Talking about missions work can easily get people fired up: Hearts changed! Souls saved! Physical and spiritual lives transformed!
But few things dampen that fire like talking about money. Logistics such as these can easily be either overlooked or put on the back burner. However, the bottom line is that doing missions costs money.
Last week, we explored the question: Are all Christians called to give financially to missions, or is that a burden God puts on only a few? This week, we turn our attention to some of the various models for giving to missions to try to determine whether a “best way” really exists.
We’ll start with individual Christians supporting individual missionaries.
Week #2: “For individuals, it usually starts with the word ‘relationship,’” says World Venture.
Think about the missionaries you have supported financially, either currently or in the past. Did you have a personal connection with that missionary prior to your decision to support him or her? Or did you do research on a cause or country dear to your heart, find a missionary who works in that specific area, and then decide to give that individual your support (even if you’d never met)?
Most likely, you chose to support an individual missionary because of a personal connection you had with him or her. Maybe the missionary was a dear friend from school, or you made a real connection with a particular missionary family who once visited your church.
No matter how you look at it: Many individuals choose to support individual missionaries based on their relationship with that missionary. Many missionaries and missions organizations emphasize this relationship building as a technique to develop a support team back home.
Is this method of financially supporting missions a keeper? Is this a good way to connect ordinary Christians to missions work? Does it deepen an individual’s relationship to the cause of spreading the gospel? Is it sustainable when that particular missionary leaves the field?
Or…just maybe…is there a different missions-giving model that trumps individuals supporting individuals? What do you think? Weigh in.
http://www.crown.org/LIBRARY/ViewArticle.aspx?ActicleId=405
http://www.worldventure.com/Give/Support-a-Missionary.html
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Missions work costs money.
There’s no way around it: Missions work costs money. From missionaries picking up and moving to a new country to the costs of starting new ministries, the bills can quickly pile up. In fact, the average cost of supporting a North American missionary going overseas is about $6,032 per month (multiply that times 12 and that’s an annual average of over $72k!).
And many things factor into how much financial support a missionary needs before he or she can even get to the field of service, including number of family members, where the missionary is headed, ministry expenses, housing, educational expenses (if the missionary needs to take language classes or put children in schools), start-up costs, and the list continues.
But these financial factors bring up some important questions: How should missions work be funded? Should churches support individual missionaries? Missions organizations? Should individual Christians directly support individual missionaries? Missions organizations? Or, does a combination of those methods offer a better alternative? Is there a right and a wrong way? And, let’s back the truck up: Is every Christian called to support missions financially, or is that a call God reserves for only a few?
Quick Disclaimer: Does this feel like an awkward discussion for a missionary-sending agency like WGM? Maybe. But, financial support is a real, practical concern for all missionaries. So this month, we’re going to dive in anyway, trying to discover the answers to these missions money matters. Join in the fiscal journey as we try to find an effective and biblical way to fund world missions today.
Let’s do this!
Week #1: “According to the Global Evangelization Movement in 2001, there were 212 million Americans who identify with Christianity. This represents approximately 660,000 households... Of the 660,000 households, roughly 120,000 gave to missions in 2001.”
According to this statistic, most Christians in America are not giving to missions. So is this a calling reserved for the few and able?
Not according to many, including Robert J. Young who writes on his blog: “God’s divine mandate is to take the gospel to the world. Where I cannot go, I can send. When I cannot go, others can go. Where no one can go, radio and TV signals can go. My commitment to be a follower of Jesus will reach into my pocket and I will preach the gospel.”
Crown Financial Ministries echoes Young’s sentiment saying that “God calls each of us to fill in the gap in order to spread His Gospel to all parts of the world. […] We have enough money in North America to fund all the Christian work in the world if the people of God would just give.”
However, others might argue that the call to support missions means more than financial giving—that while supporting the Great Commission is essential for all Christians, you can do that in a number of ways. But, can we fulfill our responsibility in missions by giving OR going, or should we be giving AND going?
What do you think? What role is an ordinary Christian called to play in missions work? Should all Christians be giving financially to missions work in some way, shape, or form? Or, does God give this calling to only a few?
Your input is crucial to our investigation! Please share your thoughts on this missions mystery by leaving your comments.
http://www.efca.org/files/document/reachglobal/understanding-missionary-support-8-08.pdf
http://www.efca.org/files/document/reachglobal/understanding-missionary-support-8-08.pdf
http://www.crown.org/LIBRARY/ViewArticle.aspx?ActicleId=405
http://www.surfinthespirit.com/chartiy/why-i-give-to-mission.html
And many things factor into how much financial support a missionary needs before he or she can even get to the field of service, including number of family members, where the missionary is headed, ministry expenses, housing, educational expenses (if the missionary needs to take language classes or put children in schools), start-up costs, and the list continues.
But these financial factors bring up some important questions: How should missions work be funded? Should churches support individual missionaries? Missions organizations? Should individual Christians directly support individual missionaries? Missions organizations? Or, does a combination of those methods offer a better alternative? Is there a right and a wrong way? And, let’s back the truck up: Is every Christian called to support missions financially, or is that a call God reserves for only a few?
