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ARTICLES TEACHING GOD’S PEOPLE GOD’S PRINCIPLES by Crown Financial Ministries Nothing interferes more with Christians’ ability to serve God than their need to earn, in order to pay and buy. An observer from 100 years ago would be awestruck by the improvement in our living standard and by the amount of leisure time our technology now provides us. In addition, we now live an average of 18 years longer than we did 100 years ago and have at least one-third more disposable income per family. When all of these factors are weighed, together with the fact that in America alone there are perhaps 20 million Christians, it seems clear that Christians ought to be spreading the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ throughout the world much better than they are presently doing. FAQ’S ABOUT FAITH PROMISE OFFERINGS FUNDING MISSIONS IN THE LOCAL CHURCH by Randy Hurst A major reason the Assemblies of God was formed in 1914 was to facilitate the coordinated support of missionaries around the world. The great strength of our missions support has not been a centralized missions fund but designated giving by local churches to missionaries called of the Spirit to go into all the world. In recent decades other sources of funding have surfaced, such as legacies and missions-funding organizations, but these entities remain minor in comparison with the primary Assemblies of God missions support base....the local church. Possibly the most vital tool in our missions funding has been the missions faith promise. Two ongoing major missions events that facilitate and interrelate with faith promise giving are the missions convention and Missions Sunday. LOOKING BEYOND: FINDING FAITH FOR HIS PROMISE by Randall Ross The church that starts with prayer and vision will find the faith to believe for the money. When your congregation takes on a passion, vision, and a heart for the lost, when they are faithfully praying and talking to God, they will come to the place where they joyfully open their resources to reach a lost world. FAITH PROMISE: A BIBLICALLY-BASED INSTRUMENT FOR MISSION VISION THAT WORKS by Rev. Donald Jensen There are three great truths about God: 1) God loves the world. 2) God has unlimited resources to reach the world. 3) God channels these resources through His own people. One of God's favorite ways to channel His resources is the “Faith Promise Offering” which is a modern way to describe the way churches in the New Testament gave to help people in distant places. MEASURING MATURITY by Robertson McQuilken Spiritual maturity. We all think we have it, or at least aspire to it. But who actually has it? It may startle us to discover that the Lord Jesus measures spiritual maturity by one’s relationship to material things. STUDENT DEBT AND MISSIONARY SERVICE (Four articles from Mission Frontiers magazine, July/August 2004) Student Debt: A Hurdle too High for Impact Missionaries by Ben Sells What are Mission Agencies Saying and Doing about Student Debt? by Darrell Dorr Release the Indentured Generation! by Linda Dorr A New Paradigm For Education Without Debt by Rebecca Lewis MISSIONS GIVING NOT KEEPING UP WITH CHURCH OFFERING INCREASES, by Mark Wingfield This is a trend found not only among Baptists ... "Churches seem to be turning inward. They seem to be emphasizing the comfort and happiness of members over the transformation of those members." REALIGNING YOUR MISSIONS BUDGET This tool package features three prisms for examining and evaluating your church's missions investments--a focus analysis, a ministry analysis and an Acts 1:8 analysis. DEVELOPING YOUR MISSIONS BUDGET These suggestions come from a variety of churches which have wrestled through challenging issues related to their missions funding priorities and systems. FINANCING THE TASK by Ellen Livingood Subtitle: Revisiting the Western Church’s Role in Funding Global Missions *** Highly recommended reading for all in missions leadership - Editor BOOKS YOUR CHURCH CAN EXCEL IN GLOBAL GIVING by Donald Jensen Your Church Can Excel in Global Giving is a must read for any church serious about leveraging their resources for advancing God’s global purposes to make His name known among the nations. Don’s refreshing approach, vivid illustrations and pastoral style take this subject to a new crucial level. Read it and your church will never be the same in its mission giving. - Greg Parsons, General Director, US Center for World Mission STARTING A FAITH PROMISE PROGRAM IN YOUR CHURCH World Mission Center, South Africa Excellent material in this e-book, including a great testimonial from a chapter out of Oswald J. Smith’s classic, The Challenge of Missions. |