Sticker shock in missions

It often surprises people when mission candidates share the amount that they need to raise per month. One candidate in the process of raising support told me that they will often hear "Wow, I don't make that much" when they explain that they need to raise $6,000 per month. 


Not so fast! Missionaries in our organization make a fair but modest income. But, we are not comparing oranges with oranges when thinking about our income and what missionaries need to raise.


Think about this. The total amount a missionary raises includes the following:

• salary
• health insurance*
• travel expenses (for all ministry related travel domestically and internationally)*
• ministry expenses*
• cost of educating children overseas
• housing
• taxes (including all of social security)*
• continuing education*
• retirement*
• cost of setting up a home overseas

Each of the starred items are "hidden costs" in the United States as these are paid partially or fully by employers and never show up as compensation. In addition, there are expenses missionaries have that most of us don't including the need to pay for the education of children.

If they are living in cities with high housing costs (often the case in Europe and Asia) the housing costs are significantly higher than the United States. It is not unusual for a modest flat in a place like Hong Kong to cost $3,000 per month!


In addition, whatever ministry expenses a missionary has must come out of their support. Travel to coach or train nationals, for instance, comes out of their ministry account (which they must raise). In today's world, many missionaries live in one place but travel to multiple countries training, coach and mentoring. All costs which come out of what they must raise.

What we often don't think about are the actual costs of ministry personnel in our local churches. On top of salary you have benefits paid by the church, the cost of offices and facilities, the cost of support personnel who assist them as well as the covering of ministry expenses. It is a much larger bill than we often realize. With missionaries the difference is that everything shows up in what they need to raise. There are no hidden costs.

Ironically, mission incomes are quite modest. It is the ancillary costs that are not. The next time you have sticker shock remember what the number means - and does not mean.


One final comment. We should never use the cost of sending missionaries as an excuse to no longer send long term personnel internationally. That would be to abandon the call on the church to fulfill the Great Commission. It is true that in today's world the role of missionaries is changing but not the need. 

Is your ministry team a track team or basketball team?

Many ministry staffs operate as if they were a track team. In track, there are many different events and each event gives the team opportunity to make points for itself but by in large each individual operates alone: javelin, the mile, half mile - all the various events. At the end of the day they may win the prize but they won it by individual contribution primarily.

Contrast that with a basketball team where five individuals on the court must work as one. In fact those who try to work individually generally kill the effectiveness of the team. Seamlessly, they pass the ball, block, watch for open teammates who can take the ball and score. One of the joys of watching college or professional basketball is the amazing synergy and cooperation of the team.

Now think of the ministry team you play on. Do you look like a track team where everyone is doing their thing - good in itself but fairly unrelated to others, or a basketball team of synergistic, cooperative individuals who are playing the same game rather than separate games?

Most church staffs I meet are playing track. The great ones are playing basketball. The first you can do on your own. The second only with others. 

Generosity by ministry personnel and missionaries

Ministry personnel - pastors, missionaries and others who work in ministries are often asking others to give generously to their ministries. In fact, they and their ministries are dependent on the gifts and generosity of others. 


I have a belief that those who see their needs met are usually those who live a life of generosity themselves. That is because God responds to our generosity with His generosity. Paul indicates this in 2 Corinthians 9:6-9 "Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. As it is written: 'They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor: their righteousness endures forever.'"


I often want to ask missionaries who are raising support: How generous are you? I have met many Christian workers who say, "My time and energy are my generosity" as if financial generosity does not  apply to them as well. I don't know why we in ministry should expect God to bless us with the financial needs we have if we ourselves are not living generous lives, financially and otherwise! 


In fact, I believe that those in Christian work ought to be the very models of what it means to be generous - regardless of what they make. We of all people understand the theology of generosity that comes from a generous God who has made us heir to all of his riches and glory through redemption and salvation.


Pastors and missionaries may rationalize their lack of generosity with the fact that they make less than others. In fact, many people who are generous don't make a great deal of money. Rather, they have cultivated a lifestyle of generosity. I have often met with people over the years to thank them for their giving to ministry only to find out that they are people of very modest means who have chosen to give generously to God's work. Each time, I am deeply humbled by their commitment and joy of giving. 


A life of generosity on all fronts reflects the gift of Jesus to us - He who gave up everything so that we could know Him. No matter how much or little we have, why would we not want to reflect in our lives the generosity that God showed to us and continues to shower on us?


Want to have all that you need for life and ministry? Sow abundantly. Live generously. God will and does respond. 

Missionary support team building: Very tough work!

The blog by a ReachGlobal missionary family raising their support for France could be the story of thousands of missionaries today who are heading for global service but must first raise their support. Unlike ministry positions in local churches, there is a triple whammy for those serving overseas. They must leave home and family, they work in some incredibly hard places relative to the Gospel and they must raise their own support. Oh, and there is the little thing of learning another language. Add to this the challenge of the economy, and the pressure that church budgets are under and you get the picture. 


It is a process that tests resolve, persistence, character, and call. 


There are some up sides to this hard process. First, mission agencies are raising the bar for who they accept knowing that congregations and individuals are going to want the staff they support to be high quality individuals. The cost today is too high for anyone else.


Second, mission work is tough, tough work. There are many days when one asks oneself, "Why did I sign up for this?" Support team building, after the exhilaration of being accepted tests the resolve and call because it too is very tough. It forces staff to ask the hard questions about whether they are ready to go the distance and whether they heard God right when they signed up. Like the work they will face on the "field," support team building is one person at a time, relatively slow progress and can be very discouraging. The support team building process actually prepares staff for the realities they will face on the field when they arrive there. 


Third, one is building a team, not raising money. There is a big difference. It is the team - those who are relationally connected and financially invested who will pray, pay attention, and encourage those they support. Relationships are not built in a day which is why it is a long tough process. But that team will also be intensely loyal over the years and stand by those they support. Not once, for instance, have we ever personally dropped support from someone we had started to support. 


As the leader of a mission agency I wish support team building was easier. Or do I? The very faith that is needed to believe God can work in hard places is the very faith that is needed to raise one's support. The resolve and persistence needed on the field is the resolve and persistence needed to raise support. Most important, being sure of God's call in the tough times in missions is the same assurance one must have to go the distance in building one's support team. On balance, that tough work prepares one for many of the real life realities one will face on the mission field.


If you are invited to join a missionary in their work by supporting them, ask the right questions and ask God if this is something you should invest in. But understand the need for these servants of God to raise their support. We have so many options for people to hear the Gospel in the US compared to the rest of the world. America spends more on pet food each year than it does on mission support - a sad statistic. Forty dollars twice a month (a small investment) is one thousand dollars a year (a significant investment). We love to find ways to support more missionaries. What I do wish for is a new spirit of generosity among believers generally - a spirit that reflects His unbelievably amazing heart.


Jesus has an amazing heart for the lost and we make His heart glad when we share in that heart. One of the most basic ways we can demonstrate that heart is in supporting those who are the global ambassadors for the Gospel. Our personal goal at our home is to support as many as we can  because we want to share His heart. It is an investment we make on behalf of the heart of Jesus and His call on our lives to be involved in the great commission. 


I long for a more generous church and more generous believers whose financial priorities reflect the Gospel priorities. If that were ever to happen, it would expand the cause of the Gospel in amazing ways. Whether others choose to live that way, we choose to live that way and we love it.