Quick Disclaimer: Does this feel like an awkward discussion for a missionary-sending agency like WGM? Maybe. But, financial support is a real, practical concern for all missionaries. So this month, we’re going to dive in anyway, trying to discover the answers to these missions money matters. Join in the fiscal journey as we try to find an effective and biblical way to fund world missions today.
Let’s do this!
Week #1: “According to the Global Evangelization Movement in 2001, there were 212 million Americans who identify with Christianity. This represents approximately 660,000 households... Of the 660,000 households, roughly 120,000 gave to missions in 2001.”
According to this statistic, most Christians in America are not giving to missions. So is this a calling reserved for the few and able?
Not according to many, including Robert J. Young who writes on his blog: “God’s divine mandate is to take the gospel to the world. Where I cannot go, I can send. When I cannot go, others can go. Where no one can go, radio and TV signals can go. My commitment to be a follower of Jesus will reach into my pocket and I will preach the gospel.”
Crown Financial Ministries echoes Young’s sentiment saying that “God calls each of us to fill in the gap in order to spread His Gospel to all parts of the world. […] We have enough money in North America to fund all the Christian work in the world if the people of God would just give.”
However, others might argue that the call to support missions means more than financial giving—that while supporting the Great Commission is essential for all Christians, you can do that in a number of ways. But, can we fulfill our responsibility in missions by giving OR going, or should we be giving AND going?
What do you think? What role is an ordinary Christian called to play in missions work? Should all Christians be giving financially to missions work in some way, shape, or form? Or, does God give this calling to only a few?
Your input is crucial to our investigation! Please share your thoughts on this missions mystery by leaving your comments.
http://www.efca.org/files/document/reachglobal/understanding-missionary-support-8-08.pdf
http://www.efca.org/files/document/reachglobal/understanding-missionary-support-8-08.pdf
http://www.crown.org/LIBRARY/ViewArticle.aspx?ActicleId=405
http://www.surfinthespirit.com/chartiy/why-i-give-to-mission.html
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Urban Ministries: The future of missions?
With about 60 percent of the world’s population projected to be living in cities by the year 2025 , does it make sense to focus more missions efforts on urban areas?
Over the last few weeks, we’ve discovered that many needs exist in metropolitan areas around the world. So, by making urban areas the center of missions outreach, it might be argued that missionaries can reach the most people with a variety of needs and beliefs.
But that does not mean that rural areas are exempt from needing a helping hand. In some areas, rural peoples continue to be the poorest and most neglected groups.
So what are missions organizations and missionaries to do in light of these global issues?
Week #4: Christian missionaries aren’t the only ones asking questions about urbanization. Other religious groups, such as the Mormons, have already begun efforts in the cities in order to influence people in these diverse areas. Is Christianity behind the curve? And if the future of missions is in the cities, what must happen to existing rural ministries?
These questions may seem overwhelming…and rightly so. Many may be asking: Do the problems caused by urbanization really have an “either-or” solution, or should it be more “both-and”? Can’t missions remain in rural areas while expanding ministry into the urban setting?
While that seems like a reasonable solution, many might argue that missionaries cannot transition from rural ministry to urban outreach, thinking that their same methodology will work in the city. As we’ve seen in posts from weeks past, the needs and even the culture often vary greatly.
In an online article, “Imagining Christ’s Church in the City,” from Missiology.org, the writer notes how an effective urban church might look, with an emphasis on including the following elements: spiritual formation; community; equipping members for ministry; caring for the weak; their missional, kingdom identity; and multicultural ministry.
Similarly, Servant Partners who works in urban poor areas, notes that “poverty is a complex issue that demands multifaceted long-term solutions—solutions that must come from the poor themselves. That is why we partner with national agencies and churches whenever we can and tailor our approach to fit the unique needs of each context in which we serve.”
So how can missionaries follow suit? Do we need to move some rural missionaries to urban areas, or do we need new missionaries to pioneer urban areas? How should existing missions organizations that have traditionally focused on rural areas make a transition to include urban ministry?
Can we offer a solution to this global missions concern? Share your thoughts! Be a part of the conversation.
http://fampra.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/reprint/20/4/457.pdf
http://www.globalchange.umich.edu/globalchange2/current/lectures/urban_gc/
http://www.cnn.com/US/9610/13/mormons/
Over the last few weeks, we’ve discovered that many needs exist in metropolitan areas around the world. So, by making urban areas the center of missions outreach, it might be argued that missionaries can reach the most people with a variety of needs and beliefs.
But that does not mean that rural areas are exempt from needing a helping hand. In some areas, rural peoples continue to be the poorest and most neglected groups.
So what are missions organizations and missionaries to do in light of these global issues?
Week #4: Christian missionaries aren’t the only ones asking questions about urbanization. Other religious groups, such as the Mormons, have already begun efforts in the cities in order to influence people in these diverse areas. Is Christianity behind the curve? And if the future of missions is in the cities, what must happen to existing rural ministries?
