FAITH PROMISE TESTIMONIES
THE LORD DID IT AGAIN
#1
When we signed our Faith Promise some time in July of 1980, it was one month after we accepted Jesus Christ as our personal savior. We were told that Faith Promise did not come from our salaries nor from any source of income that has been known prior to signing the Faith Promise commitment, but instead it would be provided by God as a result of our faith. This is the reason it is called Faith Promise.
Since then, we were consciously waiting every day for what the Lord would do. One week passed and nothing happened. Two weeks went by, then three weeks, but still nothing happened. Finally during the fourth week and just three days prior to the Faith Promise giving day, the Lord did a wonderful thing in our lives. My wife was working with a supermarket and received her bonus for the year 1980. This was unexpected because they had been informed by the officials that the company would not be giving bonuses for 1980 because they were going bankrupt. It was already the middle part of 1981 before the blessing came.
The day after my wife received her bonus, a fellow-worker of mine arrived from Los Banos and informed me that we were to be given an additional allowance of forty dollars monthly retroactive to January, 1981. Again, it was an unexpected financial increase.
I thought this was all, but a few months later when we were broke and worried as to where to get the amount to pay our Faith Promise, the Lord again, for the third time, did a wonderful and unbelievable
thing. A sister arrived from Los Banos and although she was unaware of our financial situation, she handed me one hundred dollars, enough to pay our Faith Promise for two months. Praise God! When asked as to where the money came from, she told me it was a blessing from God. To this day, I still do not know where the money came from.
The new year came, and it was time again to renew our Faith Promise. Knowing all the wonderful things the Lord had done the first year, we increased the amount we signed a little bit. One week after turning in our commitment card, good news came from my boss. He informed me that
I would be given an honorarium of $250 per month because I was the oversee of the Outreach Research Station Project. I had just been transferred to my new assignment in November, 1981. I was praising the Lord for the new development. I was at that time only expecting $500 for the months of November and December, 1981, but when the voucher came for me to sign, I was surprised. I could hardly believe what I saw for it was written among other things . . . “representing an allowance of $250 per month from January to December, 1981, in the amount of $3,000 only. Praise God. He did it again! Hallelujah.
I was not able to hold my feelings so I ran to our room, locked the door and cried for joy thanking the Lord for all the wonderful things He was doing for His people.
I’m telling all of this to glorify God and to serve as a testimony to those who are still in doubt or those who do not believe that Faith Promise works. Mind you brothers and sisters, Faith Promise really works!
#2
I thought I would give you my testimony on my Faith Promise plan offering. My wife and I were introduced to the Faith Promise plan through our church, the United Pentecostal Church in Utica, New York. Our pastor, Brother Ben Maracich started to tell us about it in November of 1981. I wasn’t quite sure about giving money that we did not have as I was on Workmen’s Compensation at the time.
We had five dollars to our name and no food or gas for our car. My wife wanted to give it to Foreign Missions, but I told her we needed it to get to church. The Lord knew she wanted to give it, so when we got to church someone gave her another five dollars. She put it in and still another person gave her another five dollars with which we bought food. At that time our pledge was forty dollars a month. From the day my wife gave the five dollars which was around the tenth of November, we received over one thousand dollars in money and food and wood to heat our home. It gets mighty cold in upstate New York. God is a great God. He told us He would supply our needs, and He did.
We raised our pledge from forty dollars to one hundred dollars which the Lord impressed upon our hearts. We want to see the gospel preached in places where we can never go. I hope this letter might build faith in others to give to God.
#3
Faith Promise works! Since we started the Faith Promise program, God has blessed us in so many ways. In the Bible it says, “Give and it shall be given back to you, pressed down, shaken together will God give back to you. The first year of Faith Promise, we promised to give God a certain amount. God supplied it every month. This past year when we made our commitment again, my husband was out of town on a job. The spirit moved on my heart to double our Faith Promise commitment for
the coming year. When my husband came home and I told him what I had done, he said, “Honey, I’m not so sure we can come up with that much money” I informed that with God’s help, we could. Well, it never failed! Just before it was time to give our Faith Promise each month, my husband’s boss would come and give him a hundred dollar bill. He would say that he had come across some extra money and wanted to give him some of it. This would be repeated each month. He didn’t know why he was giving us money like that, but God laid it on his heart and used someone in the world to bless His children. Everything we have is a blessing from God: our home, car, land and our health. All of these blessings have a story behind them. God has healed my husband of cancer. He has never failed us. We love you Jesus!
