Any church that understands the Great Commission actively supports missions efforts at home and abroad. Some folks reading this have the privilege of being part of a congregation that has given much to further the Gospel of Jesus Christ over the course of many decades.
Many churches reassess their missions giving at the start of each new year and welcome ideas about supporting missionaries. My goal is to encourage those who want to give with some ideas for how to go about it.
Some churches, however, have never really begun to embrace Christ’s command. Though they are aware of the Great Commission, they have not yet learned the discipline and privilege of participating in what God is doing throughout the world for His name’s sake. Maybe God will use this article to help you get started according to His will.
Each local church is unique in its leadership, history, spiritual gifts, financial resources, and opportunities. As circumstances change over time and people come and go, churches need ideas for how to stay engaged in foreign missions.
This article is more geared towards believers that are members of independent non-denominational churches. Denominational churches would typically function much differently in their funding of missions endeavors. Here are some ideas that we have seen that could be appropriate for your local church or family situation.
Percentages
Percentage of the general budget
Churches often create a missions budget by giving a percentage (like 5%), or even a tithe (10%), of all offerings given. Some churches take the allotted budget for missions from the general budget and then add to that whatever is especially designated for missions. They then divide any extra amount equally to all supported missionaries and ministries. In this model, a minimum amount is usually guaranteed (i.e., the budgeted amount) and extra gifts significantly increase the funds actually sent.
Percentage of the missionary’s support need
Some churches endeavor to support missionaries for a percentage of that missionary’s total support need, such as 10%. If each church did this, the missionary would have ten partnering churches. This can be a difficult change for churches if they have a long history of supporting missionaries differently. Church plants sometimes implement this model of giving from the beginning.
Specific Amounts
Many congregations support all of their missionaries for equal amounts and add new missionaries to support until the church budget for missions is met. Local churches have a wide range of understanding as to what appropriate support looks like. They differ widely on their available resources as well.
Gradually Increased Support
Some churches start with a certain monthly amount, then increase it over time as they are able or as they determine the new needs of their missionaries.
Churches with greatly fluctuating income might lower their financial support of their missionaries during difficult times and then raise it again when resources are stable.
Annual Gifts
A church may support some ministries monthly but might also give an annual gift at Christmas or the end of the year to other missionaries as love gifts.
Distinguishing Between Sent and Supported Missionaries
The home/sending church will often support their own missionaries for 10% or more of their needed support. Other missionaries are supported, but usually for significantly less.
All SUPPORTED missionaries are covered financially by prayer and other ways. Missionaries SENT by their home church, however, are “OWNED” by the sending church. The home church pastor might visit these missionaries, encourage mission team visits, and/or encourage offerings for special projects. These pastors might take special interest in helping with housing and transportation for furloughs.
Love Offerings Without Monthly Commitments
Churches whose missions budgets are maxed out might still encourage giving to other missionaries by inviting new missionaries to come, serve, and receive a generous love offering. They might also encourage individuals to support missionaries on their own apart from the church budget.
Sometimes Christmas gifts are given to missionaries that local churches wish they could support regularly. These congregations might provide help through the use of a vacant parsonage or home dedicated for missionary use, even if there is no regular giving commitment.
Churches Coordinating to Support a Missionary
Like-minded churches in a wider area sometimes agree to have a missionary bring a presentation to each of their churches in succession in order to minimize travel logistics and expenses. The missionary could then potentially obtain several new partners in one area. “Round Robin” missions conferences are often used for this purpose.
Faith Promise Giving
“Faith promise” is a popular concept with varying definitions. Some churches urge their congregations to make financial commitments for missions by faith, even for funds they don’t currently possess. Some do this unethically, treating the promise like a vow to the Lord that must be kept, while others use this approach “as the Lord provides.” Many use faith promises as a practical way to encourage member families and individuals to prayerfully make commitments about what they hope to give towards missions for the upcoming year, as the Lord provides. These commitment figures are usually added to the church’s present budget for missions to determine whether or not any new missionaries can be added for support.
Strategic Giving
Churches sometimes focus their giving on a certain part of the world or people group that they want to adopt as a regular part of their ministry, such as: the 10/40 window; Buddhist countries; Muslims; urban church planting, Central America, or a specific country. Sometimes this approach is based upon where church members have family, connections, or a specific burden.
