Missionary Financial Support in the Midst of Pandemic-generated Economic Distress

“What impact will the pandemic-produced economic shut down have on the financial support of missionaries?”

I’ve been asked that question in one form or another quite a few times over the past few weeks.

The first time I took a stab at answering it, I said that I believed the impact would be minimal–that those who are already supporting missionaries are people that navigate with bible-informed priorities and because of that, they would resist decreasing or ceasing their support for missionaries for as long as possible.

That exchange provoked my thinking and has helped me to be better prepared to answer others that have asked me something similar.

But that’s not all.

I’ve also also been prompted to both encourage and challenge those who currently support missionaries to not only continue to give, but to even pray about the possibility of increasing the amount that they have been giving.

A QUESTION FOR THOSE WHO CURRENTLY SUPPORT MISSIONARIES

If you’re someone that currently supports a missionary with your finances, here’s a rhetorical question that I’d like to ask you:

What contributed to your original decision to become a financial partner in the life and ministry of a missionary?

DID YOU DECIDE BASED ON THESE CONVICTIONS?

My guess is that you held at least a few of these convictions:

1. Your God is worthy to be known by every person on this planet.
2. And because He is also worthy to be obeyed, participation in fulfilling His command to make disciples from every ethnic group He created is essential.
3. Although He hasn’t called you to go, He has both called you and given you sufficient resources to be a financial partner and participant in the life and ministry of someone He did call to go.
4. God’s design is for missionaries to be financially dependent on His provision through others, and that your financial commitment will be combined with the contributions of others to meet the missionary’s needs–your giving helps make the missionary’s presence on the field possible.
5. The missionary you support with your finances is worth being trusted to live and serve in a way that glorifies Jesus and provides onramps and opportunities for the Good News to be shared.
6. Financially supporting a missionary is important enough to warrant redirecting a portion of funds away from what you have been using them for.
7. Your financial partnership is a tether of connection with the missionary that will both provoke you to pray for them and provide an opportunity for a meaningful relationship to be developed or deepened.

TRIALS AND TRUTH-BASED CONVICTIONS

Whether you held, (and continue to hold) any or all of these convictions, I want you to know that each and every one of them is based on truths that are found in God’s word.

And because of that, as it is in other situations, when God sovereignly permits us to be engulfed by extraordinary circumstances, part of what He desires for us in the midst of the trials is to continue to live out His truth-based convictions that we have already been operating by.

By doing that when so many other people are finding reasons to abandon the convictions they’ve been living by, His truth is amplified and a unique opportunity for the contrast between our God and whatever they’re worshiping as god becomes more visible than ever before.

THE FRUITS OF YOUR CONTINUED GIVING IN SUCH A TIME AS THIS

Whether the missionary you’ve been supporting has returned to the states due to the pandemic, (and planning to return when that’s possible) or they’ve chosen to stay on the field, the following are just a few of the fruits your convictions and your faithfulness to act on them could produce:

1. 1. Your tether of connection with them will deepen and strengthen, unifying you for His glory at the deepest level you’ve experienced thus far.
   2. Your ongoing support gives the missionary the option to return to the states or stay put.
   3. For those who choose to remain on the field even though they have the resources to return home, the decision to do so is an incredible declaration to those they live among about God’s value in the heart of the missionary, His love for them, and the life-changing significance of the Gospel.
   4. You may be moved a little closer to following the example of the giving of the widow that Jesus commended for giving out of her poverty rather than just her abundance. (Luke 21:4)

As the routines and rhythm’s of so many facets of our lives continue to be left behind while we all continue down this unknown path, please know that the continuity of your financial commitment to the missionary you’ve been supporting is more important than ever.

Click play in the audio player above to listen to hear more on this subject in the midst of a broader discussion on the impact of Covid-19 on global missions, and then check out part two in our regular podcast in a few days.

And these are the links connected with some of what was discussed in part one of this podcast.

» Blog post about Melanie and Andrew Mokgatla
» Shades Mountain Baptist Church
» Common Ground Church
» Shades Blog
» Jackson Wu Interview
» Lone Survivor