#4
I just had to share this with you in a short note. My daughter and her husband recently came to the Lord. Karen was a backslider and Terry had been baptized, but he had never received the Holy Ghost. As you may know, this was a tremendous thrill for our family who had prayed for them for fourteen long years. Immediately after being saved, these new babes pledged the same amount of the car payment they had just closed out to foreign missions. The amount was one hundred fifty dollars a month. Terry was laid off two weeks after he received the Holy Ghost. They paid their pledge anyway. His unemployment checks were held up for at least six weeks, but they would not back down on their vow to God. My daughter works also, and her boss gave her a raise. She was also given the job of cleaning the offices where she works for twenty-five dollars a week. The job takes about forty-five
minutes to clean. Needless to say, they are on cloud nine because even with Terry out of work, they are now coming out thirty dollars over their pledge.
It is such a blessing to watch these precious ones try God and find that He never fails. As my use-to-be spend-thrift daughter now says, “We can’t buy anything and the refrigerator is not as full as it used
to be, but we are happier than we have ever been.”
I hope this will bless you also, Brother Leaman, for we know our God is worthy of anything we can offer him. He has been so good to me. Our prayers are with the missionaries and all of you who work at
Headquarters. God bless you.
#5
I just wanted to share with you how the Lord has blessed me and my family this year through Faith Promise. As you know, the economic situation has been bad this year with many layoffs. I was no
exception, but God was certainly with us. I worked only two weeks each month from March to July, but even in this God was blessing us. The Lord looked ahead several months and put me in a position so that when permanent layoffs began, I was skipped over. By being only temporarily laid off, I was able to keep my hospital insurance. I knew we needed this because we were expecting our third child in May. We didn’t realize how much God had his hand on us until our baby was born. Laurie was born with a birth defect called Spina Bifida which caused her to be paralyzed from her waist down. She also had Hydrocephalus or “water head.” She had to undergo two major operations immediately.
She was taken to another hospital fifty miles away. Our insurance was $100 deductible which we did not have. The next day my mother-in-law visited my wife in the hospital and brought a card with $100 in it. The ambulance fee was $160. We knew that God had met the other need and that he would meet this one also. A few days later we received a $100 check, a $50 check and $10. That was $160, exactly the amount needed. God also provided the tithes and offerings on this.
Laurie’s medical bills have totaled over $12,000. The insurance God kept in effect paid most of this except for about $500. God provided for that also in many unexpected ways.
While I was laid off, we kept up our Faith Promise which was $100 a month. It had been faith which paid this amount with full-time work. It surely took faith to pay it being laid off part-time. We tried each week to give $25 or one fourth of our Faith Promise. We have found it easier to do it this way instead of waiting till the end of the month for one lump sum. We exercise our faith for God to provide week to week instead of month to month. We pay tithes and offerings first and then our Faith Promise and believe the Lord for our bills. By putting God first, these needs have always been met. Last month was a good example. We had bills that needed paying, but we didn’t have enough money. We prayed about it reminding God that we had put Him first. Within a week over $300 came in from several different sources. Another time we had a financial need, and God sent us $950. Praise the Lord! God certainly provides.
Faith Promise will not only bring financial blessings, but it will bring spiritual blessings also. The birth defect that caused our daughter to be paralyzed below her waist also caused her to have very
little use of her left arm and hand. God has since touched her, and she is using this side of her body as much as the right side. Through exercising our faith with Faith Promise, we have faith to believe God
for her complete healing.
In November, we had another Foreign Missions conference at our church. As you know, our church made new commitment for 1983. After praying about it, I raised our commitment to $150 a month. Since that time, I have been promoted to a better job and have also received a raise of over $120 a month. Praise the Lord!
#6
Thank you for coming to be with us. Your presence was a blessing to our church.
I thought you would be interested to hear that the very next Monday after you were with us, one of the sisters in our church received a check in the mail that was three and one half times the amount of the
Faith Promise she had made to God. She expected to receive this check but not until much later in the year. And it came at a time when they were a little bit pressed and needed it. She has been taking some time off work to study. She is training to become a registered nurse.