These questions may seem overwhelming…and rightly so. Many may be asking: Do the problems caused by urbanization really have an “either-or” solution, or should it be more “both-and”? Can’t missions remain in rural areas while expanding ministry into the urban setting?
While that seems like a reasonable solution, many might argue that missionaries cannot transition from rural ministry to urban outreach, thinking that their same methodology will work in the city. As we’ve seen in posts from weeks past, the needs and even the culture often vary greatly.
In an online article, “Imagining Christ’s Church in the City,” from Missiology.org, the writer notes how an effective urban church might look, with an emphasis on including the following elements: spiritual formation; community; equipping members for ministry; caring for the weak; their missional, kingdom identity; and multicultural ministry.
Similarly, Servant Partners who works in urban poor areas, notes that “poverty is a complex issue that demands multifaceted long-term solutions—solutions that must come from the poor themselves. That is why we partner with national agencies and churches whenever we can and tailor our approach to fit the unique needs of each context in which we serve.”
So how can missionaries follow suit? Do we need to move some rural missionaries to urban areas, or do we need new missionaries to pioneer urban areas? How should existing missions organizations that have traditionally focused on rural areas make a transition to include urban ministry?
Can we offer a solution to this global missions concern? Share your thoughts! Be a part of the conversation.
http://fampra.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/reprint/20/4/457.pdf
http://www.globalchange.umich.edu/globalchange2/current/lectures/urban_gc/
http://www.cnn.com/US/9610/13/mormons/
Rural vs. Urban Residents Treatment
There’s no doubt about it: More and more people are moving to cities around the world. But are missions efforts following suit? Should they? Are missionaries uniquely qualified to address urban needs like poverty, social injustice, crime, housing, the breakdown of families, cultural relativism, and so on?
These are the questions we’re asking…and we need your help to find the answers.
While we’ve established the growing migration to cities as well as the many needs facing urban areas, we have yet to determine whether focusing missions efforts more onto cities is really the best move.
Week #3: “The rights of urban residents [in China] are essentially protected, but the rights of rural residents lack protection in comparison. Urban residents are not easily mistreated, but rural residents are comparatively easily mistreated. Urban residents rarely encounter violent treatment in their lives, while rural residents encounter violent treatment comparatively frequently.”
Using China as an example of the gap between rural and urban needs, one might note that the problems look quite different. In fact, the above quote from Chinese sociologist Lі Уіnhe, points out that while many people are flocking to the cities, the rural people of China continue to be the least of these—as evidenced, among other things, by the fact that urban income per capita was 3.33 times that of rural income.
And problems continue to exist in other rural areas worldwide. One research study notes: “Even in the countries where the majority of the population lives in rural areas, the resources are concentrated in the cities. All countries have difficulties with transport and communication, and they all face the challenge of shortages of doctors and other health professionals in rural and remote areas. Many rural people are caught in the poverty–ill health–low productivity downward spiral, particularly in developing countries.”
So if rural peoples continue to be “the least of these,” should missionaries really focus their efforts on the cities? Or would such a move only exacerbate nations’ problems rather than help? When it comes to adjusting efforts in light of urbanization, is there a solution that missions and outreach organizations just aren’t seeing?
Please share your thoughts and unique insights.
Van Rheenen, G. (1996). Missions. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing. 159-162.
http://www.danwei.org/ip_and_law/chinese_sociologist_l_nhe_on_r.php
http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/china/growing-income-disparity-between-rural-and-urban-chinese-3675.html
These are the questions we’re asking…and we need your help to find the answers.
While we’ve established the growing migration to cities as well as the many needs facing urban areas, we have yet to determine whether focusing missions efforts more onto cities is really the best move.
Week #3: “The rights of urban residents [in China] are essentially protected, but the rights of rural residents lack protection in comparison. Urban residents are not easily mistreated, but rural residents are comparatively easily mistreated. Urban residents rarely encounter violent treatment in their lives, while rural residents encounter violent treatment comparatively frequently.”
Using China as an example of the gap between rural and urban needs, one might note that the problems look quite different. In fact, the above quote from Chinese sociologist Lі Уіnhe, points out that while many people are flocking to the cities, the rural people of China continue to be the least of these—as evidenced, among other things, by the fact that urban income per capita was 3.33 times that of rural income.
And problems continue to exist in other rural areas worldwide. One research study notes: “Even in the countries where the majority of the population lives in rural areas, the resources are concentrated in the cities. All countries have difficulties with transport and communication, and they all face the challenge of shortages of doctors and other health professionals in rural and remote areas. Many rural people are caught in the poverty–ill health–low productivity downward spiral, particularly in developing countries.”
So if rural peoples continue to be “the least of these,” should missionaries really focus their efforts on the cities? Or would such a move only exacerbate nations’ problems rather than help? When it comes to adjusting efforts in light of urbanization, is there a solution that missions and outreach organizations just aren’t seeing?
Please share your thoughts and unique insights.
Van Rheenen, G. (1996). Missions. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing. 159-162.
http://www.danwei.org/ip_and_law/chinese_sociologist_l_nhe_on_r.php
http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/china/growing-income-disparity-between-rural-and-urban-chinese-3675.html
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