Always a Reason to Rejoice

Sorry for the blog silence, things have been a bit busy and there hasn’t been as much time to reflect or write. But I was thinking about God’s many blessings and wanted to share a few recent praises with you.

First, thank you to all the individuals (and our church) who have either pledged to support us or have already begun supporting us on a monthly basis. We are currently at 11% in what we need to raise per month, which is incredibly awesome and humbling.

Second, as some of you know, Ryan was on the job hunt for most of the summer….until now. While we raise support we both need to work so that we can continue to eat and live of course, but also so we can pay off the college debt we have before leaving for France. And so, Ryan started his new job this week. He is the office manager at our church, which is a great opportunity to learn more about the inner workings of the church. So things are going well and if our planning is correct, we could be debt free in 10–11 months. Praise the Lord!

Third (and perhaps last for now), as we develop partners and raise financial support we are realizing what a great side benefit and blessing we receive in terms of relationships. It is a wonderful vehicle for re-connecting with all our loved ones, friends and family alike. It is so great to see or hear how everyone is doing and to know how we can be praying for and serving each of you. One of the best things about ministry is that so much of it is about relationships with individuals, serving and pouring into people’s lives. So if you are one of the people we know and send letters too, thanks for the privilege to know and love you. And if we don’t yet know you or haven’t contacted you directly yet, don’t hesitate to contact us. We would love to hear from you.

Why Raise Financial Support: Part 3

#3: Because it is an opportunity to give

Maybe you don’t think of giving as an opportunity, but Scripture is clear that it is. Paul says in Philippians 4:15–17, “Moreover, as you Philippians know, in the early days of your acquaintance with the gospel, when I set out from Macedonia, not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you only; for even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me aid more than once when I was in need. Not that I desire your gifts; what I desire is that more be credited to your account.” What Paul is saying is that it isn’t so much about providing for his needs that he wants the Philippians to give, but in reality it is about them. They benefit from giving. Paul goes on to say that their gifts are “a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God. And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus” (4:18–19). The Philippians gifts to support Paul in his ministry are actually gifts directly to God himself, and God the ultimate giver will not be outdone in generosity. He gives back lavishly to those who give to Him. That doesn’t always mean material wealth for those who give, but it does mean assurance of God’s constant care and provision, because you’re investing your wealth in something far more significant and far more eternal.

There are many good things to give to, and we believe that starting new communities of believers among the French is one of them. If we didn’t believe that, we wouldn’t want to do it. Whatever ministries you support, see them as opportunities to give.

I think 2 Corinthians 9:6–11 sums it up well:

“Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. As it is written:

‘They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor;

their righteousness endures forever.’

Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.”

Why Raise Financial Support: Part 2

This is the second part of the three part series on why we are raising financial support.

#2: The Practical Reason

As I said and firmly believe, all followers of Jesus are called to full-time discipleship and service. However, Christ calls some to serve in such a way that they should receive financial support from the body for what they do. While this kind of service has a biblical basis, there are also many practical realities, especially in cross-culture ministry, that make financial support from other people necessary.

First, church-planting is a demanding job. It isn’t 9 to 5 as much as it is 24/7. There are meetings, preparing lessons and sermons, doing outreach, counseling, discipling, administration, more meetings, and the list goes on. It is a non-stop juggling of constant responsibility. You can see why Paul so often equates it with parenthood, and the more children there are to parent, the less time there is for other things.

Second, all of the above is taking place in a culture that is not your own, and in a language that you don’t yet speak fluently. For this reason a great deal of time is devoted to simply becoming competent in the culture and learning the language. Without the time and the space that it takes to get these things down, you set yourself up for burnout and possibly failure. A missionary’s first task is to learn the language and the culture well enough to be able to communicate the Gospel powerfully and effectively, and financial support helps facilitate that process.