This lady is our “Billy Graham” convert–the one who on the basis of the set of notes I made up decided that she must wear dresses, etc. So, it is working already here.
#7
I wanted to share with you what Faith Promise has done for us. The story begins in the fall of 1981. We gave the amount not knowing where the money would come from. The Lord blessed my wife with a babysitting job making $25 a week. We decided to give all of the babysitting money to Faith Promise. I got a job with Beechcraft Corporation in September. That same month we found out we were going to have an addition to the family. My new job made this a pleasant surprise since my insurance would pay 80% of the bill. About a month passed, and the economy got pretty bad. Beechcraft started laying off. I got worried that I would be laid off so I just prayed and put it in the hands of the Lord. On my 70th day at Beech, I was informed (in December) that the next day would be my last. Immediately I began to worry about everything at once. After being laid off with no income coming into our household but my wife’s babysitting check, we felt we should still give it all to Faith Promise. We knew God would make a way for us. We became more and more behind on our bills, and all we could do was pray. Then one day my wife was cleaning the bathroom. Four one hundred dollar bills were found in the medicine cabinet. We both rejoiced and called our pastor. We paid all our late bills and bought groceries We moved into a house in December, 1981, when I got laid off, and our landlady would not take rent until June of 1982. That was only God.
Not too long after we found that money, God blessed me with a job, not too well-paying but a steady job. When I started my job, I was told that I was eligible for insurance after I had been there sixty days.
Normally you have to have insurance ten months before it would cover pregnancy. After sixty days they brought me the papers to sign. At $98 a month, it cut me down to less than $100 a week take-home pay. Out of curiosity, I asked if it would cover pregnancy. To everyone’s amazement, it did. On April 1, my insurance was effective, and on May 11, our little boy was born. To my surprise, he only cost $24.
However, the insurance sent us a check for $550. praise God! Actually he didn’t cost a dime. My wife and I give all the glory to God for this. We believe this was because of our faithfulness in paying our
Faith Promise.
#8 FAITH PROMISE TESTIMONY OF
BRO. JOHNNY GABANE
UPBC Second Year Student
Ever since enrollment time, I find it hard to pay my financial obligations in the Bible school. Two people made a pledge, but since the last time we met in August of last year, we have not seen each
other. I received many notices from the school administration for being delinquent and very behind in my accounts since the school started. I really wanted to finish my studies. Although I received
many notices from the school, no one to ask for help financially, until finally I heard about the Faith Promise being taught and how God moved in so many wonderful works. I heard many testimonies among my brethren and made me more persuaded to make the commitment. I immediately made a FAITH PROMISE commitment unto the Lord.
God moves mightily, wonderfully with full of grace and mercy. It so happen that we are conducting Bible Study/Search For Truth at the house of a certain unbeliever named Olive Maglente. She is working as a secretary of Dr. Carlito Saldivar, a doctor at the Philippine Heart Center. So, it was really the will of God that all of us, Bro. Joe Eisma, Albert Concepcion, Henry Torreja, and myself, all being Bible School students who had the highest unpaid accounts were together in company in teaching Mrs. Maglente Bible study.
Then she happened to relate the Bible study that is going on in her home to Dr. Saldivar, and also what the students need. Dr. Saldivar told his secretary to invite us one day to preach and to share to them
the Word of God. When we went to the Philippine Heart Center, the doctor together with some of his colleagues told us to preach for at least five to ten minutes each. Two of my companions have just shared the Word of God and God already touched the heart of Dr. Saldivar. Guess What? He issued immediately a check as a full payment to our accounts and even pledging to support our financial obligations throughout the school year.
HOW DID IT HAPPEN? OUR EYES WERE SO BIG WITH FULL OF AMAZEMENT TO THE WONDERFUL WORKS OF THE LORD. BUT HOW? AH! It’s BECAUSE OF…..FAITH
PROMISE…..PRAISE GOD! IT WORKS !
