Zambia Hunt

At Central Africa Baptist University, we believe that the responsibility for missions belongs to the local church. Christ gave the Great Commission to His church, and churches have the responsibility to proclaim the gospel, make disciples, establish healthy congregations, and send qualified workers into the harvest.

CABU’s role is not to replace the local church or function as a missionary-sending agency. Rather, CABU seeks to serve local churches by preparing men for faithful ministry and, as resources permit, partnering financially with churches that send qualified CABU graduates to plant and strengthen churches across Africa.

The following policy guides mission support through the Mission Fund of Central Africa Baptist University.

Purpose of the Mission Support Policy

This policy explains CABU’s philosophy of mission support in relation to the local church. It guides CABU’s partnerships and financial support for missions, church planting, and church revitalization through the Mission Fund of Central Africa Baptist University.

CABU affirms the following:

• The responsibility for missions belongs to the local church (Matthew 28:18–20). Therefore, CABU will serve local churches in their mission work.
• The authority to commission and send missionaries belongs to the local church (Acts 13:1–5). Therefore, CABU does not function as a missionary-sending agency. However, CABU may support the work of local churches that send missionaries through financial partnerships and may recommend qualified individuals to such churches, especially those who have demonstrated faithfulness while training at CABU.
• A missionary’s primary accountability rests with his local sending church rather than with an individual or institution (Acts 14:26–28). Therefore, CABU will not enter into financial-support agreements directly with individual missionaries.

Criteria for Financial Support

CABU will evaluate requests for financial support according to the following criteria:

• The applicant must be a CABU graduate in good standing. This excludes, for example, graduates with outstanding tuition balances, graduates under church discipline, or graduates whose conduct is inconsistent with the doctrinal and moral commitments of CABU.
• There must be a demonstrated financial need for mission support and a demonstrable effort by the sending church to raise support within its congregation.
• Church-planting efforts will ordinarily receive priority over church-revitalization efforts. However, church-revitalization projects are eligible for partnership support when they advance the establishment and strengthening of healthy, gospel-preaching local churches.
• The sending church’s pastor must provide a positive written recommendation.
• The sending church must have a viable structure for receiving, managing, and distributing support funds, including a church bank account.
• The supported graduate must submit a written annual ministry report to the Chair of Missions. The report should include a summary of ministry activity, progress in evangelism and discipleship, developments in church planting or revitalization, a financial accounting of CABU funds received, current ministry needs, and prayer requests.

Policy Guidelines

To facilitate healthy churches across Africa, CABU may, as resources permit, partner financially with churches that send CABU graduates to proclaim the gospel and make disciples among the nations through church planting and church revitalization.

• All Mission Fund support for missionaries will be provided through local-church structures. These structures must provide reasonable assurance that funds, once disbursed, will be used for their approved purposes.
• Financial support for missions, church planting, and church revitalization will be reserved for CABU graduates for whom the sending church presents a documented need for such support.
• A Mission Support Committee will review all applications for Mission Fund support, assess ministry opportunities and needs, and make final decisions concerning applications and allocations. The committee’s decisions will be made in light of available Mission Fund resources and will be subject to approval by the Board of Directors.
• The Mission Support Committee will consist of at least four members, including representatives from the Finance and Executive teams, and will be chaired by the Chair of Missions.
• The committee will review each grant annually. The continuation or renewal of funding will depend on the availability of funds; the faithful submission of required reports; the proper use of prior funds in accordance with the approved agreement; and the sending church’s demonstration of an ongoing financial need.
• Subject to annual review, CABU may provide support for a predetermined term, determined prayerfully in light of the circumstances in which the graduate is laboring. Support should gradually decrease as the church being planted assumes increasing responsibility for that support.
• CABU will not be responsible for training the church plant in financial stewardship. This responsibility belongs to the missionary and his sending church.
• CABU may suspend, adjust, or terminate support if required reports are not submitted, if funds are not used for their approved purposes, if the supported graduate no longer meets the requirements of this policy, or if ministry circumstances materially change.
• CABU will not provide cash directly to individual missionaries. Whenever feasible, CABU will transfer funds electronically to the sending church’s designated bank account for the support of the missionary.

Serving the Church in Mission

CABU’s desire is to see healthy, gospel-preaching, self-governing, self-supporting, and self-propagating churches established and strengthened throughout Africa. Financial partnership through the Mission Fund is intended to support this work without undermining the responsibility, authority, or accountability of the local church.

By maintaining local-church accountability, encouraging faithful financial stewardship, requiring regular reporting, and providing temporary support that can decrease as churches grow in stability, CABU seeks to serve churches wisely and strengthen the long-term work of the gospel.

We are grateful for the local churches, pastors, missionaries, and CABU graduates who labor faithfully to proclaim Christ, make disciples, and establish healthy churches among the nations.