Third, financial support raising is the policy of World Team. When you don’t have the necessary know-how to navigate the system, it is best to take the advice of those who have gone before you. In our case, we’re relying on our mission organization and the experience of long-term missionaries in France to help guide us. If they say the best way to get to do ministry in France is through raising financial support, then they have a good reason for doing so. Other ways and new avenues should always be explored, but the whole reason to do missions through an organization is to benefit from the experience and wisdom of people who have gone before you. In other words, it is about being set up to succeed. We raise financial support because they ask us to, and we trust them as experienced and faithful servants of the Lord in cross-cultural missions.

Click here to read the final part of this three part series... an opportunity to give.

Why Raise Financial Support?

When explaining our ministry to people we are often asked some variation of the question, “Why not get jobs in France, instead or in addition to raising financial support?” It’s an excellent question, and one that I am hoping to give a somewhat more thorough and complete answer to here.

First a clarification, it is certainly not the case that in raising financial support that some Christians are called to do ministry while the rest are called to pay for it. There are not two classes of Christians: one that serves God and the other that pays them to do that service. All followers of Jesus are called to full service of him in everything.

So, if that is the case why raise financial support for ministry? I think there are three main reasons, there could be many more, but these are the three that most readily come to mind. The first reason is biblical, the second is practical, and the third is because it is an opportunity to give. I will split them up into three posts so it is not too long.

#1: The Biblical Reason

In the Gospel of Luke Jesus sends out the seventy-two to announce his coming, and he tells them “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road. When you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’ If someone who promotes peace is there, your peace will rest on them; if not, it will return to you. Stay there, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages” (Lk 10:2–7). Paul writes something similar in his letter to the Corinthian church when he says, “Don’t you know that those who serve in the temple get their food from the temple, and that those who serve at the altar share in what is offered on the altar? In the same way, the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel” (1 Cor 9:13–14). So, both Jesus and Paul are in agreement that full-time ministers of the gospel should be provided for by others as they do the work God has given them.

“Wait,” you may say. “But Paul was a tent-maker. That’s how he provided for his ministry.” Paul was indeed a tent-maker and there was a time in which he gave up his right to receive support, as he calls it in 1 Cor 9:6, to provide for himself through that vocation. Acts 18:1–5 says, “After this, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. There he met a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had ordered all Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to see them, and because he was a tentmaker as they were, he stayed and worked with them. Every Sabbath he reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks. When Silas and Timothy came from Macedonia, Paul devoted himself exclusively to preaching, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Messiah.” Paul’s whole argument in 1 Corinthians 9 is about how he gave up his right to receive financial support from the Corinthians while he was preaching the Gospel to them. He did however receive financial support from another church, possibly the Philippians (see Phil 4:10–19), when Silas and Timothy arrived that allowed him to stop making tents and devote himself exclusively to preaching. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 11:7–9, “Was it a sin for me to lower myself in order to elevate you by preaching the gospel of God to you free of charge? I robbed other churches by receiving support from them so as to serve you. And when I was with you and needed something, I was not a burden to anyone, for the brothers who came from Macedonia supplied what I needed. I have kept myself from being a burden to you in any way, and will continue to do so.”

Therefore, the pattern for Paul seems to be to receive support from established churches and believers so that he can start new works without making the new church pay to support him (see Romans 15:23–24). He made tents so the Corinthians wouldn’t have to pay for his ministry while he was waiting for funds from Macedonia. In modern day church-planting we are attempting to do the same thing, that is raise support from existing churches and believers so that we can start a work in a new area offering the Gospel to them free of charge. Do we need business minded believers to start companies and do ministry through their work? Absolutely. It takes gifted and talented people to do that work. But Jesus said that those people he calls to enter the harvest should be fully provided for through that work.

We believe that we have been called to this particular task and seek to take Jesus at his word by raising financial support.

Click here to see the second part in this three-part series... the practical reason.

