Financial Q&A

We recognize that the way people use their money is highly personal, and there are so many worthy causes out there in need of support. But we also believe that all money is God's money, so we would like to ask that you prayerfully consider supporting us financially. In so doing, you can partner with us in spreading the Gospel in Romania. And in so doing, we know that you may have questions about how your money is being used to further His Kingdom, so questions that may normally be taboo in our society are fair game for you. If you are already supporting us or contemplating doing so, we'd like to be transparent with you about how your money is used. This is a humbling experience for us, but we know that God will bless us and you as we sacrificially let go of our money for the sake of His Kingdom. Here are answers to some common questions about financially supporting missionaries, but please feel free to ask us any other questions you may have that are not answered here.

Thank you so very much for considering being our supporter. We are excited about what God is doing, and we know that it is not possible without the help of a lot of other people.

Why do we need financial support?

Although we have been officially approved by the Committee for MTW, we cannot leave for Romania until we have raised 100% of our monthly and one-time financial needs. Just like pastors and priests receive their salary through the support of their local church and presbytery, missionaries rely on the gifts of others to allow them to continue God's ministry abroad. We are all called to fulfill the Great Commission, regardless of where we call home or what we call our jobs, so raising support allows others to be a part of God's work in Romania when they are not able or called to go there themselves.

how much do you need?

Our monthly budget is $9,043. That sounds like a LOT of money, but that isn't all our salary. That amount pays for a lot of different things, like our salary (just $3000 of our budget), housing, insurance, moving expenses, and all on-field ministry costs. We also have a number of one-time costs, like training, support-raising expenses, visas, plane tickets, and relocation expenses, so we need to raise about $40,000 for these one-time expenses.

HOW MUCH SHOULD I GIVE?

That is totally between you and God! Please pray about this decision. And while doing so, remember 2Corinthians 9:7: "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."

You can also download and take a look at our giving chart.

giving_chart.pdf
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HOW MUCH DO YOU HAVE SO FAR?

We are currently at 87% of our monthly support needs!!! We need just $1,170 more in monthly pledges to get to Romania.

We have raised well over our necessary one-time needs since we have continued working while support-raising and therefore not had to draw salary from our account yet.

Is it biblical to rely on others for financial support?

Jesus certainly did it!

Luke 8:1-3 records the fact that 3 specific women and "many others" supported Jesus and the disciples in their ministry. We invite you to participate in a part of the same Bible study on how God funded ministry that we conducted for ourselves. To get you started, check out some of these passages and come to your own conclusion.

Numbers 18:21
Deuteronomy 14:22-29
Nehemiah 13:10-13
Luke 21:1-4
Acts 11:27-30
Romans 15:20-24
1 Corinthians 16:1-5
2 Corinthians 8-9

We'd love to talk to you about this question more if you'd like!

how can i pray for you while you're raising support?

It would be AWESOME if you would pray for us. First, please pray that God would move hearts and that we would be bold enough to do our part. Pray that we will have discipline and good time management to work full-time and raise support. Most missionaries eventually start drawing salary and do full-time support raising to get to the field by their goal date, but because of our need and desire to be wise and pay off our student loan debt before we leave, we will both need to work full-time until it's time for us to go to Romania. That means a LOT of long hours, traveling, and exhaustion over the next two years. So pray for God's strength in this time of our lives. Thank you for thinking to pray for us!

Are you really thankful for my gifts?

Um, duh! We know that God is going to provide our financial needs because he has called us to this work. But we are well aware of how much of a sacrifice it is for you to let go of your money for his sake, so there is no way we could every possibly express to you how thankful we are to both God and you for providing us with the means for getting to Romania!

How will the money be used?

The short answer - for the spread of God's Kingdom in Romania.

The long answer - While we are still in the States, the money we raise will be used for training, visiting churches and people to spread God's vision in this ministry, and insurance costs. Once we move to Romania, the money will be used to cover our salary, housing, insurance, expenses to move, and all ministry costs. Think of it this way - it's kind of like starting a non-profit new business in another country.

Are my gifts tax deductible?

Totally! As long as you give through our account with MTW, everything is tax deductible.

How do I give?

There are two options:
1. Set up a donor account online, or
2. Send a check with our account number in the memo line (#14088) to:
Mission to the World
P.O.Box 2589
Suwanee, GA 30024-0982

Do you need support immediatelY?

You can choose to start donating now, and all the money we receive from you before we get to Romania will go into our support account to be used for one-time expenses. Or, you can choose to pledge to begin supporting us when we get to Romania. If you would like to do this, then please select your start date in August 2017. If we don't make it on the field by that time, we will contact you individually so that you can change your start date.

Why not work as "tentmakers?"

"Tentmaking" is a term Christians often use to reference the idea of working part-time or full-time to support the cost of one's ministry. The idea comes from the New Testament when Paul, who was a tent maker by trade, would work at different times to support his own ministry work and travel. And frankly, this is what we originally thought we wanted to do. Being teachers does, in fact, allow us ample opportunity to work in other countries. But through a great amount of prayer and seeking wise counsel from others, we have determined that tentmaking is not for us.

First, when we analyze the passages in Scripture that discuss Paul's role as a tentmaker, it becomes clear that he does not always work to support himself. He clearly accepts financial support from many churches and individuals throughout his ministry. In fact, there are only three times throughout Paul's ministry that he worked as a tentmaker:

Acts 17 tells us that he worked in Thessalonica because in that city was a new church full of Gentiles. As new believers, Paul didn't want to ask them for support yet so that it would not seem like he was trying to profit from their new faith in Christ. He also wanted to model for them how to work hard since they struggled with laziness. (2Thessalonians 3:8-9). This doesn't mean, however, that he wasn't receiving some support from already established churches in other fields of ministry.
1 and 2 Corinthians demonstrates that the Corinthians made up a struggling church with many sin problems. Paul didn't want to accept support from this church because he didn't want to add to their list of potential reasons to leave the faith.
Acts 20:33-34 records how he worked as a tentmaker in Ephesus. He did so because many of the Ephesians' livelihoods came from selling idols of Diana, but idol-sellers began struggling financially when many Ephesians converted to Christianity and stopped worshiping Diana. Paul didn't want others thinking that he was trying to put these people out of business and profit for himself. Therefore, he chose not to receive funds from the church in this city.

Secondly, the amount of time someone has to invest in ministry is just as important as they money they have to invest. We feel called to serve in full-time ministry, giving us the ability to meet the needs of others as necessary rather than in the cracks of spare time between full-time teaching and raising a family. We want to be able to give the Romania people all of our time in ministry, which precludes us from working as tentmakers at this time.

Finally, we believe that Acts 20:35 is actually true: that it's more blessed to give than to receive. We know that we can minister to our donors in the States because they will be literally invested in our work in Romania as our real partners. As we've been blessed to give to other ministries, we know that it can be a blessing to allow others to serve the Romanian people even when they cannot go to the country themselves.