Individual Christians Supporting Individual Missionaries

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