It seems like a lot of things are changing these days as we deal with this worldwide pandemic. The Mission Office has been looking at options for approving our new missionaries who were planning to be approved in May 2020. We have five couples and one single to be approved as career BBFI missionaries.

So, we thought it would be a good idea to plan a special approval close to the Advanced Mission Training (formerly known as Candidate School) in July. We will be inviting field reps who assist with the BBFI approval process to come to Springfield for the approval of these new missionaries on Friday, July 17, 2020. We will start our meeting at 9:00 in the morning which will include the missionary interviews and testimonies. Much screening will have been done by the Mission Office prior to this. We will have a special recognition for the new missionaries and provide a lunch in the Mission Office building for all who attend. Local pastors will be invited to hear the testimonies and attend the special recognition.

After lunch, the newly approved missionaries will have their testimonies professionally recorded which will be sent out to ALL BBFI-affiliated churches in order to familiarize pastors with their story before they start calling churches to raise their support. Also, that afternoon, we will have a 30-minute session for sending pastors and any others who might be interested in learning more about the services the Mission Office will provide for their missionaries. The session will be followed by a short Q & A time.

The following week, these missionaries will be joined by those seeking approval in September for their week of Advanced Mission Training. The Mission Office staff, along with various guest speakers, will invest in these new missionaries and provide the necessary information they need as they begin deputation and then prepare to serve on the mission field.

We will be taking all the necessary precautions for the coronavirus in addition to following our city and county requirements for social distancing and protecting all who are in attendance. We hope that by then COVID-19 will have dissipated and that we will be able to complete the meetings we are planning in July. Please pray that God will bless our efforts. These are unprecedented times and we are making every effort to adjust things in order to keep the approval process going for those who have answered the call of God upon their lives. Pray they can raise their support in these uncertain days.

-by Jon Konnerup, BBFI Mission Director