BRO. JOHNNY GABANE
#9 FAITH PROMISE TESTIMONY
BRO. JOE EISMA
Second Year student
United Pentecostal Bible College
Manila , Philippines
**ABOVE ALL THAT WE ASK OR THINK**
Through God’s unmeasurable goodness and abounding grace we are able to endure this present time to live for God in this untoward generation.
Being a student in the United Pentecostal Bible College, God has bestowed upon us precious and eternal truth in our hearts and soul to declare without fear and favor to those hell bound lost souls.
Beyond my human comprehension to receive my pledge of faith more than what we have prayed for. In the fullness of time we, together with my two classmates and one schoolmate, we proceed to the Philippine Heart Center for Asia by an appointment of Miss Olive Maglente, an executive secretary of a Heart Specialist Dr. Carlito Saldivar. Two of us preach before this professional Doctor, giving us allotted ten minutes per preaching. We have felt the power of God moved strongly. The Doctor
called his secretary and ask for a check. After all this things, we proceed to leave and we personally met Mrs. Ramos – the wife of the commanding general of the Armed Forces. As we all went home thinking
in our mind that our one month tuition will be paid for. But after few days, we are all surprised that all our balance and accounts were all paid in full, amounting to P2,800.00 pesos an amount which is, “ABOVE ALL THAT WE ASK OR THINK.” GLORY TO GOD!
JOE EISMA
#10 FAITH PROMISE TESTIMONY OF
BRO. HENRY TORREJA
I am so thankful to our Lord Jesus Christ for His loving kindness and His answers to my needs particularly to my Bible schooling. It is my happiness to share my testimony on what the Lord has done to my studies. I know I was not called by men to study the Word of God and with the faith that God has given in my heart. I am studying now in the Bible School without anybody expecting to support me financially. With the means of livelihood that I have, being a tricycle driver I know my income in that job will just be enough to support my wife and two children considering the crisis and high standard of living. In behalf of the many circumstances that seems to be a hindrance to pursue my studies, I was challenged to make a commitment to God through FAITH PROMISE when I heard it in our local church. God made His way through a Roman Catholic woman who accepted to have Bible study in her home. Thru God’s conviction to her, she brought out about the need of financial support of students. When we went into the office of the boss of that lady, we were so amazed because her boss is one of the Cardiologist in the Philippine Heart Center for Asia, which is a well-know hospital in the Philippines.
I really do believe in FAITH PROMISE, because it works. I am one among the students that received the full support for the whole year in my financial obligations in the Bible school.
I THANK GOD FOR IT and DO BELIEVE THAT GENTILES ARE OUR INHERITANCE. AND THROUGH FAITH PROMISE, GOD CAN TOUCH UNBELIEVERS.
BRO. HENRY TORREJA
#11
Before our first Faith Promise missions conference our church giving barely made our PIM amount of $200 per month. The week of our conference some of our best supporters were leaving our church and
moving to another town including our missions secretary. Those leaving gave $125 per month of our support.
The Faith Promise conference was scheduled the last weekend in January. Services were held Saturday evening and Sunday. We decorated the church with posters and flags. The youth built five booths with
displays, maps, pictures, etc.
The total commitment on Sunday evening amounted to $476 a month. Three weeks later our church had people giving excitedly who had never given before. Already we had five personal testimonies of God’s blessings to supply the need. These were testimonies of unexpected income, raises, checks in the mail and even finding money laying on the street. We are truly convinced that God blesses those who give.
#12
About two weeks after submitting our Faith Promise pledge to Missions we received a tax return check which was almost the exact amount of our pledge. The significance of that tax check is that we had previously received a refund check and certainly had not expected another check. A note was enclosed explaining that there had been some readjustment of the state tax system as a result we were receiving an additional refund. We believe the Lord was affirming our Faith Promise pledge.
During November I had occasion to fly from South Carolina to San Francisco. I had purchased a roundtrip ticket well in advance which cost $586. Although I had made a commitment to be in San Francisco, I began feeling guilty about the cost of the ticket. Two days before I was to travel a man offered me a Space Available ticket, good for a roundtrip to any city in the USA, for $150. It sounded like a good deal, but I was concerned about being bumped off a flight. After praying I felt led to purchase the ticket and cash my other ticket in. I had no trouble flying to Atlanta, but while standing in line to check in for the flight to San Francisco I overheard the gate attendant tell the person in front of me (also flying Space Available) that he would be placed on the waiting list and his number was 47. I
thought for sure I would be delayed also, but when I stepped forward the attendant glanced at the ticket, assigned me a seat and wished me a safe trip. I know the Lord had his hand on me then. I continued on to San Francisco and returned with no difficulty. In fact, on my return flight I was given a first class seat. I believe this was all a result of faithfully adhering to my Faith Promise. God is so good to us. If we will step out to support His work, He will bless us in many ways we can never foresee.
