The term “graduation” conjures up an image of a sea of students in long robes and mortarboards thrown in the air with tassels trailing behind like kite tails. But in the Bible Fellowship Church a graduation is when a church plant is ready to come out from under the oversight of the Department of Church Extension Ministries and be a local church like the other churches in the Bible Fellowship Church Conference. The official term is “particular church.”
There are three milestones that a Mission Church must meet in order to be recognized as a particular church.
- Have at least 20 committed participants. A committed participant becomes a charter member once the church graduates. Twenty is the minimum; most Mission Churches have more by the time their other graduation milestones are met. The director and a few CEM board members meet the committed participants and hear their testimonies on an assessment day in the fall before graduation. It’s a joy to hear from each person how God has worked in their lives throughout the years and through the church plant.
- Have at least 2 lay elder candidates. Elders are men who are qualified to shepherd the congregation in accordance with the qualifications laid out in 1 Timothy 3. Some elder candidates start out with the Mission Church in the Core Group Launch Team before the worship gatherings even begin. Other elder candidates come to the Mission Church after it has launched and have been discipled in some way through the ministry of the Mission Church. The church planter serves as an elder as well in addition to the two lay elders. Two lay elders is the minimum. Some Mission Churches have more when they graduate.
- Be financially self-supporting. Each Mission Church submits regular reports to Church Extension Ministries including financial reports. A budget is set each year and adjusted for each subsequent year so the threshold for being financially self-supporting is very clear. As more and more people attend the Mission Church and become givers, the goal of being self-supporting becomes more possible. The budget is different for each Mission Church because each congregation has different expenses depending on whether they rent or own their meeting place and whether or not they pay additional staff on top of their church planter.
When a Mission Church has been assessed and found to meet all three milestones, they are presented to the following BFC Conference for their official graduation. The Graduation Preparation Manual is used to guide the process towards graduation.
In 2025, Christ Alone Fellowship in Lancaster, PA is graduating. The graduation will take place during Bible Fellowship Church Conference from April 28-30. The exact date and time will be available soon. You can attend in person at Pinebrook Bible Conference in East Stroudsburg, PA or you can watch the live stream graduation service from home on the BFC YouTube channel. You can see past graduation presentation videos on the Church Extension YouTube channel.
Director Gundrum and the Board are already prayerfully evaluating which Mission Churches might be ready for graduation in 2026.
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