GREENVILLE, SC – The Gospel Fellowship Association (GFA) commissioned its first 12 missionaries in February 1963. The original 12 served in Chile, Germany, Japan, Puerto Rico, and Sweden. Today GFA has more than 270 missionaries serving in 38 countries.

The Gospel Fellowship Association was established in December of 1939 by the founder of Bob Jones University, Dr. Bob Jones, Sr. Originally, it was a fellowship club for Christian young people to encourage them “to get the gospel to as many people as possible in the shortest time possible.”

Today, the three-fold purpose of Gospel Fellowship Association Missions is to

• Sponsor missionary activity at home and abroad, and to promote and encourage missionary vision and support among local churches.
• Enter any door the Lord opens for a robust evangelistic ministry, win souls for Jesus, disciple new believers, establish local churches, and train national leaders for the ministry.
• Shoulder many of the practical burdens of missionaries’ lives, i.e., the routine and mundane tasks that are necessary, but that often hinder the missionaries from focusing on their calling.

GFA Missions accomplishes these goals by . . .

. . . Fervent and passionate evangelism.

“The Gospel of Mark commands us to “preach the Gospel to every person.” This is non-negotiable. Fervent evangelism is the initial effort of all genuine missionary activity. It is the heartbeat of true missions. GFA missionaries are under compulsion to get the Gospel to the lost people of the world.”

. . . Planting and strengthening local churches

GFA has assisted in planting more than 30 Bible-teaching churches since it began its Church Planting Program just before 1990. The program was established by an endowment funded by a local church.

. . . Discipling and training nationals

GFA believes that conforming to the Biblical pattern of spreading the Gospel means that missionaries are responsible for discipling and training native citizens so that they may go and serve among those with whom they share a nationality, a language, and a culture.

Dr. Jones was fond of reminding young people that “Your greatest ability is dependability.” True to those words of its founder, Gospel Fellowship Association Missions emphasizes that

“God isn’t looking for superior qualifications. He simply wants a willing heart.”

Whether we give, pray, or go, that is what the Lord wants from each of us.

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