process our missionaries go through to become partners with the churches of the BBFI. The process assures the supporting pastor that the missionaries have met certain doctrinal, educational, practical and health requirements.

 

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The BBFI believes missionaries and the local church work hand-in-hand.   Because of this a missionary and his family raise their support from local churches. It takes missionaries an average of approximately two years to raise support.

 

The BBFI Mission Office does not charge the approved missionaries for handling their contributions. The missionaries receive 100 cents of every dollar that is designated for them.

  

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Yes, providing all other requirements for career approval are met and a favorable recommendation is received from the host missionary.

 

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Candidate School is held the second full week of July each year at the BBFI Mission Office in Springfield, Missouri.
 
Career Candidates attend the Deputation phase of Candidate School the year of their approval and attend the Pre-Field phase the following year.
 
TEAM Candidates attend Candidate School in the calendar year in which they are recognized.

 

 

Candidate School is required for all those seeking approval or recognition.

 

Candidates transitioning from TEAM to Career missions will need to attend a second week of Candidate School in the same calendar year they are approved.

  

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Career missionaries are approved twice a year at the National Fellowship Meeting. May approvals take place on the campus of Baptist Bible College during their May Graduation Fellowship. September approvals take place at a different location each year depending upon which church is hosting the September meeting.

 

TEAM missionaries are also recognized at both of these meetings.

 

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Be sure to discuss your preparations with your pastor. You can then begin discussing your plans with the Mission Office.
  • Education: If needed, begin working on your college requirements.
  • Internship: If needed, begin seeking a place where you can learn the basics of ministry alongside an experienced pastor or missionary.  Please, feel free to call the Mission Office for information on churches looking for interns.
  • Stewardship: Be a good steward of your financial resources. There is a debt limit.
  • Physical Health: Live a healthy lifestyle. There are physical requirements to meet for approval/recognition.

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If I am not a U.S. citizen, can I apply for missionary service with the BBFI? 

 

 

Applications for career missions can only be taken from U.S. citizens (by birth or naturalized citizens). Applicants must be a current active member of a BBFI affiliated church located in the U.S. We encourage Christians of other nations to seek opportunities to serve through their local church or with a mission agency in their own country, if available.

 

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Career missionaries are required to be high school graduates or equivalent and to be graduates with at least 18 credit hours of mission courses from a full membership and/or approved school. A minimum of 18 credit hours of mission courses from another training institution may be accepted by the Mission Field Committee after approval by the Mission Office on an individual basis.  Educational requirements are for both spouses. Five years’ experience as a pastor and pastor’s wife within the Baptist Bible Fellowship may be considered the equivalent of the educational and internship requirements for approval as Baptist Bible Fellowship missionaries.

TEAM missionaries must have completed at least one year of college.

 

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There are two primary issues that are considered regarding medical issues. First, does the applicant or applicant’s family member have wellness issues that would make it difficult for them or their family member to live and function in another country?
 
Secondly, is there adequate medical care available for the applicant or family member in the country of their choice?

 

Basic medical tests are required for career applicants and their families.

 

 

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Missionary personnel receive adequate but limited support. Debt places a significant burden on the missionary.  Personal debt will be discussed on an individual basis.  Unsecured debt should be minimal as determined by the Mission Office. Applicants are encouraged to seek the counsel of their sending pastor and the Mission Office about this issue.

 

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Current policy does not permit divorced individuals from being approved as career missionaries.

 

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Missionary applicants have the following age restrictions:

Track
Minimum Age
Career (Married)
Age 25 before departure for the field
Career (Single Male)
Age 25 before departure for the field
Career (Single Female)
Age 27 before departure for the field
TEAM (Married or Single)
Age 20

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Do I have to be a member of a BBFI affiliated church for a certain amount of time?

 

The BBFI Mission Office administrates the policies determined by the pastors of the BBFI. We recognize each sending church as the missionary’s final authority and the biblical sending agency. It would be up to the individual church to determine specific requirements for the missionaries, including how long one would need to be a member of the church before sending him or her as a missionary.

 

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Yes, single men and women can participate in both career and TEAM missions.

 

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The BBFI approves and/or recognizes both husbands and wives as missionaries and assumes both are able to articulate a definite call to missionary service. If your spouse is not comfortable with applying for service, then you would want to wait and make this a matter of prayer. It is not recommended that you put pressure on your spouse to make a decision regarding missions. God will make Himself clear to both you and your spouse and show you what you should do. You should also speak with your pastor regarding how you feel God is working in your life.
 

Candidates may also want to consider the TEAM program as a first step to help confirm God’s leadership into career missions.

 

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When couples are approved as Career missionaries or recognized as TEAM, both the husband and wife are required to meet the necessary qualifications to be considered fully qualified missionaries. It is assumed that both the husband and wife will express a clear call to missionary service.

 

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