It is common in our modern era for missionaries to use mission boards to help them get to their field of service. It is an application of the Biblical pattern of many churches working together to fund and support Christian workers who are going out to plant new churches in faraway places.

When used properly, mission boards can be a great blessing by collecting and distributing the funds for the missionary and providing much-needed advice and practical assistance. But mission boards can be misused, and one of the primary ways a board can go wrong is when that board becomes the sending agency instead of the local church.

God has chosen to use the local church in this age to be the organization that distributes the gospel around the world. Souls are evangelized, edified, and equipped for service through the ministry of the local church. And it is the local church that has the privilege of confirming God’s call on a person’s life and sending them out to accomplish God’s specific will for their life.

The church cannot rely on outside groups to do their job. They cannot delegate their responsibility to a para-church organization. The church must supply and then send the workforce for worldwide evangelization.