#13
After hearing the blessings of God’s people according to their faith, I made a faith pledge. At the time of my pledge, I worked part-time; two, maybe three days per week. The day after I made my Faith Promise pledge, I went to work. My boss informed me that all previous overtime was deleted, but they promised me more over the road driving time and more weekly hours. Two weeks passed and my days dropped from two or three to one or two and finally no days per week. I was left with an added monthly obligation and no job. After two weeks of working with whomever needed me by the day, I was blessed with a full-time job making enough trips out of town to meet more than my monthly Faith Promise pledge. One of my out of town trips is two times my monthly pledge. I truly believe the blessings of God come through giving.
FAITH PROMISE
QUESTIONS & ANSWERS ABOUT FAITH PROMISE
The Faith Promise Plan makes every member a Partner with God in the ministry of giving for world evangelism through the local church.
1. WHAT IS A FAITH PROMISE?
A FAITH PROMISE is purposing in your heart what you are willing to trust God to enable you to give weekly or monthly.
2. IS THE FAITH PROMISE PLAN SCRIPTURAL?
The Apostle Paul wrote, “Every man. . .as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give. . .” (II Corinthians 9:7). II Corinthians 8:3 mentions giving “beyond their power.” The heart of FAITH PROMISE
GIVING calls for a commitment requiring the exercise of faith for fulfillment.
3. HOW DOES A FAITH PROMISE DIFFER FROM A PLEDGE?
A pledge is made to a church or person on the basis of known ability. A FAITH PROMISE is primarily a spiritual covenant between you and God and is conditioned on God’s enablement.
4. WHAT IF A FAITH PROMISE CANNOT BE PAID?
Here is where a FAITH PROMISE differs from a pledge. If after
exercising wise stewardship and faith in God to supply, you are unable
to pay your FAITH PROMISE, you need to account only to God. Unpaid
balances are cancelled at the end of the year.
5. HOW IS THIS RELATED TO THE LOCAL CHURCH?
This plan is designed to help your local church increase its foreign missionary giving. If possible, your FAITH PROMISE for foreign missions should be given through your local church which will see that
it is disbursed to the missionaries through the channels of the Foreign Missions Division.
6. DOES THE PLAN REALLY WORK?
Churches that use this plan are giving thousands where they once gave tens and hundreds. Individuals find that they can truly give “beyond their power” as they make such a commitment and then trust God for enablement. Yes, the plan really works!
7. WHY SHOULD THE CARD BE TURNED IN?
First, your FAITH PROMISE commitment will give your church a basis upon which to plan its involvement in Partners in Missions and other foreign missions projects for the coming year.
Secondly, you will perform best to what you have committed yourself to do. By completing the card and turning it in for tally, you record your “purpose” of heart.
LORD, WHAT WILT THOU HAVE ME DO!
As you contemplate what you want the Lord to do through you during the upcoming missionary conference consider the following:
Jesus has never ask us to do anything that we are not capable of doing. It has been stated that “where God guides, He provides.” An example of the above statement is the account of a widow on a $78 a
month Social Security check who felt she was to make a $10 a month commitment. She obeyed the Lord and made the FAITH PROMISE. Her son, who was unsaved, said, “If my mother has faith enough to believe God for $10 a month, I will pay it for her.”
A young couple in Wisconsin made a commitment and then he was laid off his job. Month after month passed and every month he was able to pay all his bills AND his FAITH PROMISE. The wife stated, “We would never have known what it was like to trust God if my husband had not lost his job.”
Another sister made a commitment as she felt directed of the Lord and found that amount on the street over the next three months.
Your step of faith can be a rewarding experience for you as you let the Lord guide your life concerning your finances. With an open heart ask the Lord this question, “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?” Then obey as He gives you direction.
