What role does the local church play in sending missionaries?
Training, calling, preparation (including oversight and possible internship during formal schooling), guidance in the major decisions (type of ministry, country of ministry, agency of ministry), active involvement in support raising, communication during time on the field, active and fervent prayer, financial underwriting, pastoral visits and counsel, construction and ministry teams, and help and supportiveness during furloughs. The church's commissioning of missionaries to serve with Baptist Mid-Missions (or a similar agency) provides the authority--legal and spiritual--for the mission agency to provide services to its missionaries as a type of power of attorney. The church is the foundation of it all.