What we are asking
Paul mentioned to the Philippians in 1:5 that he prayed with joy because of their participation in the Gospel. The Philippians financially helped Paul so that he could be unhindered doing the work of spreading the gospel. We too are asking for your participation in the Gospel by helping fund us in this work. We are asking to be included in your fiscal budget for the next 5 years minimum with written confirmation of commitment on a document containing contact information in case our sponsoring congregation needs to contact you. We hope that in doing this, we will have income security but also become a blessing to your congregation within this work. We are asking also that payments start as soon as possible. We have been advised for payments to start early so that we will have enough money for a safety net, money for deposits, and an emergency fund.
To keep us accountable, we will give monthly updates on the work provided to you by either our sponsoring congregation or through an email mailing list. We will also make time to do more thorough, in-person reports at least every few years for you, Lord willing. We hope that you will consider partnering with us to do God’s work in a spiritually desolate place. God bless!
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According to the president of Bear Valley Bible Institute International of Denver, Denny Petrillo, Ph.D., a minister does well when they receive the median wage of the location they are ministering. The belief is to not be more fortunate than the lower 50%, but not be as fortunate as the upper 50%. It is a good guide to aim for, and we too believe in that. Dean of Students, Donnie Bates, has seen what the negative impact of trying to live in poverty does to the work in the mission field. He would not recommend anyone try to purposely become poor to reach the poor as that does not come off as genuine. So, we are aiming for the median wage plus uniquely American expenses that set us apart from the locals. By including American expenses, we will not be made lower than the median since our unique expenses would not be shared with the Czech people. The median wage plus our unique expenses are $60,000 per year ($5,000 monthly).
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We have initial costs which we are asking to be taken care of as soon as possible to help us with the move. We have greatly downsized our possessions, but there are still some items we need to take over. We ask for funds as soon as possible to build this fund. On top of the one-time expenses, we also have been advised by our eldership to have a reserve/emergency fund equal to 3 or more months of income incase we have an emergency. The total amount here comes to approximately $32,000.
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The goal of this section is to display the cost to do the ministry work in and related to the Czech Republic. Some of these expenses may also be covered through our contribution. We have deemed a vehicle would allow for other avenues of ministry, so it has been added costs. Due to the high price of gasoline in Europe, we would look for a lightly used diesel car, which is a cheaper option for initial buy price, maintenance, and fuel costs. Acquiring a vehicle will not be immediate, but we would allocate the money initially for a deposit when we do find a suitable vehicle. After a year of living in the country, we need to go through driving school and get a European driver’s license to drive legally. We would plan to buy the vehicle after we get the driver’s licenses.
Due to recommendations to not flood the young congregation with American money, we have not added the cost of renting a location for the church to meet. This will help foster their participation in giving to the Lord. Many missions have failed due to church plants being dependent on American money, and we hope to not leave any church dependent on that. The total work related expenses comes out to approximately $12,500 yearly.
*If you would like more detailed information about our cost breakdowns or have questions, please feel free to contact us.