The Business Men’s Fellowship USA was founded by Christian men in business on September 24, 1995. Our purpose: to reach men in the marketplace with the claims and salvation of Jesus Christ.
It only takes one man with a vision to start a chapter, and only two or three to form the Core Group. Core Group members are Christian men in business who have an awareness and concern for other men in their sphere of influence who do not know Christ as Savior.
1- To begin, contact the BMF National Service Center at 1-800-263-8981. A Core Group box containing everything you need to start a Chapter will be mailed to you.
2- Next, form a Core Group by inviting other likeminded Christian men in business to join you to plan a new BMF Chapter Oganizational Meeting.
3- The Core Group Meeting box contains: (a) Chapter application and IRS registration forms to be completed and returned to the National Service Center, (b) two packets for prospective restaurants/meeting places outlining the mid-week one-hour breakfast or luncheon programs, (c) informational folders for Core Group members, (d) a box of Answer, our testimony magazine, (e) a sample of our New Testament, Answers to Guide Your Business Life, and (f) a promotional DVD.
4- Preparing for the Organizational Meeting: When the meeting time and place are established, the Core Group should begin to invite other Christian men in business to the organizational luncheon or breakfast. Ask those you invite to bring other Christian businessmen with them to explore the BMF mission, vision, and purpose.
5- Contact the National Service Center (NSC) at 1-800-263-8981. Inform the Director of Administration of the estimated number of prospective members invited. An Organizational Meeting box will be mailed to you.
6- The Organizational Meeting Registration Table: At the meeting room entrance, conveniently place a welcome table with an attendant receiving payment for the meal. Have a basket for guests to deposit their business cards.
Agenda for the BMF Organizational Meeting:
1- Open the meeting with prayer dedicating the Chapter to the “Lord of the Harvest.” Share the mission, vision, and purpose of the Business Men’s Fellowship to reach men in business for Christ. Show the BMF DVD.
2- Review each Guest Pocket Folder item with your guests.
3- Close the meeting with a challenge for men to become members and to continue inviting both guests who need Jesus as Savior and Christian men to become members.
(A step-by-step agenda is included in the Organizational box.)
1- Two display boxes of Answer magazines with a variety of issues to reach those who don’t know Christ.
2- Items for your display table: the BMF Connection, our member-to-member newsletter; membership applications; mini personal testimony tracts; a variety of informational brochures; instructional tracts on sharing testimony; etc.
3- Samples of Answers to Guide Your Business Life, our businessman’s New Testament, along with order forms. This New Testament, with Psalms and Proverbs, has 15 personal testimonies of businessmen telling how and why they came into relationship with Jesus Christ.
4- A DVD with three items: The vision and purpose of BMF, two 30-second commercials to advertise the BMF ministry; and a sample of the president’s monthly DVD.
5- The Guest Pocket Folders include items that clearly define the BMF mission to reach the business communities of our nation for Christ. Items included in the Guest Pocket Folder are:
5A- A variety pack of Answer magazines to read and pass on to friends or associates who do not know Christ,
5B- Pamphlets on preparing your personal testimony
5C- A variety of informational folders:
• The founding of BMF and our vision and purpose
• Strategies to Reach Today’s Busy Businessman
• An Effective Schedule for the One-Hour Program
• Navigating the BMF Website
• An application for membership in BMF
5D- Membership in BMF: Invite those present to join BMF in our mission to bring the salvation and life of Christ to the marketplace. Mail applications to the NSC.
Organizational - More About BMFUSA
1. Responsibilities of the Business Men’s Fellowship - National Organization:
The responsibilities of BMFUSA include:
1- Operating National Service Centers to respond to the needs of BMF members and chapters;
2- Creating publications and tools for use by members and chapters;
3- Serving as an umbrella of leadership to chapters; (National leadership is elected by chapter representatives at our annual meeting.)
4- Convening as a Board to provide direction and a roadmap for chapters to follow.
The National organization recognizes that each chapter of Business Men’s Fellowship is unique. The men of BMF understand that localities have different preferences and needs. To this end, BMFUSA has developed operational guides offering unified direction for the organization. These guides allow room for chapters to run meetings based on their unique combination of membership, culture, and business community.
2. Finances - Chapter & National
The local chapter operates its finances independently of the National organization. When a new chapter is created, the BMF National Service Center assists local leadership in processing the necessary paperwork for their chapter to be certified under the umbrella of the BMFUSA’s 501(C-3) non-profit organization.
Members are encouraged to make tax-deductible donations to both the National organization and the local chapter. Many chapters and members contribute on a regular basis to the national outreach fund to advance the work of BMF.
3. BMF’s Financial Accountability Standards:
BMF is a non-profit organization and a member in good standing with the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability. Visit www.ecfa.org for information on the practices followed by BMFUSA.
BMFUSA’s National operating expenses consume less than 10% of our annual revenue. Responsible spending allows BMF to develop new materials and programs for members, and expand our outreach. The National organization is funded through annual membership contributions and additional contributions of members and supporters.
4. BMF Members & the local church:
We encourage our members to attend and support the local Christian church of their choice. Many members serve as board members, elders, and leaders supporting the work of the church they attend. Our desire is to see the local church grow because its businessmen are fulfilling God’s call.
5. When and where are meetings held?
We encourage chapters to schedule meetings during the middle of the workweek, targeting the hour a businessman sets aside for daily luncheon and breakfast meetings. Meetings are business casual yet time-disciplined. Preferably, they are held in a private meeting room of a restaurant or hotel.
6. BMF Statement of Beliefs:
Our statement of beliefs is available on our membership application and online at www.bmfusa.com.
7. The outreach efforts of the local church:
The Business Men’s Fellowship is called to mobilize and equip Christian businessmen to reach our peers in business with the salvation of Christ. While BMF does not manage or operate a local church men’s ministry, we have developed a resource package to assist the Christian businessmen of the local church in establishing a BMF chapter in their community.
8. Will the local church have any responsibilities to BMFUSA?
The local church has no financial commitment or responsibility either to a BMFUSA chapter begun by men from its men’s group or to BMFUSA nationally. Our single call is to equip Christian businessmen to bring the salvation of Jesus Christ to our nation’s business communities.
9. How do the men of BMF reach our peers?
Members of BMF are men who believe in the transforming power of personal testimony. As ambassadors for Christ, our responsibility is to tell others how He has impacted both our personal and business lives; in other words, to be witnesses to Him.
The sole purpose of our meetings is to provide an unthreatening setting over a meal where a Christian businessman presents the story of his life-changing encounter with Jesus.
Members invite other businessmen and men in business to attend on a one-to-one relational basis. At the close of each meeting, an opportunity for prayer is offered.