to return to home page, click 'X' in upper right corner of your browser.

on the mountain with Neverfail Church

Financing the missionaries:

Some mission sending agencies are able to fully fund and support the missionaries that they send to various fields as well as provide finances for their actual mission ministry activities and supplies.  Other agencies are only able to partially fund the personnel and the work.  Yet other agencies act more as sponsoring organizations and are able to provide only administration and logistic support but the missionaries are each responsible for raising their own financial support and ministry budgets.  Some are able to raise sufficient support to allow them to focus all their efforts on their ministry work while others must be what we call 'tentmakers' in that they find at least part time employment in their mission field to generate at least a portion of their personal support.  (At home, we call them 'bi-vocational' ministers.)  These missionaries work under the tension that exists between the benefits and detriments of  bi-vocational ministry.  One benefit (in addition to the financial contribution) is the missionary being engaged in the public work place.  The greatest (and most stressful) detriment is the amount of time, effort and focus that is taken away from the service that the missionary could be engaged in if not required to be tied to constraints of the job. 

The Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) at times have used a wonderful concept in funding people in various ministry roles. Their term is "Released Friend" . . . a Quaker who is released from the distractions of having to earn a living in the workplace so as to focus their attentions on whatever task that others have 'released' them for.  The funding so provided is not looked upon as a salary or compensation for doing ministry duties, but rather gracious liberty that is extended so that the missionary might be free to their calling.

As self-employed, bi-vocational minister/missionaries, we have some liberties that a minister engaged in a regular public job does not have.  We have the advantage of being engaged in the workplace and the luxury of a somewhat more flexible schedule. There are a whole other set of stresses that come with owning and managing  one's own business and these can be distractions to ministries too.

For the past several years, Neverfail Church has generously provided us each (Emily & Eliot) with health insurance (through CBF's Church Benefits Board), a small monthly contribution to a retirement account and a small monthly salary.  We have tried to keep away from using Partners in Ministry funds for administrative and support purposes.  As health care costs have continued to rise and the growth of the congregation has been in families with very limited means, we have found that the church is not able to continue providing the limited support for us as community missionaries as in the past. The congregation is no longer providing nay support towards to cost of our health insurance or retirement. We have come to the point where we must seek financial commitments from outside sources in order to ensure the continuation of the mission ministry to our community.  In so doing, we will free this small rural congregation from the daunting task of providing support for two missionary field personnel. (Few small rural congregations can do a respectable job of providing support for a 'part-time' pastor or preacher, let alone two field missionaries.)

Sooooo . . . what assistance are we seeking?  That is the question of the moment. We are convinced that we have been in the midst of a wonderful work of God in the establishment and growth and continuing ministries of Neverfail.  We have given sacrificially of our time, our property and our finances, as have many others including many wonderful partners we work with in the Tennessee CBF and affiliated churches. But . . . we are also convinced that what God builds, God can maintain and grow . . . the burden should not be inordinately upon us so that we can have confidence that we are about God's work and not our own.  So we are throwing out this fleece:  We are willing (and passionately eager) to continue the work, but out of exhaustion and financial distress, we look to God to raise up support in the area of funding the personnel serving as the community missionaries (us). 

Checks can be made out to "Neverfail Community Church" and mailed to: NCC, 2080 Red Rd. Sparta, TN 38583. Please clearly mark your designated gifts  "Pastors' Benefits Fund".

This is what we are asking for:

a) The greatest stress relief for us would be the covering of the health insurance premiums. So we ask for monthly commitments from a collection of individuals, small groups (classes) & church congregations to total the continuing costs of our health insurance through the ABC Ministers & Missionary Benefits Board.  Eliot's premiums will be $ 716/month for 2010 through November 2010 ($ 8,592/year). Emily has had to drop the MMBB health insurance and has picked up a much lower quality plan that costs about $ 300/month.  We would ask for 3 months notice of intent not to continue with or renew the commitment so as to be prayerfully seeking others to fill in the gap.  (If you are interested in making a one time contribution but not a continuing commitment, another proposal is outlined below.)

Commitment amounts could be $ 100/month . . . $ 250/month . . . $ 500/month . . . or even $ 50/month  (or God might choose to raise up someone to provide the whole amount on a continuing basis . . . however He wants to do it is fine with us!)

Commitments made to date for health insurance premiums:

no continuing commitments to date.

b) The next greatest help in funding personnel would be in the area of contribution to retirement fund. The church has providing a total of $ 200/month into a CBF Church Benefits Board retirement account and supplement account for Eliot. Emily has no retirement account.  The contributions have remained unchanged for many years but continuing contributions even at the current rate would be very encouraging and any increase or addition of an account for Emily would be much appreciated and another way to reduce our ministry stress load.

Commitment amounts could be $ 50/month . . . $ 100/month . . . $ 200/month . . . or more.

Commitments made to date for retirement fund contributions:

none

c) The next area of financial assistance for personnel would be in an expense fund that could be used by both of the community missionaries for office expenses (postage, paper, ink, copier and computer maintenance, etc.), book account (periodical subscriptions, library addition, etc.), travel and conference account (mileage reimbursement for ministry use of personal vehicles outside of immediate mission field, travel & conference expense for training or for representing the ministries to others.) This would be used for expenses that are not directly related to the ministries of the congregation (which should be able to support such direct expenses itself.)  All of these expenses are now being paid for from personal funds of the missionaries and have not been adequately tracked.  A guess would be that the need would be in the neighborhood of $  3,000-6,000/ year.  Any amount would be a relief to our personal finances.

This is a fund which some people might choose to contribute to regularly and others could make one-time or occasional gifts. Commitments totaling $ 250/month could provide a base with other gifts making up the balance.

Commitments made to date for expense fund:

none

Checks can be made out to "Neverfail Community Church" and mailed to: NCC, 2080 Red Rd. Sparta, TN 38583. Please clearly mark your designated gifts.

As we receive commitments in any of these areas, we will post them here so that others may know what needs remain. (The donors may remain anonymous on this site if  you prefer.) Receipts will be provided for all contributions.  If you would like to communicate with us more about these opportunities and needs, you may e-mail us at neverfailchurch@frontiernet.net  or play phone tag with us at 1-931-277-5000 or 1-931-277-5032. Please indicate the nature of your call with your message. (these are both business phone numbers.) If you are not able or interested in partnering with us in these financial needs, please consider joining us in prayer that God would raise up the provision and correct us in any error.  Thanks!