Assem\u00adblies of God mis\u00adsion\u00adar\u00adies are not allowed to begin their mis\u00adsion until they have assem\u00adbled a team of church\u00ades and indi\u00advid\u00adu\u00adals will\u00ading to fund their min\u00adistry. This often con\u00adfus\u00ades peo\u00adple, so I thought I\u2019d answer what I per\u00adceive to be the com\u00admon ques\u00adtions.<\/p>\n
Can You Just Give Me a Quick Expla\u00adna\u00adtion?<\/b><\/p>\n
There is a con\u00adsis\u00adtent prin\u00adci\u00adple taught in the Scrip\u00adtures: min\u00adis\u00adters should be paid by the peo\u00adple of God<\/a>. In this regard, there are two broad cat\u00ade\u00adgories of min\u00adis\u00adters: pas\u00adtors, who are paid by the local con\u00adgre\u00adga\u00adtions they serve, and mis\u00adsion\u00adar\u00adies, who are paid by oth\u00aders than the ones they are min\u00adis\u00adter\u00ading to.<\/p>\n Chi Alpha cam\u00adpus work\u00aders are mis\u00adsion\u00adar\u00adies. The rea\u00adson for this is very sim\u00adple: col\u00adlege stu\u00addents don\u2019t have any mon\u00adey! In addi\u00adtion, the col\u00adlege scene in Amer\u00adi\u00adcan is as pagan as any place on earth, so there are few who would be will\u00ading to pay Chris\u00adt\u00adian work\u00aders even if they did have the resources to do so.<\/p>\n For this rea\u00adson, then, Chi Alpha cam\u00adpus work\u00aders are required to build a sup\u00adport team to aid them in their min\u00adistry. Part of that sup\u00adport is prayer, part of it is emo\u00adtion\u00adal sup\u00adport, and part of it is finan\u00adcial sup\u00adport.<\/p>\n Is this Bib\u00adli\u00adcal?<\/b><\/p>\n Yes! For more detail, read our essay on The Bib\u00adli\u00adcal Basis for Sup\u00adport-Rais\u00ading<\/a>.<\/p>\n Why does\u00adn\u2019t the church pay you?<\/b><\/p>\n The church is pay\u00ading us. The church is not a build\u00ading; the church is peo\u00adple! <\/p>\n Ha, ha. So why does\u00adn\u2019t your denom\u00adi\u00adna\u00adtion pay you a salary? <\/b><\/p>\n Why do you have to raise your full bud\u00adget first?<\/b><\/p>\n Because the Assem\u00adblies of God <\/a>wants long-term suc\u00adcess\u00ades, not one-shot won\u00adders. If mis\u00adsion\u00adar\u00adies reach their fields before they raise their full sup\u00adport, they are much more like\u00adly to fail their task. They become con\u00adsumed with their work, and they even\u00adtu\u00adal\u00adly reach a point where they must either quit, get a part-time job, or live in unhealthy con\u00addi\u00adtions. None of these things is con\u00adducive to long-term min\u00adistry. By forc\u00ading mis\u00adsion\u00adar\u00adies to raise their bud\u00adget in full, the A\/G con\u00adtributes great\u00adly to their longevi\u00adty in min\u00adistry. By con\u00adtribut\u00ading to longevi\u00adty they con\u00adtribute to effec\u00adtive\u00adness.<\/p>\n Longevi\u00adty aside, insuf\u00adfi\u00adcient fund\u00ading has imme\u00addi\u00adate impli\u00adca\u00adtions. With\u00adout a full bud\u00adget our abil\u00adi\u00adty to min\u00adis\u00adter is lit\u00ader\u00adal\u00adly com\u00adpro\u00admised. Our mis\u00adsion\u00adary bud\u00adget is not just our salary! It\u2019s actu\u00adal\u00adly the full orga\u00adni\u00adza\u00adtion\u00adal bud\u00adget for our min\u00adistry. Out of that bud\u00adget, a cer\u00adtain amount goes to our salary and the rest goes toward work expens\u00ades: with\u00adout those funds min\u00adistry oppor\u00adtu\u00adni\u00adties have to be passed up. Like every\u00adthing else, min\u00adistry requires mon\u00adey.<\/p>\n Who over\u00adsees the finances?<\/b><\/p>\n\n