THE MESSENGER | WINTER 2019
EXCEPT THEY BE SENT
FINANCING MISSIONS THROUGH THE LOCAL CHURCH
T
he challenge of Romans 10:13-15 is the necessity for the communication of the Gospel. Without the Gospel, people will not be saved; in fact, they cannot be saved. “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17). There is, of course, the call of God to go and preach. There is also the enabling of God to do so. From a practical standpoint, the sending also includes the sending of the local church. Missionaries are called by God and sent by local churches. The call is actuated by the recognition and support of churches. In these days of declining church attendance and declining revenues, the burning question becomes, how can missionary endeavor be sustained financially? The question becomes broader and references all of God’s work. God’s work has always been sustained by the giving of God’s people. Proportional giving (the New Testament principle) is certainly the foundation for church and missions supply. Reality dictates that there is another dynamic behind the giving demonstrated in the past. That reality is sacrificial giving. It is the spirit of the Macedonian churches that testifies to sacrificial giving. “How that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality. For to their power, I bear
record, yea, and beyond their power they were willing of themselves” (2 Corinthians 8:2, 3). What begs the question is how to galvanize believers today to engage in sacrificial giving on a sustained basis. The answer is not a new capital campaign or pressured missions conference. It is not an emotional appeal, for the simple reason that the giving will diminish as soon as the pressure or appeal diminishes. The key to sacrificial giving is sacrificial living! Modern believers must, as a matter of choice, renounce the burgeoning materialism that characterizes our age. The fallacious reasoning that increased material means will translate into increased giving simply is not true. The more we have, the more we want. Increased means whets the appetite for bigger and better things. Material things become a way of life, a very carnal way of life.
resources from which they give are less, but like the widow’s mite, the heart to give is ever present and does not need constant pressure. Whether rich or poor, all believers need to stop living for things! We all need to become living sacrifices with our interests sublimated to God’s interests. We must stop living for self and start living for the Savior. Those who do experience the enabling given to the Macedonians, so that they are enabled to give “beyond their power,” understand the dynamic of giving. It is significant that the promise of the abundant blessing of God appears in the same context as the sacrificial giving of the Macedonians.
The key to sacrificial giving is sacrificial living!
Forty-four years of church experience has proven that the better-endowed church members actually give the least money. They are the least likely to house a missionary, even though they enjoy better housing. They are quite willing to chip in for the emotional appeals, because they can. Generally, they are not even tithers, much less sacrificial givers. On the other hand, less-endowed people are far more likely to be conscientious about their giving. The
“And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work” (2 Corinthians 9:8). Our financial problems are actually spiritual problems. We cannot successfully address the financial issues until we see a true revival that changes our perspective of life and ministry. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Dr. Milton Jones recently resigned the pastorate of Heritage Baptist Church in Frankfort, Illinois, after 26 years in that position. He continues to serve on the board of Baptist World Mission and on staff at Maranatha Baptist University. He has authored 36 books. He and his wife Pam have two children and have served together in the gospel ministry for 44 years.