aged to give regularly to world evangelization, rather than spas modically a fter hearing emotion al appeals. Projects o f Women’s, Men’s groups and Adult Sunday School Classes are incorporated into the missions budget. Our mission policies require our com mittee to investigate everyone supported, to assure our people they can give with the confidence that the money will be used effec tively and economically. To initiate our Faith Promise Plan, a month-long missionary emphasis was planned. F or a solid month, our people “ a te an d slept” missions. Speakers, tapes, films, letters and demonstrations were incorporated into every service during the month. The sermons o f the month centered on the missionary imperative: that God wants to use us to meet the need o f the world. Oswald Smith’s tract, “ When God Taught Me to Give” (distributed by Greater Europe M ission), was placed in the S u n d a y bulletin. Laymen from another church effectively using the Faith Promise Plan came and shared the blessing o f becoming involved in world mis sions. We came to our first Faith Promise Sunday with some fear, knowing, that i f this was mere promotion as a gimmick to get money, it would fail. Yet we knew i f God was in it, it would g lorify Him. Our people had been challenged with our becoming in volved on every continent o f the world and in every type o f mis sionary endeavor. Specific needs and opportunities to which our church could respond were pre sented. A world view is essential to a successful missionary pro gram. God has commissioned us to reach the world! A t the close
o f our first s e r v i c e on Faith Promise Sunday, $22,000 had been p r o m i s e d fo r missions, $3,000 more than had been given the previous year. There were tears o f rejoicing when the total went to $46,000 in our second worship service. The total Faith Promise the first year exceeded $52,000, which God provided in eleven months. There was also a new sense o f God’s presence and moving in our midst as we saw young people and adults dedicat ing themselves anew to God’s call o f service. All honor and glory belongs to Him who invites us: “ Call upon
You channel through me fo r mis sions?” I read His Word and pray that He will lay an amount upon my heart. Having commit ted the amount He promises to provide, I begin to look fo r it with prayerful anticipation. As the Lord provides I must recog nize the income to be His, fo r His work, and I dare not touch it. One boy replied to his mother who was amazed at the amount o f his Faith Promise, “ Why be ‘chintzy’ Mom, i f God is going to provide i t ? ” That first Missionary Commit tee m e e t i n g after our Faith Promise Sunday was an exciting
“ Our missionary committee had
the joy and responsibility of
administering *52,000 for missions!!9
me and I will show thee great and mighty th ings!” The Faith Promise is not a tithe, fo r a tithe is based upon a known amount. It is not necessa rily a single gift. What is it? It is trusting God fo r an amount o f money which He wants to channel through you fo r His glory. It is the substance o f things hoped for. Not knowing where it will come from , I then must trust God fo r that amount and this becomes an act o f faith. How do I a r r i v e at t h i s amount? I go into my place o f prayer and ask God, “ What will
evening. Never before had our committee had the jo y and the re s p o n s i b i l i t y o f administering $52,000 fo r missions. This called fo r prayer. What a challenge! The Missionary Committee sub mitted a budget divided into three sections. F i r s t , mission aries would receive their salaries. The second section o f the budget divided remaining funds among various missionary interests on a percentage basis. The third sec tion specified that funds designat ed by our people fo r specific mis sion work would be forwarded as designated.
JUNE, 196«
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