Personal Biography of Paul J. Bucknell

God's Miracles of Grace

It is true: without God, we could not carry on this ministry. Our family has repeatedly witnessed God's gracious provision, and we have also seen Him use BFF resources, training, books, courses, and digital libraries to help people around the world.

• Books by Paul J. Bucknell: Books | PDF
• Courses by Paul J. Bucknell: Courses | PDF
• Visit bffbible.org, our sister BFF website

We welcome your prayers and support as the Lord continues to extend this ministry. See the BFF prayer letter archive or learn about supporting BFF.

A Short BFF History

I (Paul) am humbled by God's call to begin Biblical Foundations for Freedom (BFF). Although I have traveled through many parts of the world and have had opportunities to deepen biblical knowledge and theology in others, my burden for Christian revival has been an underlying passion shaping my life and ministry for decades.

I owe a large part of that burden to my praying grandfather, who looked forward to retirement as a greater opportunity to pray. He prayed faithfully until he died blind at 99. He had experienced persecution in Latvia and later served as a missionary, pastor, and teacher in America, largely among Russian-speaking people.

Our family served as missionaries in Taiwan under OMF International during the 1980s. It was a privilege to co-labor with Chinese brothers and sisters in church planting. Because of worsening asthma in our family, we returned to the United States in the 1990s, where I later pastored at the Pittsburgh Chinese Church.

My Earlier Calling

God first called me toward ministry while I was studying engineering at the University of Maine in Orono. I enjoyed engineering, but through InterVarsity Christian Fellowship and inductive Bible study, the Lord increasingly occupied my heart.

One day, looking from my second-floor dorm window at the many students crossing campus, I became deeply conscious that these people needed the Lord. The question pressed upon me: What was holding me back from serving them?

I eventually left my engineering scholarship and graduated in December 1977 from Moody Bible Institute with a major in Foreign Missions and a minor in Biblical Languages. I later completed studies in Asian studies at the University of Florida. Our home church in Massachusetts ordained me after our first four-year term in Taiwan in 1985.

After returning to Taiwan in 1986, we helped lead a large team in church planting in southern Taiwan, including a church meeting in our home. The teamwork and fellowship of those years remain precious memories.

Strong on the Local Church

In 1995, while pastoring, we helped start the PCC Oakland church in Pittsburgh's university area to reach Chinese students. It began bilingually and later developed separate Chinese and English ministries. Our family served and worshiped there for many years. BFF's wider ministry has never diminished our conviction that healthy Christian growth belongs in the life and fellowship of the local church.

A Calling from God on High

In 2000, God impressed upon Linda and me that I should leave my pastoral ministry in Pittsburgh. With the elders' permission, I resigned. Without a ministry position or regular financial support, I earnestly sought the Lord. Early one Saturday morning in November, before our children awoke, I cried out to Him.

Over that weekend, God poured faith and vision into my heart. Idea after idea came as the basic shape of Biblical Foundations for Freedom took form. He gave Linda and me faith to trust Him for our needs and for the ministry He was calling us to begin.

Video: God's Call and How BFF Began

In this second story from BFF's 25th-anniversary series, I describe the period when God led Linda and me from a fruitful pastoral ministry into an unexpected new calling focused on pastoral training, giving me the vision that became Biblical Foundations for Freedom.

This was a very large step for us. I had never written a web page and had much to learn about the rapidly developing internet. Yet the original burden was clear: use God's truth, practical biblical teaching, and emerging media to help people grow and to equip Christian leaders.

More on Our Family

Although I grew up in a broken home, God taught me to love and cherish my wife, Linda, and to delight in our eight children. Our family spent almost thirty years homeschooling, beginning after our return from Taiwan. Over the years our family has grown through marriages and grandchildren, and we are grateful to see God's blessings extend into another generation.

See our December 2009 family letter for one glimpse into those earlier family years.

My own struggles have also shaped many of my writings. The Lord has repeatedly used Scripture to confront anger, lust, insecurity, fear, and other struggles in my life. I write not as someone standing outside these issues, but as one who needs and has experienced the transforming grace of God.

Many of these resources are gathered in the BFF Store and Resource Center, including books, teaching slides, handouts, video series, Bible studies, and digital libraries.

In the South

After many years in Pittsburgh, Linda and I eventually moved to North Carolina. This became a new home base for family life while BFF's web, writing, course, translation, and international ministries continued to grow.

Searching the past with the Bucknells?

Past Years: 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010

BFF Prayer Archives (2001–2020) | Prayer Archives (2020–present)

A Faith Ministry

BFF has operated as a faith ministry. We began without a guaranteed salary or regular support and learned to trust the Lord for what we needed. That dependence has repeatedly reminded us that this ministry belongs to Him.

God's provision has come in many unexpected forms. What began in 2000 with a calling and a vision has now continued for 25 years. We are deeply grateful for those who have prayed, encouraged us, volunteered, translated resources, purchased materials, and supported BFF financially.

Twenty-Five Years of Ministry

Across these years, BFF has grown from a small website into a large collection of biblical teaching resources. The ministry now includes more than twenty-five books, hundreds of articles, Bible studies, audio and video teaching, international-language resources, digital libraries, and free online courses with progress tracking and training materials.

For many years I also traveled overseas to train pastors, church planters, and Christian leaders. The web has greatly extended that work, enabling people in many nations to use BFF resources directly and to pass them on to others.

Biblical Foundations for Freedom became a recognized 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in 2007. We remain grateful for those who help BFF continue developing and distributing biblical training resources around the world.

Explore BFF's resources | Read BFF's mission and vision | Support BFF