A lot of work goes into getting a missionary fully supported and on the field. It’s no picnic, and many missionaries report that fundraising is their least favorite part about being a missionary.
The average missionary with ABWE takes 19 months to be fully supported. That means some finish faster, and some much longer. A missionary friend of ours told us that it took them 4 1/2 years to reach 100%!
Before an ABWE missionary can leave for the field, they have to complete 3 levels of training. The first is when you start out, the second is once you reach 50%, and the third is at 85%. In order to attend Essential Missions Components (EMC) this year, we need to be at 50% by July 1st or we’ll have to wait until July of 2018.
So, how can you help us reach 50% by July 1st?
Recommend us to your pastor
Have we visited your church to present our ministry? If the answer is no, you can help us out by giving us a recommendation to your pastor.
A large portion of fundraising is presenting our ministry in local church congregations around the country. Getting a meeting in churches is not always easy. Pastors want to know that you have a personal connection with their congregation. A recommendation from you can go a long way into getting us the opportunity to present.
Would you be willing to say something as simple as “Hey pastor, some friends of mine are missionaries to Australia and are interested in presenting their ministry here at our church. Would they be able to give you a call?” If so, please contact us, by Facebook or email.
Something that simple can mean the difference between receiving support or not.
Invite us to your Bible Study
The other side of fundraising is individual support. Did you know that 13 individuals/families currently support our ministry? They make up about a third of our support. These individuals support us anywhere from $20/month to $150/month.
If you’re involved in a midweek Bible study, would the others in your group be interested in hearing from a special guest missionary one week? You know people that we don’t. Bible studies are a great way for us to meet new people and expand the number of people who are aware of our ministry.
Even if someone in your small group doesn’t choose to financially support us, they may like our Facebook page, join our email update list, or add our prayer card to their prayer wall/list.
Similar to a recommendation to a pastor, when you invite us to your small group it tells everyone that you know us and they can feel comfortable getting involved in our ministry.
You can financially support us
While both of the above suggestions can help our ministry, they don’t always result in support. In general, a missionary needs to visit three churches before one will take them on for support. Even then, sometimes it takes months for a decision to be made.
But you can help today by committing to support our ministry. You can make a difference. In the last two weeks we’ve received support from 4 new individuals. Will you consider helping start new churches in towns that have none? You can make it a reality.
In the next two weeks we’re praying for at least 4 more individuals or families to join our ministry team. Specifically, we’re asking that you will consider committing to one of four spots at $25, $50, $75, or $100 a month.
Visit http://www.abwe.org/automatic-support-program to join our ministry team today. Or you can send a check to ABWE Donor Services, PO Box 8585, Harrisburg, PA 17105-8585 with our account number 017025.
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