Missions Conferences
Some churches use missions conferences, held at varying intervals in the church calendar, to give the congregation opportunity to give to missions in a special way. Conferences might be annual, bi-annual, or less frequent.
Missions Prayer Fellowships
Many churches have a special missions fellowship, often a special ministry for ladies. The missions fellowship usually comes together regularly to pray for missionaries, gather financial resources for missionaries, or do special projects for missionaries around the world. What is given through this fellowship might be separate from the church missions budget. The missions fellowship can include people from other like-minded churches that don’t offer this type of ministry.
Older saints have the opportunity to take up the ministry of prayer in a special way during their latter years. This includes regular prayer in support of missionaries. Read more on this here.
Hospitality Ministry for Missions
Hospitality ministry is a key part of some churches. They may have a mission house, such as an unused parsonage. Members may have extra rooms that are made available to their partner missionaries. Christian owners of hotels, Airbnb, and bed and breakfasts sometimes provide free stays or significant discounts to missionaries.
Some churches, recognizing that their location is especially convenient for missionaries traveling (such as being near a major airport), will offer housing and provide transportation to and from the airport. Others might support a ministry that provides housing for missionaries on home assignment.
Service Ministries for Missions
Specialized ministry based on abilities within the congregation are often put to use: mechanics might offer free oil changes and tire rotation; a financial planner might volunteer his/her services to help missionaries organize their finances and plan; tradesmen might go to a field to help with building projects or use their skills at the mission home office; restaurant owners or other businesses might give discounts to missionaries.
Other practical help that some churches have identified: Walmart or Amazon gift cards; prepaid gas station cards; mission closets that have items often needed by missionaries traveling extensively (such as luggage, small tools or auto supplies , office supplies, etc.). Some have realized how important temporary transportation needs are for missionaries and lend cars, purchase used vehicles, or provide a vehicle service of some sort for their missionaries when they are traveling on home assignment.
Adopting a Missions Support Organization
Churches or Individuals will sometimes adopt a like-minded missions agency. They then prayerfully consider how to encourage that mission and its missionaries through annual giving, occasional gifts to meet specific needs, or a regular gift.
Sometimes people will call a missions agency and ask about specific or urgent needs within the organization’s missionary family so that they can participate in giving towards those needs.
Trusts & Memorial Gifts
Some Christians designate a trusted missions organization as a beneficiary in their will or through a trust. There are various ways that this is done, but often a specific need is targeted by those funds. Examples include support for office staff, publication and distribution of Gospel tracts and Bibles, financial assistance for missionaries with homeschooling needs, or the donation of a large amount to establish an endowment for the purpose of allowing the mission to use the interest and keep the principle.
When a Christian known for his/her passion for missions passes away, a collection can be made in their memory and given to a trusted missions organization.
Intentional Bi-vocational Ministry
Some small church pastors choose to be bi-vocational when they might otherwise be fully supported. One reason that they might do this is to free up funds for missions.
Secondary Missions Giving
Some churches have extra missions giving through Sunday School classes or Vacation Bible School. Occasionally adult Sunday School classes even have an extra budget of their own that is used for missions.
Some pastors encourage free-will offerings to be given towards supported missionaries above what is committed by the congregation.
Suggested Support-Raising Strategies
A church could ask: how many churches should ideally partner with a missionary to get him/her to the field? The church could then think in terms of the total percentage needed for support. If the church considered 20 churches to be a healthy number of partners, they should then commit to 5% of the missionary’s total support need.
Another suggestion is that local churches should build deep relationships with supported missionaries, so that the missionaries are seen as partners or an extension of that local church. Missionaries supported this way would be expected to spend larger amounts of time with the supporting churches in order to deepen relationships and share burdens. In order to expect this personal investment, the financial investment must also be higher. Missionaries could then be part of local church activities beyond church services.
There are many ways to support missions. Maybe your family or church needs to do something different. Maybe you need to start something new. It may be you just need to stay the course with your current plan. May God give us all wisdom to know how to love and obey Him through the support of His workers in His harvest fields!
This article was first published as Suggestions for Financially Supporting Missionaries on Gospel Fellowship Association‘s blog, Commissioned.