A MEMO FROM THE PASTOR
Next week we will be having our FAITH PROMISE commitment service. What an exciting time we are going to have. It will be a time when each of us will be looking to the Lord for divine direction as to the amount He would like us to give each month toward the cause of reaching a lost world.
Faith Promise is a way of bringing the Lord into the financial affairs of our lives. One is actually asking the Lord to be the financial advisor of one’s life. One will be bringing God into the picture because He knows the beginning from the end.
As you ask the Lord for divine direction, be alert as to what He would have you commit. It may be more than what you think is possible. Please bear in mind that the Lord sees and knows things you are not
aware of. If you realize He is directing you to commit a specific amount, then you can exercise your faith and allow the Lord to supply the amount needed.
Proverbs 3:5, 6-“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him and he shall direct thy paths.”
Faith is trusting God when you don’t understand how it will all work out.
Faith is not believing that God can, but that God will.
Faith is your appraisal of God.
Your commitment is important whether it is great or small. Regardless of the size of the commitment, we become laborers together with the going missionary and the giving church.
Yours for Missions,
Your Pastor
AN OPEN LETTER FROM YOUR PASTOR
It is exciting to see and hear what God is doing around the world. In a day when the rest of the world is full of questions about what the future holds, the Church is experiencing great revival. We want to
have a part in this outreach.
Jesus gave to the Church the Great Commission. We are to go into all the world and preach the gospel. Jesus felt this so keenly that it is recorded in all four Gospels, plus the Book of Acts. (Matthew 28:19,
Mark 16:15, Luke 24:47, John 20:21 and Acts 1:8).
In reading the account of the early Church, we find that the Jerusalem church was a very evangelistic church. The church was strong on the name of Jesus. And as a result, the church grew large in number,
However, the church did not carry out the commission of the Lord to go beyond the city limits. Admittedly they had reached Jerusalem, but the rest of the world waited for their message.
Our church is endeavoring to reach this city. In order for us to be more effective here, we must be more involved in reaching our world. Jesus said it is more blessed to give than to receive. We must give of
our time, prayers and our finance in order to please the Lord. Jesus said, “Lift up your eyes and look on the fields for they are white already to harvest.”
In a few short weeks, we will endeavor to give by faith toward the outreach of the world. During our missions conference, we will promise by faith to become a consistent supporter of missions by praying and financing the work of the Great Commission.
I want to ask you to give much prayer and meditation to this conference in the coming days. Ask God to give you:
1. A new vision to see what you are capable of doing
2. A new burden for the lost at home and abroad. They await the truth.
3. A new desire to give of yourself in some way that will be pleasing to the Lord.
In fulfilling these goals, we will see this church raise its sights heavenward.
In Christ’s love
Your Pastor
FOREIGN MISSION IDEAS FOR THE LOCAL CHURCH
Literature
The Foreign Missions Division provides a wide variety of materials (most are free of charge) which describe in detail the total missionary ministry. Care should be exercised in distribution of these
materials. Share them with your people in a meaningful manner. Pictures and information regarding the results and needs of missions will increase your missionary capabilities.
Make sure your church is receiving a free roll of the bimonthly missions magazine, “Global Witness.” See that each Sunday School teacher has a current issue of the Foreign Missions Story and Missionary Map. Additional copies of all materials may be received by addressing your request to the Foreign Missions Division.
Visiting Missionaries
The travel schedule for all missionaries (newly appointed and those on furlough) is arranged through your District Foreign Missions Director. The designated length of time and dates each missionary
spends in your district is determined by his total time for deputation and is coordinated through the Foreign Missions Division.
If you would like a specific missionary to visit your church, contact your District Foreign Missions Director or the Foreign Missions Division as far in advance of the meeting as possible. Several months
advance notice is not unusual, and then it is not always possible to arrange. Please be understanding in this regard since it would be quite impossible for the missionaries to meet all invitations.
Learn something about the missionary before he arrives. See that he is adequately taken care of while in your city.
Missionary Services
When you receive confirmation that a missionary is to be in service with you – start the wheels rolling! Make it a “special” service. Prepare posters, display flags, print bulletins, decorate the lobby.
Plan special service features by the children and young people. Roll out the red carpet!
