Committee Experience - May 29, 2001
By R. Mitch Randall

My experience serving on the Missions Study Committee for the Baptist General Convention of Texas was an incredible moment of inspiration. As the youngest member of the committee, the company I kept during this long process of fact-finding and reporting humbled me. The men and women of the committee were committed and determined to bring an honest report of the facts regarding each of the mission sending agencies.

Within the full committee, we were divided into three sub-committees. I was asked to serve and chair the sub-committee charged with studying the Global Missions efforts for the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship.

In our initial contact with Barbara and Gary Baldridge (Co-coordinators of Global Missions), they were extremely cooperative in our effort to find out more about them as a missions sending agency. Within two-weeks upon our initial contact, we were given a detailed account of every aspect of their agency.

After reading and studying everything they had sent us, we met with the Baldridges, Dr. Daniel Vestal, other administrators for Global Missions, Dr. Keith Parks, and actual field missionaries. Conversations with them were extremely beneficial and illuminating. After researching, interviewing, and experiencing the purpose and practice of Global Missions, I have come to some personal convictions concerning this dynamic opportunity to do missions.

First, the Global Missions holistic approach to missions creates opportunity for individuals and churches to be "fully" obedient to the Great Commission. When other mission strategies are decreasing their efforts in social ministries, Global Missions is creating new social ministry opportunities. While Global Missions affirms evangelism and church starting, they also emphasize social ministry projects as equally important to the Great Commission of Christ Jesus.

Secondly, they are committed to making certain that the missionaries appointed to mission endeavors are theologically sound. Each applicant is put through a thorough evaluation. While they do not ask their applicants to endorse a man-made document, they make certain that their employees and missionaries are committed to the truthfulness of Scripture, the essentials of Christian faith, and historic Baptist doctrines. I have never been able to understand how anyone who would ever take the time to do a thorough study of this agency would ever refer to them as liberal.

Thirdly, their strategy to allow missionaries to be agents of the work is an incredible philosophy. Missionaries are a part of a team-based approach to missions. Missionaries construct strategy, develop budgetary needs, and carry out implementation. Missionaries are treated as the most important facet of the missions network. Every missionary we spoke to affirmed their relationship with administrators. They have never felt as though they were subordinates in their efforts to carry out the Great Commission.

Fourthly, CBF Global Missions does NOT see itself as being competitive with others' missions agencies. Dr. Keith Parks first introduced their philosophy of reaching out to the World "A" people groups, because the World "A" population was growing ever so rapidly. This philosophy continues to drive their efforts. In fact, the International Missions Board of the SBC has recently somewhat duplicated this approach to missions.

Fifthly, the greatness of CBF Global Missions is found in their promotional material. They exist to equip and empower persons called by God to obey the Great Commission. Their philosophy is not "come and support what we are doing," but rather let us help you be obedient to the Great Commission. They are about empowering and equipping churches and people, not the other way around.

Sixthly, Global Missions missionaries honor indigenous churches and people. CBF missionaries learn from the indigenous culture in order to help the indigenous church and people be obedient to the Great Commission. They are not going into other cultures trying to begin a Western church. Rather, they are trying to equip and empower the indigenous people so that they can begin to build an indigenous church.

Seventhly, I am certain if Texas Baptist churches and individuals were to conduct an honest study of CBF Global Missions they would discover that their convictions and beliefs were more closely related to CBF than they are to the "new" Southern Baptist Convention.

Finally, my experience and newfound understanding of CBF has brought me to the conclusion that I believe the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship is the future for traditional Baptists wishing to maintain their historical roots while looking towards the future of missions and ministry networking.