We Value
The Role of the Church
Primary in Missions
The relationship between a mission organization and a local church matters more than most people realize. Some organizations function as the primary entity responsible for the missionary, with the church playing a supporting financial role. TBM operates on a different model. We believe the local church is primary in missions — responsible for sending, supporting, and caring for the missionary — and that our role is to serve the church in that work, not to take it over. This page explains what that looks like and why it matters.
Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.
— Acts 13:2
The Pattern in Acts
Acts 13 describes the church in Antioch worshiping, fasting, and seeking God's direction. The Holy Spirit spoke: "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them." What happened next matters. "After they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off" (Acts 13:3).
The local church played the central role. The church heard God's call. The church prayed. The church commissioned. The church sent. Barnabas and Paul didn't appoint themselves to missionary work. The church, led by the Spirit, set them apart for it.
This pattern continues throughout Acts. When Paul and Barnabas returned from their first missionary journey, "they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done through them and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles" (Acts 14:27). They reported back to the church that sent them. The church remained central even when the missionaries were thousands of miles away.
The Church Is Primary
Our role as a mission organization is a secondary and supporting role for the sending church. This is a distinction TBM takes seriously. We don't replace the local church in missions. We serve the church as they fulfill their mission.
The local church is where believers are discipled, where they discover their calling, where they are equipped for ministry. The church knows the missionary personally. They've watched him grow in faith. They've seen her gifts develop. They've prayed with this person through seasons of testing and confirmation. That relationship cannot be replicated by a distant organization.
The local church also provides ongoing spiritual care for missionaries. Missionaries need more than financial support. They need prayer partners who know them by name. They need people who will visit them on the field. They need a home to return to during furlough. The sending church provides this kind of relational, long-term care.
TBM's Supporting Role
What does TBM provide if the church is primary? We offer the supporting infrastructure that enables churches to send missionaries effectively.
Most local churches have the relationships, the calling, and the passion to support missionary work. What they often lack is practical expertise: navigating visa requirements, handling international financial transfers, providing pre-field training, offering member care from a distance. TBM steps in to help with these realities.
We also facilitate communication between missionaries and supporting churches. We help missionaries report back effectively. We assist churches in understanding the challenges their missionaries face. We provide accountability and oversight that protects both the missionary and the churches that support them.
Biblical Basis
This view of missions rests on what Scripture says about the church. The church is the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:27), the pillar and foundation of truth (1 Timothy 3:15), and the means through which God's wisdom is made known (Ephesians 3:10). The church matters to God. It plays the central role in His plan.
Jesus gave the keys of the kingdom to the church (Matthew 16:18-19). He promised His presence where two or three gather in His name (Matthew 18:20). The Great Commission was given to the church. These promises and commands come to the church, not to independent individuals or para-church organizations.
Paul instructed Timothy to entrust the gospel to "reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others" (2 Timothy 2:2). That training and equipping happens in the context of the local church. The church identifies reliable people. The church equips them. The church sends them. The church remains central throughout the process.
Respecting the Sending Church
TBM takes our supporting role seriously by respecting the sending church's authority and relationship with their missionary. We don't communicate with missionaries in ways that bypass their sending church. We don't make decisions about a missionary's ministry without consulting their church leadership.
We also encourage missionaries to maintain strong connections with their sending church. Regular communication. Honoring commitments. Submitting to church leadership. When conflict arises, we help work through it rather than simply taking sides. The missionary-church relationship matters more than any organizational convenience.
When a church partners with TBM, the church remains primary in the missionary's life and ministry. TBM serves the church by providing infrastructure and support. But the church sends. The church sustains. The church prays. No organization can replace that.
This is the biblical pattern. It is the pattern we are committed to.
Common Questions
What is a sending church, and why does it matter?
A sending church is the local congregation that has identified, confirmed, commissioned, and sent a missionary. It is the primary spiritual authority over the missionary and the primary community responsible for their ongoing care. TBM believes the sending church relationship is essential — not a formality. A missionary without a genuine sending church lacks the accountability, support, and spiritual covering that healthy long-term ministry requires.
What is TBM's role if the local church is primary?
TBM provides the practical infrastructure that most local churches don't have in-house: help with financial systems, pre-field training, visa and legal guidance, cross-cultural preparation, and ongoing member care. We handle the logistics so churches can focus on the relationship. We also facilitate communication between missionaries and their supporting churches. Our role is to strengthen the missionary-church connection, not to replace it.
Can a missionary join TBM without a sending church?
No. TBM requires that every missionary have an active sending church relationship. This is not a bureaucratic requirement — it reflects our conviction that the local church is God's design for missionary accountability and care. If a prospective missionary does not have a sending church, our first step is to help them develop that relationship before moving forward.
What should a church do if they want to send a missionary through TBM?
The best starting point is a conversation with our home office. We can walk a church through what the TBM relationship looks like, what we provide, and what the church's ongoing role will be. We want churches to understand clearly that partnering with TBM does not transfer responsibility for the missionary to us. It means we are coming alongside the church to help them do what they are already called to do.