Prepare and plan to have a meaningful service. Keep abreast of missions in general so you don’t waste the missionary’s time.
Keep the service preliminaries to a minimum. Sing missions songs. Talk missions. Pray for missions. Expose as many members and guests to the missions ministry as possible. If the service is on Sunday morning, members of the missionary’s family may visit several Sunday School classes… or, all in attendance may come to the auditorium for the worship service. Plan. Promote. Pray!
It is very important that the pastor communicate to the missionary as to the type of service he would like. Are slides desired? Should time be given to answer questions? Would the men, ladies or young people like to be addressed separately and in addition to the regular service? The missionaries are geared to adapt their presentation to your needs.
Missionary Offering
Missionaries do not receive any financial support from the Foreign Missions Division while they are in the homeland. They are authorized to issue Foreign Missions offering credit receipts for the offerings
they receive. Their sole support while home is from the offerings they receive while traveling among the churches.
Their expenses are very high. They come home needing a new wardrobe, transportation and perhaps housekeeping items. Traveling, eating in restaurants and sleeping in motels (as is often necessary) becomes expensive in a hurry. Be generous to your missionaries. The blessing they will bring to your congregation will increase your own local outreach, finances included!
The missionary will give you a receipt, immediately, for the offering you give him. A copy of the receipt is sent to the Foreign Missions Division office to be credited to your church’s total missions giving
for the year. (These offering credits are added only once a year at the end of the fiscal year, June 30.)
If you desire to give the missionary additional money for a specific project or for the purchase of some equipment for him to take back to the field, he will also issue a receipt for this. Designated offerings
of this nature are sent to the Foreign Missions Division office and are held in his account until he is ready to make a purchase. The property or equipment becomes the property of the Foreign Missions
Division. (A missionary must receive Foreign Missions Board approval for the solicitation of special project monies.)
Partners in Missions
The ministry of a traveling missionary is two-fold. First of all he wants to share the Foreign Missions work with you to increase your burden and involvement . . . and to thank you for your faithful
support. Secondly, he must raise his missions budget before he can go to the field. His budget is secured by the accumulation of PARTNERS IN MISSIONS (PIM) commitments which are made by the local churches.
It is very important that he secure his budget as quickly as possible so he can get to the field to do missionary work. You can hasten the harvest by becoming his Partner! The larger the commitment . . . the more meaningful your participation. (Small commitments are greatly appreciated, but they do require lengthy travel schedules. It is advisable to have a few good-sized commitments rather than many small ones.)
It certainly is not necessary for you to wait for a missionary to visit your church to become his Partner. In fact, you are urged to volunteer additional Partner/Partners just as soon as you are financially capable of doing so. Contact the Foreign Missions Division office for information regarding those missionaries needing commitments. Thanks for sharing in the harvest!
Missionary Newsletters
All missionaries send regular newsletters to their PIM’s. These letters report what is happening on the field and give those of us here an opportunity to keep abreast of world-wide revival.
Post the newsletters on the bulletin board, distribute them to members of the congregation to serve as prayer reminders at home, read key statements from the pulpit to keep the missionary burden and interest alive. Share the letters with the Sunday School classes to be read by teacher or student.
Writing to Missionaries
Missionaries are people! They are away from home and enjoy hearing the news — church, family, Pentecostal fellowship. Write to your ambassadors overseas. Take a personal interest in them and their
family. Send photos, news clippings, special items of interest. (Be sure to write to the missionary before sending any packages. Ask for specific instructions on size, weight and labeling.)
Correspondence with your missionaries will increase your burden for the lost everywhere and will result in a more effective outreach locally. Build as many “bridges” as possible in the interest of the
Great Commission!
Current missionary addresses can be obtained from the Foreign Missions Division by writing or calling.
A Local Faith Promise Missions Convention
No church is fulfilling its responsibility before God unless it is furthering the cause of a world-wide ministry. Jesus had an international vision! And He had some rather pointed remarks for the selfish and blind. It has long been known that a missions-minded church is a growing, revival-oriented church. Pastors and congregations who want to build a strong local assembly are finding that this is most quickly done by increasing their involvement in missions. This is a fact.
