What is “Faith” Missions?
First Baptist Church participates in “faith” missions. As the word “faith” would suggest, it is doing missions in dependence on God. However, most methods of missions will claim to be “of faith.”
In missions terminology, “faith” missions is contrasted with those missionary societies or denominations that raise money, recruit, screen and approve candidates and then send them to the field as mission employees with a guaranteed salary.
In faith missions, the missionaries raise their own support through deputation in local churches. They are commissioned by a local church to go to the field of God’s calling on the belief (faith) that the churches supporting them will be able to fulfill their financial commitment of support. Missionaries are supported individually and directly by the churches whodesignate funds to specific causes.
The process of deputation is an opportunity to develop personal and intimate relationship established between the missionary and the supporting local churches. Furloughing missionaries reaffirm this relationship by reporting to the churches “all that God hath done with them,” (Acts 14:27).