Frequently Asked Questions

While the new plan has not been formulated, it is understandable that many people have questions. Below are some of the questions we hear most often. The responses represent the “current thinking” of the board and staff.

• Q: How will these changes impact the missionary(ies) I support?

  Under the new system, missionaries will no longer bear the sole responsibility for raising their support. This means there will no longer be accounts or account deficits, since the Mission—supported by the entire denomination—will assume responsibility for keeping missionaries on the field. The situation should be much less stressful for them, freeing them to focus on the work they’re called to do.

• Q: Will missionaries still visit our churches in the new system?

  Yes. Missionaries will still have an important stateside ministry role. First, they will be able to rest and be refreshed. Also, they will spend significant time with their partnering churches; a major benefit of the new system. Missionaries will also be involved in strategic travel aimed at developing support for the entire missions program. Many of them have expressed their excitement at the possibility of presenting the “larger story” of International Missions, rather than just asking for support for their accounts.

• Q: How will the “partnerships” work?

  To maintain the connection and relationships with churches and supporters, missionaries will form partnerships. Each missionary will partner with a limited number of churches who pledge to underwrite the next term’s ministry and project budget. For example, a missionary with an annual ministry budget of $30,000 might have six churches that all agree to give $5,000 per year for the next four years. Or, a church might agree to pay rent on a church facility for the next four years. Missionaries will work much more closely with these “partners.”

• Q: How will a missionary’s basic expenses (such as salary, housing, insurance, travel, kids’ education, etc.) be funded?

  The new system is based on the conviction that we are all responsible to get our missionaries to the field and keep them there. In this system, all Free Will Baptists will be asked to begin giving regularly to a fund to support every missionary.

• Q: Will money that has been previously designated to missionaries’ accounts still be used as designated when the new system is in place?

  Yes. We will honor all designations made prior to the implementation of the new system.

• Q: Can we still designate our money under the new system?

  Yes. Ministry and project funds will still be designated in the new system. However, we desire to be good stewards of the monies God provides. Therefore, when a ministry or project is fully funded, some excess funds may be used for other under-funded ministries or projects.

• Q: How does the World Missions Offering fit in the new system?

  In addition to faithful, regular giving to missions, Free Will Baptist churches and people have always seen the value of coming together for a big emphasis. Walk-a-thons, mission rallies, church missions conferences all serve as rallying points for a unified effort to accomplish something extraordinary. The April World Missions Offering (WMO) will continue to be tremendously important as an annual event where we all pull together. We are asking every church to give to the WMO. God has blessed the WMO with extraordinary success and it continues to grow each year.

• Q: Will the new system actually produce more money than our current method?

  We think it will. We believe, by being more strategic, we can involve the hundreds of churches that do not currently participate in giving to missions. Through the coin bank project, we have enlisted more than 300 churches with no history of giving to FWBIM. In our current system, missionaries, our primary fundraisers, often cannot afford the time and effort required to develop new supporting churches. They must raise their money as quickly as possible in churches that are already involved. The opportunities for growth, both among supporting churches and new supporters are immense.

• Q: When will the new system go into effect? What is the timeline?

  The board is committed to approving a plan at their annual meeting in April 2008. It will take time to make sure all the details of the plan are worked out. It will take time to inform our people, so they fully understand what they are being asked to do. It will take time for our missionaries to help supporters transition to a new way of doing things. At this point, we are expecting the new system to go into effect in 2010 or 2011.

• Q: Do we really need to make this change?

  For many years people have recognized the challenges of our current funding system. Missionaries have struggled with the heavy burden of exhaustive travel, while the complexities of the system have made it more and more difficult for some to get to the field. However, it has become clear that we are at a critical moment and we need to make this decision now. Sometimes we are called upon to make big changes so that God can accomplish His will through us. We are in such a time. God is giving us a “wave” of young people who are sensing His call and are preparing to go. If all these prospects follow through, we might be overwhelmed. If we don’t act now to make necessary changes, we will not be able to send many of our own young people. We must have the courage to come together to make this change. The future depends on it!