Outreach Policy

Purpose:

Our primary goal through missions and outreach is to carry out The Great Commission by bringing people to a saving knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and to make disciples that make disciples (Matthew 28:19-20).

Our Vision:

While the leadership of BBF believes there is merit and benefit in giving food, clothing, shelter and other basic needs to the poor and needy without having it be given in an overtly Christian manner, we believe that our unique role and part in giving to the poor and needy is one in which our giving will be done overtly in the Name of Jesus Christ (for more information about strictly helping those in need, please see our Benevolence Policy).
 

Our heart and desire is to let our Lord lead and guide us in who we give to, how we give, and when we give. We believe we are to give and share the primary reason we are giving, which is the Lord Jesus Christ loves you and He has directed us to give to you … … … in His Name and because of His instructions. Then we are to be very sensitive to His leading, looking for ways to engage the recipient in an evangelical discussion about who Jesus Christ is. We believe that the Lord will give us words to speak and we will intentionally ask Him for these words, listen to Him, and then share these words with those we give to. Perhaps, do you have a relationship with Jesus Christ or do you know about Him? Perhaps, do you have any thoughts on why He would single you out and bring you to our attention so we could come along side of you and help you? As a result, we expect the recipient of our giving to understand why we are giving to them. Our Desire:

We believe that God the Holy Spirit is doing remarkable work in our province of Chiriquí. He has sent many of His workers/servants to our province to minister to those who do not know Jesus Christ as their Savior. We wish to connect with them, support them, and advance what God has called them to do.

In general, our philosophy in outreach is to encourage our members with a vision, calling, or concern for outreach to take ownership and lead. In doing this, they show personal accountability to the Lord for The Great Commission.

The BBF leadership will seek the Lord in how He wishes us to support and encourage those in our family who apply for support.

Because our giving will be done overtly in the Name of Jesus Christ, this giving will have a strong relational component between the leader (or other BBF members involved) and the recipient(s) of the outreach. This relationship ensures an on-going “connectedness” which assists in maintaining an accountable and sustainable ministry, and helps facilitate our primary goals of salvation and discipleship through giving and outreach. We also strongly support the concept of recruitment for such outreach. We love being able to give our church body opportunities to serve as the hands and feet of Christ, especially as it pertains to reaching the lost. This must first apply to our local community and then extend from there, following the example of the apostles who went to Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. Therefore, part of BBF’s efforts in outreach will extend to foreign missions. Consideration: Any and all BBF members with a vision to serve and reach out to the local community will be considered with this framework in mind. This philosophy will be used in qualifying which ministries will be supported both financially and with promotional endorsement. Final decision discerning will fall upon the outreach leadership and the elders. This discernment will be in keeping with the vision that the Lord has given the Senior Pastor. Upon reaching a final decision, outreach requests will fall into one of three categories listed below: 1.) BBF will take this outreach on as its own – fully supporting, sponsoring, and investing into the event. This will be more of the exception than the norm. In this scenario, the BBF member(s) leading this outreach will have full access to the church to recruit volunteers and additional financial support through Sunday morning announcements and our weekly update email. We will also provide details for the outreach on our website. We will also likely grant access to the building (see our Building-Use Policy) and church equipment (see our Equipment-Use Policy). 2.) BBF will not take this outreach on as its own, but will still support the event, just like other supporters. In this scenario, we support the church member(s) desiring to take this on. BBF may contribute in a variety of ways including (but not limited to) prayer, training, counsel, volunteer-access, and financial assistance. BBF also may choose to allow limited Sunday announcement time, weekly update access and website access. This is the most typical and expected scenario and is the norm of like-minded churches. 3.) BBF will not actively endorse or support the event financially. We will still offer support in the form of prayer, counsel, direction etc., but there will be no access to Sunday morning announcements, the weekly update, the website, or financial support. To apply for support and for BBF participation, click on the link below to access our Outreach Request Form. Please thoroughly complete the application and submit it to outreach@boquetebiblefellowship.com where one of our elders and/or outreach leaders will get back with you.

 
After His resurrection, Jesus said to His Disciples, “go into all the world and preach the good news to everyone.” – Mark 16:15