As the local church reaches out, petty differences dissolve, a spirit of unity and shared duty to the lost sweeps in, local finances increase in every area and significant strides are made toward seeing
the message of truth preached in heretofore unevangelized places. Thousands are experiencing Pentecost today all over the world because local churches have caught the vision and burden of the Lord Jesus for an international harvest!
One of the most exciting and rewarding ways for a congregation to become involved is through an annual Faith Promise missions convention. Everyone enjoys a good convention. It takes planning,
work, scheduling, cooperation and much prayer. Here are a few things to consider in having a local missions convention:
1. Set a tentative date (at least six months in advance).
2. Select personnel as guest speakers (missionaries and missions leaders).
3. Contact your District Foreign Missions Director about dates and personnel. (He may refer you to the Foreign Missions Division at this point. Adjustments may have to be made in dates and personnel and this is why advance planning is so important.)
4. Make definite arrangements with speakers once a schedule is confirmed.
5. Advertise. Decorate. Plan. Save. Develop special program features, learn missions songs, purchase flags (from the Foreign Missions Division), anticipate the greatest!
6. Schedule prayer and fasting prior to the convention. Do everything you can do to make this a rewarding spiritual experience for your people.
Convention time is the most logical time to receive your Faith Promise commitments. The Faith Promise plan works! It is a plan whereby the laymen “plan by faith” to give a certain amount to Foreign Missions each pay period (week or month). Faith Promise provides your local financial base for consistent, growing giving. This proven approach to giving insures a regular resource from which the church can meet its monthly Partners in Missions commitments.
Many churches have found that a weekend convention works best. Schedule a Friday evening rally as well as a Saturday evening service. The Faith Promise plan can be presented on Saturday evening. This will allow each individual the time and opportunity to pray and seek the Lord regarding his Faith Promise commitment which is normally taken on Sunday evening. Fill all aspects of your Sunday activities with missions. Conclude with a great Faith Promise commitment service on Sunday evening.
Additional information and materials (mostly free) are provided for this purpose by the Foreign Missions Division. An organized and Scriptural approach to your people will reap lasting and effective
results in the local church as well as extend your ministry around the world.
If advanced and careful planning is made and sufficient finance is available, it is possible to schedule two missionaries for your convention; one family for the first part and the second family the last part if you are not capable of having both stay for the full time. A representative from the Foreign Missions Division office is always happy to cooperate in these conventions as well. Slides, films, messages and materials will compliment what is done at the local level.
Local missions conventions are proving to be such a blessing! If you have never sponsored a convention, do something different. Set a date and proceed with rejoicing!
MAINTAINING YOUR FAITH PROMISE INCOME
I. First Sunday Each Month – MISSIONS SUNDAY
A. Preach about Foreign Missions.
B. Give out Partners In Missions letters to different families in your church each month so they can be a prayer partner during the month.
C. This is a time to receive money and a time to thank you people for their regular Faith Promise giving.
II. Appoint a Local Foreign Missions Director. (His duties are to:)
A. Promote Foreign Missions in the local church.
B. Promote Foreign Missions in the Sunday School.
C. Keep records and/or finances.
D. Maintain bulletin board display. (Have a separate Foreign Missions Board.)
E. Print news flyers.
F. Send birthday offerings and cards to Partners In Missions.
G. Correspond with Partners In Missions.
H. Be fully acquainted with the Faith Promise plan and PIM program.
I. Endeavor to attend all Foreign Missions activities in the section and district.
J. Actively participate personally in Faith Promise giving.
K. Promote an annual missions convention in the local church.
L. Prepare monthly letters to all the saints about the missions ministry, including progress report.
The local director must always work under the pastor’s supervision.
III. Have a Permanent Display for your Partners In Missions Certificates.
IV. Display a Faith Promise Income Chart Somewhere in a Conspicuous Place. (Posters are available from the FMD free of charge.)
V. Make Use of the Faith Promise Offering Envelope Packet which is Available Free of Charge.
VI. Start NOW making Plans for an Annual Missions Convention.
VII. Please send Personal Testimonies of Individuals about the Miracles God has Blessed Them with as a Direct Result of Faith Promise Giving. These testimonies should be written on church stationary and addressed to the Foreign Missions Division.
(The above material was prepared by the Foreign Missions Division in Hazelwood, MO.)