Thanks Be to God for Friends Who Encourage

In our current world of developing partnerships for France and continuing to fully engage with our life here and now, it can often feel like an up and down roller-coaster ride. Some days and weeks will feel like little progress is made but then, often when we least expect it God provides encouragements and blessings both big and small. This week we were encouraged by our friend Nathan's blog post about us. Nathan Creitz is a minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and we have been blessed to receive many sermons from him and to be under his leadership at our current church, Grace Community Church in Marblehead. Nathan and his wife Kim, and their beautiful children Zoe and Zachary, are currently looking for a new congregation to lead, and we are excited to see how and where God will lead them next. If you are interested, you can check out Nathan's blog and his most recent post here.

The Complete Finance Breakdown

We want to be as transparent as possible in presenting how much financial support we need to raise. So get ready... here it is.

The basic overview of our monthly support requirements:

$4,654.29 Net Salary* (This is what we live on)
$4,994.29 Gross Salary (Net Salary + Retirement, taxes, etc.)
$1,343.07 Benefits (Health Insurance for both the U.S. and France)
$450.00 Ministry Funds (Travel, Hosting, etc.)
$1,151.07 World Team Admin Fee (Funds the activities of global leadership and sending country support services)
$7,938.43 Total (This is what we must have donations for each month)

A couple of points of clarification:

• *We raise financial support in dollars, but in France we will live on the Euro, which at the moment is stronger than the dollar. So, while our Net Salary is $4,654.29, thirty percent is lost in the conversion process leaving 3,258 Euros. This salary is equivalent to a teacher’s salary in France plus half, so a teacher and a half’s salary.
• We’re required to be on our employer’s, that is World Team’s health insurance, plus pay into the French health system. This way we are covered while in the U.S., but also not taking advantage of the French health system. We want to be respectful and responsible guests of our host country.
• 14.5 percent of the funds we raise are applied to the general operating accounts of World Team. This money is used to help fund the sending offices of World Team so they can provide support, guidance and accountability to missionaries around the globe.

In addition to our monthly support requirements we also have a number of one-time expenses that we must raise before we can leave for France. There are many more items on this list so I’ll just highlight some:

$15,000 Language Training (Both Erin and I for a year of intensive French)
$20,000 Vehicle Purchase (Reduce by 30% for Euro exchange rate)
$1,000 Immigration (visas, passports, etc.)
$2,500 Housing (Many apartments require 2–3 months rent up front)
$1,500 Travel (Plain tickets to France)
$9,000 Pre-Field Training (Housing & tuition for a 10-wk training)
$80,032 Total (Other start up costs, moving expenses & WT Admin Fee)

Because all donations are placed into the same account, when you commit to support us monthly everything you give prior to when we arrive in France goes toward our one-time expenses. Therefore, we would desire that you begin giving as soon as you can so that we can have 100% of our one-time expenses covered before we leave for France.

If you have any questions feel free to leave a comment or email us, and we’d be happy to answer you. To begin giving, complete this faith promise form and mail it to World Team.

Stay tuned for a three-part series on why we raise financial support.

Our Teammates in France: Part I

Something we would like to do periodically is introduce you to our teammates who are on the ground in France. It truly is an amazing group of people committed to both being and spreading God's light to the French. There are team members from the U.S., Germany, Switzerland, Guadeloupe, Australia and France. Several of them, who started the work in France 30 years ago, are still on the ground working and passing not only the baton, but years of wisdom, on to younger teammates. It is a great honor for us to become a part of this dynamic, multi-generational and international team.

This is an informal (and inadequate) introduction to the Shorb family. Nate and Erica (and their two awesome sons Kaden and Luca) are a few steps ahead of Ryan and I in this journey and they have been a great source of encouragement to us. We got to know them a bit before they landed in France in January 2011, and we feel privileged to be able to ask them questions and to follow them as they adapt to French language, culture and ministry. They have had an eventful first year in France, especially recently with the birth of their son Luca. Hopefully soon we will tell you more about the Shorb's story (with their permission of course), but for now I wanted to explain just a bit about the France team generally and the Shorb's specifically.

Check out the Shorb's blog and their most recent post about Why we participate in missions anyway. Check it out here and be blessed this week.