A Not So Brief History, Pt. 11

Cont'd from 6/8...

We have spoken to several people who wonder at the amount of support that GEM missionaries are required to raise. Most people have the concept that, of you are a missionary that God has called you to be poor -- to sell everything, to live in the most modest housing available and live hand to mouth.

Let me give you a little perspective on this. There is a couple that we know of whom God has called to reach out to a particular segment of society in Italy. Now, to reach the people in their, shall we say, "target market", they need to live as those people do. There needs to be a common ground, or they will be ignored and ineffective in their mission field. In the same way that someone trying to reach the bush people of Africa, this couple must live like those who they are trying to reach.

Now in the case of the one going to Africa, that person most likely would downgrade their lifestyle and live as close as practical to the way the natives do, to establish a commonality and open the doors to ministry. This couple going to Italy, on the other hand, must live in an area where the average small apartment rents for about $5000/month and people drive only the finest cars. There is no way they would be able to establish relationships with the people in their field if they were perceived to be from an inferior segment of society.

Regarding what we are required to raise, it is enough for us to live comfortably in Ireland. Not in excess, not in want. It could be argued that the number one reason that missionaries leave the field is because they are underfunded. GEM wants their workers to be as effective in their ministry as possible without having to worry about money. In addition to living expenses (Ireland's cost of living index is 64% higher than the US) , we also are covered on our insurance, retirement and tax preparation.

Now back to our story...

So now it was time to begin our fundraising. A daunting task, to be sure, but we had been given some good tools and training at orientation. One of the things that we were asked to bring with us to Colorado was a list of potential supporters. It was suggested that there should be 200-400 names on this list. If memory serves, we were able to come up with about 360. (Even now, there are still about half of those that we haven't yet contacted.)

Here are some things we had to keep in mind as we began this process. First, God's pockets are deep. Second, this was a test of our resolve -- did we really feel called? Third, we began to see that this process of raising support was also ministry in and of itself.

I'll explain...

To be continued...