Q&A on giving

Frequently Asked Questions:

Q. Why do missionaries need to raise money?

A. In most jobs a person either works to produce a product, which is then sold, or, they provide a service which is needed which people also pay to receive. Either way, profit is produced, and the workers are paid. With few exceptions, missionaries are providing a service to people who either can’t afford to pay for it, or, they don’t know they need it! The later would certainly be true of those who are trying to bring the gospel message to those who have never heard the good news about Jesus. So, while the work is highly valuable, no earthly “profit” is produced that can be used to fund the work.

Q. Doesn’t the mission (i.e. their “employer”) pay the missionaries / provide for their needs? Why do I need to give?

A. The short answer here is no, the mission doesn’t, and can’t, provide for a missionary’s needs. But this answer is a little too simplistic, so let me go on a little further.

First, when speaking about mission agencies from North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand (most readers would be from those areas), I have to say that a very small number of mission agencies DO pay their workers in the same way that a company pays a worker. Those missionaries do not “raise support.” To my knowledge, there are only a few mission agencies that do it this way.

So…why don’t all of the missions do it this way? I said they “can’t” do it, but if a few do it this other way, why couldn’t they all do it that way?

Truth? Because most givers (that’s you and me) don’t like that other system. We are the ones who have chosen for missionaries to seek funding (i.e. to “raise support”) for their individual work. I can hear someone saying, “Now hold on there! I didn’t choose this. I don’t like it when the missionary comes around asking for money!”

Ah, but you did choose it! Sort of…

Think of it this way: Which would you be more excited about?

1. Sending $1000 every year to some mission board that you didn’t know, and weren’t 100% sure you trusted. Then they, not you, have the choice of where and how to spend your money. In return you get a tax receipt, and an occasional letter from the president telling you in general terms what the mission was up to.

2. Giving $100 every month to your church “for missions.” Again, you aren’t exactly sure how your $100 gets spent. You hope it’s doing good stuff, but you never really find out. (It might also surprise you to know that most American churches spend a fraction of a penny from every hundred dollars on actual missions. This is an average; hopefully your church is doing better.)

3. Giving an amount every month to the missionary who spoke in your church. They told their stories, God moved your heart, and you’ve been giving ever since. You know him/her personally, and you get letters and emails often. You know what’s happening, and you see the work progressing. When they come home, they make a point of seeing you – catching up face to face.

Without a doubt, most people much prefer option number 3. How do I know this? Well, because of the effort it takes to raise money for options 1 and 2, and because of the lack of response when ministries use those methods, which is easily measured by lack of giving.

Example 1: A large mission agency that works with orphans and poor people (traditionally some of the easiest things to raise money for) raises the money to pay their workers as an organization. The workers do not have to raise funds. The organization’s administrative costs (the cost of raising funds this way, plus other administrative costs) averages about 25%. The administrative costs for mission agencies where missionaries “raise support” is almost always in the 4% to 8% range. In other words, it costs a lot more to raise money that way!

Example 2: A large US based denomination has 16 million members and an annual missions budget a little over $300 million for the year 2012. Do the math! The average gift per member is just over $20 a year! Or, let’s assume that half of the members are too young to give. Ok, now we’ve got an average of $40 per year per adult member. Talk to most members of this denomination and they don’t have a clear view of what their missions giving is accomplishing. There is an overall “warm fuzzy,” but no real facts or direct connection to the field.

Example 3: Two medium sized US based denominations switched from the model employed in #2 (mission raises money and pays missionaries) to a model where their missionaries needed to raise their own budget (i.e. raise the funds for their own work) before being allowed to return to the field. At the end of the FIRST year using this new model, both denominations reported that “giving to missions has doubled.” DOUBLED.

Example 4: Coming back around to example #2, if the average gift per member is a little over $40 per year, what is the average gift per year from a person who directly supports missions? That would be an average of $900 per year! Friends, that is a 2,200% increase.

So to me it seems that the average Christian is much more excited about giving when they know where the money is going, and/or when their is a personal relationship involved.

Q. So how does missionary funding work?

A. In most faith missions, an annual budget is set. This includes living expenses for the missionary and work/ministry expenses. The missionary is then required to raise the money needed to meet the budget. A group of people and churches come together to support that ministry, some giving $20, others $50 or $100 or even more, and together it all adds up to fund the monthly budget.

In the US, the missionary raises the money for their budget, but as the money passes through and is administered by the mission agency, the giver can then also receive a receipt to use on their income tax, thus receiving a discount on the tax they pay.

Then, based on the money available, the missionary receives money to live on and money to reimburse work expenses. (In many cases this is similar to a worker who is a contract worker for a company: they buy what they need to do their job, and then get reimbursed when they turn in the receipts.)

Q. Paul worked for his own living, as a tent maker. Isn’t this the biblical way to support missions? Isn’t it wrong for missionaries to ask for donations?

A. There are several important points to consider.

First, did Paul stick to the “tent maker” model exclusively? No, he did not. He mentions both receiving help and gifts from churches and individuals, and several times he even asks directly for assistance in his work (as in Romans 15). This despite bragging about earning his own way!

It’s theory and not Bible, but this is what I believe:

First, the Church was new. Many things like missionary giving were still being worked out. (There was no pattern of churches or Christians giving to do the work of missions.)

Second, Paul was right for not wanting to ask for support from the churches he was planting. He wanted the gospel to be a gift. I admire that, and I agree with that. But the farther Paul got into his ministry, the more he did shift over to being willing to receive a gift, and even asking for a gift. Sometimes I wonder if Paul’s “tent-making” was driven in part by his guilt for being a persecutor of the Church before he was a follower of Jesus. Maybe he didn’t feel worthy? A few of my rambling thoughts!

Aside from this, look at the host of scriptures throughout the Bible where God teaches, and even commands, that his ministers be paid for the work they do. “You shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain,” and, “The laborer is worthy of his wages.” 1 Timothy 5:18 (written by Paul!) Also, “Who ever goes to war at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat of its fruit? Or who tends a flock and does not drink of the milk of the flock?” 1 Corinthians 9:7 (also Paul).

But here is, as they say, where the rubber meets the road: every minute a missionary spends working some other job, is a minute spent NOT doing what God has called him/her to do. Do we have enough missionaries, such that we have an abundance of help and we can afford to waste some time on other foolishness? No, we do not. 70,000 precious souls will leave earth again today…70,000 that never once heard the good news! Do we have time to “play around” and take our time getting to them with the gospel? No, we do not. This, friends, is an urgent rescue mission. This is life or death, heaven or hell stuff. The only reason a missionary should be serving as a “tent-maker” would be if God has explicitly called them to that type of ministry. Usually, this is needed on non-traditional mission fields where it might be the only way to reach that particular people. (i.e. “Missionaries are not welcome in our country, but people who do ________________ are very welcome!”)

Do you have questions? Feel free to ask!