Sendusout

Hey everyone! For some of you this may be the first message you are getting from us in quite some time. I have finally had time to fix the subscriptions on our website so we can stay in better touch with you all.

I want to let you know at the start that this is going to be a lengthy post. I really try to keep our messages short and sweet and to a single point but the truth is A LOT has been going on lately. We want to share everything that God has been doing in our ministry and our family, but I will try and keep it moving.

In Melissa’s reading this morning she shared the message from Romans 8:28 that says, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” The devotional was suggesting that in God, there are no accidents, only incidents. Even when it seems that things are going poorly, or when tragedy strikes, God is always striving to bless His people. God uses these incidents to do his work.

The last few months we have been in an incident of declining finances. We are coming into May with $100 in our account. In the midst of this financial crisis I was invited to join a small group of missionaries to attend a seminar in Singapore on the topic of donor development, how to build a ministry support team. Is it any coincidence that as our support funds are dwindling to zero God orchestrates a seminar on this very same topic? I think not.

First of all, we want to you all to know that we are not going to starve. Our mission organization works in such a way that if our own support funds are not sufficient to meet our needs they will loan us funds from other allocations until our account can climb out of the red. We are not worried. This past week has given us a renewed confidence and trust that we are in God’s hands. He has provided for us in amazing ways over the last three years and there is no reason for him to stop now. We are excited to see how He is going to provide. Thank you to ALL of you who have been a part of God’s provision for us over the years. This is YOUR ministry! Each of the kids that we are able to share food and water with are YOUR kids. All of the thousands upon thousands who are hearing the message of truth and love through our productions at WM Communications are doing so because of you. This is YOUR ministry and we are so honored to be serving you in it. Thank you for giving!

Secondly, I would really like to share the main topics from this last week’s seminars. Each topic could easily make a whole post in and of itself, but here I will share them in brief just so you can be on the same journey as us.

1. God has called us ALL to be biblical stewards. At the end of it all, when we are giving account for our lives before heaven we’re not going to be answering salvation questions, we’re going to be answering stewardship questions! We’re going to be giving account for how we spent our time, how we blessed those around us, how we gave sacrificially for God’s kingdom. The bible is full of stories like that of the talents. God expects us to put what he has given to us to good use. To some he has given much, and it is from those that he expects much. The good news is, there is NOTHING in this world that is more fulfilling than being a joyful, biblical steward. The act (art) of giving is the very essence of Christlikeness.
2. Those of us in ministry, especially those of us who gather our support and ministry expenses from supporters like you, have a heavenly responsibility to help nurture our support team into biblical stewardship. We all can remember when giving 10% of our first paycheck felt like pulling teeth. But learning biblical stewardship comes through practice and opportunity. I can remember times when I was stretched and pushed financially to help others in ministry. It was through these times that God showed me the blessing of sacrificial giving. Those I was giving to were simply providing an opportunity to practice good stewardship. They were making themselves available to allow God to work through them and they were bold enough to allow God to do so.
3. The giver is infinitely more important that the gift. If we view you, as our supporters, as nothing more than lines in our account registry we have sorely missed what God is doing! We are guilty of allowing our work and life to draw us away from what really matters. We are guilty of not connecting with each of you in more personal ways. The truth is, it is not distance that effects relationships, it is silence. We apologize for not being more consistent in our appreciation and communication with each of you. We love and value every one of you and have been convicted and challenged to correct this problem.
4. A biblical steward will never be offended by being given the opportunity to give big (really big). They will be offended by your not informing them of the needs and opportunities in your ministry for support. Again, we are guilty of not being more transparent before you about our needs. How can you partner with us if we are not telling you our needs? We apologize for not keeping you better informed about our needs in our ministry. We are encouraged to do better!
5. The sign that a ministry is healthy and growing is the need that is has for more resources. This means more children are being clothed and fed, more are hearing the gospel through their radios, TVs, and computers, more are being loved and nurtured in art class. Our ministry continues to grow and God knows this more clearly than anyone. He also has all the resources in the world to make it possible, it is our job to faithfully share this privilege of ministry with you all.

There is much more, but these five points share the main message that God is challenging and encouraging us with right now. We are so excited to work on this together.

The truth is, right now we need your help. We need to raise funds not only for our monthly ministry and living expenses, but for our future needs and ministry. We have an expectation that God is ready to provide far into the future for us allowing us to grow our ministry without financial burdens. We would like to invite you each to give to our ministry. No number is too small, no number is too big. If you are still reading this at this point you either really like us or the Holy Spirit is speaking to you. Please pray how you should respond. If you would like to give please visit our SUPPORT page and find the giving instructions along the side of the page The support page is in the links at the top of this page. We could use support both through check or automatic deposit or through credit card to our PayPal account via the button at the bottom.

We are so humbled and excited for this opportunity to share our ministry with you. We are eager to tell how God again is more than enough to meet all our needs!