In short, we help catalyze a thriving, biblical global church by connecting sufficiently resourced, normative-sized churches in the United States without personal international partnerships to groups of under-resourced churches around the world. These connections lead to beneficial partnerships that encourages and resources indigenous pastors, church planters, missionaries, to carry out the work set before them.

Through these established partnerships, churches in the US support global churches to meet needs that include theological training, conference preaching/teaching, evangelism, discipleship, counseling, child outreach, encouragement, construction, occupational/trades training, agriculture work and support, disaster relief, and community aid and events (and beyond, to whatever extent a genuine need exists and partners can meet that need).

As these churches come together as partners, the global church (the church “catholic”) will grow in maturity and effectiveness, living out what God desires for his people, with resources shared appropriately according to the resources each church possesses. Furthermore, research shows that church members with experience on a short-term mission trip who also have a close personal relationship with a vocational missionary, are more likely to join the mission field as a vocational missionary and give more generously to the causes of mission. (https://www.baptistpress.com/resource-library/news/gateway-seminary-to-fund-short-term-mission-trips-for-all-students/)

Bonfire Ministries accomplishes these ends through two main functions.

First, by connecting small groups of pastors, key church leaders, or members from churches in the United States to groups of under-resourced indigenous churches or Christian workers outside of North America that desire partnership and would benefit from partnership. This often involves an initial “vision trip” to an identified and desired ministry location around the world to meet the workers in that locations, survey the ministry work occurring in that location, understand the vision of the church, and assess the viability and strategy for establishing a partnership. Following a vision trip, other short-term mission trips are scheduled to continue the work of the partnership.

Second, by consulting for the new church partnerships and serving as a resource to the churches in the United States as they plan their mission partnership trips to the identified region. The director offers theological training on the biblical foundations for ministry partnerships, especially in the context of short-term mission teams. Furthermore, he provides counsel for financial and logistics planning of the trip, including a biblical understanding of fundraising for partnerships. Finally, he helps pastors and key church leaders maximize their partnerships so that their churches grow in maturity with their people gaining a passion for discipleship and evangelism.