THE MISSIONS FAITH PROMISE
Each October at CCC, at the close of the missions year, our congregation is challenged to prayerfully make our BEST annual Faith Promise. These are then added together and become the basis for our setting of the next year’s missions budget. If anyone begins worshipping with us AFTER October, they can also make a missions faith promise for the remainder of the missions year (November to October). Everyone’s faith promises expire on Faith Promise Sunday, when we make NEW faith promises for the next 12 month. Our faith promises enable us to continue to fund our monthly commitments to currently over 170 missionary families at home and abroad. If you ever want to know how you’re doing with the fulfillment of your faith promise, you can inquire by calling the church and the finance office can answer your question. The finance office will never initiate a call to you regarding your progress on your faith promise.
BIBLICAL FOUNDATION OF THE FAITH PROMISE
The foundation for a faith promise is taught in Scripture by the apostle Paul. Obedience in giving is a sure way to see God work in our personal lives. Each of us must decide if we believe that God’s hand is in our personal finances. God’s Word is true. “Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.”
In 2 Corinthians 8 and 9, Paul shares the inspiring testimony of sacrificial faith giving by the Macedonian churches. He is careful to emphasize that they gave in two ways: according to their ability and beyond their ability.
HOW TO DETERMINE YOUR FAITH PROMISE AMOUNT
At CCC, we believe the starting point for missions Faith Promise is to “give ACCORDING TO your ability.” This means that you look at your budget, and prayerfully determine an amount the Lord would have you give to missions. This is an amount over and above the tithe, and it is an amount that is realistically within your means. The faith promise is a pledge for the entire missions year November-October, but can be given weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, or even in a few or one lump sum.
Secondly, we encourage people to “give BEYOND their ability” by adding to their faith promise amount a portion that they are “trusting God to bring in” over and above their normal anticipated income. This is the “faith” part of the faith promise. If this kind of giving is new to you, start small. Trust God for an extra $100 over the course of a year, then be prayerful and attentive as to how he may surprise you by bringing it in to you! I’ve seen retirees on limited incomes receive notification of stocks or accounts they didn’t know they had, someone “anonymously” paying their electric bill, a check in the mail they weren’t expecting, receiving a raise of promotion… the possible streams of blessing are endless –and it WORKS because God is LOOKING for people of faith that he can trust as conduit to flow resources through and into kingdom causes! When he does, recognize His blessing with great rejoicing and faithfully turn in that portion of your faith promise!
In light of this, a good place to start is to make a faith promise on 85% budget and 15% faith; give the 85% in a pre-determined regular way (monthly etc,) then give the 15% as God brings in the “extra”, this way you will be less apt to “miss” his blessing when He sends it!
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A MISSIONS FAITH PROMISE AND MISSIONS GIVING
The missions annual budget is based upon the congregation’s collective Faith Promises. This money is then committed to go out the door in the form of monthly support to our missionaries. This underscores the importance of a very high percentage of what is indicated in the faith promise does indeed come in AS faith promises so that we can fulfill our commitments to our missionaries. This means that the faith promise, when given, should be given designated as “faith promise” giving. It wouldn’t be appropriate, for example, to give faith promise dollars to a particular missionary in a missionary offering. That would redirect finances that were already committed to fund all 170 CCC missionaries and giving them instead to ONE that’s had the benefit of being here for a particular service. Missionary offerings and other missions giving should be over and above your Faith Promise giving. EVERY MISSIONARY WILL AGREE – make the BEST Faith Promise you can, then give offerings as the Lord enables.
FAQ CONCERNING THE FAITH PROMISE
A faith promise is not your tithe or a portion of your tithe. Your tithe, the first tenth of your income, is the Lord’s and belongs to the general operations of the local church. A faith promise is a sacred act, a spiritual agreement between you and God as you commit to give regularly to help fulfill God’s plan to reach a lost world.
Every family, couple or single individual. Children are encouraged to give their missions support through BGMC (Boys and Girls Missionary Challenge) a national missions ministry that helps provide literature and supplies to missionaries on the field. Teenagers are encouraged to give their missionary support through STL (Speed the Light) a national missions ministry that provide vehicles, audio and visual equipment to missionaries on the field.
No amount is too small. God honors and uses our obedience more than the amount of our giving. Limited income should not prevent anyone from making a faith promise . Jesus said that the widow who gave just a “mite” in the offering gave more that all the others because she gave all she had. See “How to Determine your Faith Promise Amount”.
When members of a congregation make turn in faith promise commitments, the missions department is better equipped to determine how much the church can in turn commit to support missionaries.
Only the bookkeeper who adds up the faith promise cards looks at each card. The missions leadership will know the total amount of faith promises and number of those making faith promises, but they do not see individual faith promise cards.
Yes, at the end of each missions year in October, the entire congregation is led in a time of making NEW faith promises for the upcoming missions year.
Some will give each week, some monthly, others in conjunction with tax refunds or bonuses. It’s up to you.
When you give using an envelope or online, insure that you indicate the amount you are giving toward you faith promise as “faith promise” dollars.
SAMPLE GIVING ENVELOPE
