2009 THANKSGIVING OFFERING

Every year, we make as direct and personal an appeal as we can to every one of our GIVING FRIENDS to give as generous an offering as you can to our THANKSGIVING OFFERING.

CHANGING OUR CULTURE OF THINKING
We have changed the direction of our culture of thinking with respect to our THANKSGIVING OFFERING and MONTHLY GENERAL FUND OFFERINGS. We used to say: “We need your THANKSGIVING OFFERING because we incur deficits every month between our giving to the General Fund offerings and the disbursements for the services and benefits we have committed to our missionaries which are supplied from the General Fund. We need the THANKSGIVING OFFERING to make up those monthly deficits.”

We cannot operate that way any longer. So, this year, we have revised our financial operating model to balance each month between our GENERAL FUND RECEIPTS and our GENERAL FUND DISBURSEMENTS. We call it: GENERAL FUND MONTHLY SOLVENCY.

This is how it works:
We have divided up the General Fund disbursements we make to our missionaries into two groups.

TIER 1 / EMT DISBURSEMENTS
The first disbursement group is ESSENTIAL MAINTENANCE TRANSACTIONS [EMT] – or TIER 1 DISBURSEMENTS. These are the disbursements which are most directly given to the missionaries each month for their essential maintenance. They include: salary [$23,860.00], standard expense allowances for housing and ministry [$12,450.00], hospitalization premiums [$9151.00], and Mission Sheets publishing and mailing [$1623.00]. All of these services are provided each month to the missionaries from the General Fund.

THESE DISBURSEMENTS MUST BE SUPPLIED BY THE MONTHLY GENERAL FUND RECEIPTS FOR THAT MONTH. That's why we call this model ‘GENERAL FUND MONTHLY SOLVENCY’. This is the only way we can continue to operate fiscally.

TIER 1 RECEIPTS
These EMT / TIER 1 disbursements must be supplied from [1] MONTHLY GENERAL FUND OFFERINGS, [2] MEMORIAL OFFERINGS, and [3] from your offerings given to specific missionaries by name designated for ‘salary’ or ‘support’. All of these offerings go toward supplying our missionaries’ ESSENTIAL MAINTENANCE TRANSACTIONS for that month.

What if our Monthly General Fund offerings from all these sources do not cover that month’s Essential Maintenance Transactions disbursements?
IF OUR MONTHLY GENERAL FUND RECEIPTS DO NOT COVER THE ABOVE-LISTED EMT DISBURSEMENTS, THEN WE MUST GO BACK TO THE MISSIONARIES’ MONTHLY DEPOSITS AND MAKE A FURTHER PROPORTIONATE DEDUCTION FROM EACH MISSIONARY’S TOTAL DEPOSIT TO COVER THE DEFICIT THAT NEEDS TO BE MADE UP.

When this happens, our missionaries must make further sacrificial personal contributions to their own Essential Maintenance for that month.

We had to do that last November and December 2008, but the monthly General Fund offerings increased during the first months of 2009, so that I have not had to make any further reductions from their monthly deposits during 2009...UNTIL THIS MONTH [August].

What if we receive MORE Tier 1 receipts during any month than we need for that month’s EMT disbursements?
IF WE INCUR OVERAGES IN ANY ONE MONTH, THEN I WILL CARRY OVER THAT OVERAGE INTO THE FOLLOWING MONTHS TO COVER ANY DEFICITS THAT MAY OCCUR LATER ON.

AUGUST DEPOSITS
I am preparing the monthly deposits for August right now as I write this article. July’s General Funds offerings were down. I will apply the remaining overages from previous months’ TIER 1 RECEIPTS to this month’s deficit, BUT THERE WILL STILL BE THE NEED FOR FURTHER DEDUCTIONS FROM THE MISSIONARIES’ MONTHLY DEPOSITS.

THANKSGIVING OFFERING
So, what are we doing with the THANKSGIVING OFFERING?

TIER 2 / PRN [AS NEEDED] GENERAL FUND DISBURSEMENTS
Besides the Essential Maintenance Transactions we disburse to our missionaries regularly each month, there are other services and benefits we give them which are also supplied from the General Fund receipts. For example: the expenses related to the daily operations of administration, furlough transportation, maintaining the furlough home, 4-year $8000 Auto Allowance [if we have it to give]...and other benefits.

We call these services PRN DISBURSEMENTS [they are disbursed ‘AS NEEDED’]. The ‘overhead’ operating expenses are monthly, but the other benefits are provided during the year as they are needed – IF WE HAVE IT TO GIVE.

WE SUPPLY THESE TIER 2 / PRN SERVICES FROM THE THANKSGIVING OFFERING. We are now in the month of August and are sort of ‘limping’ and ‘eking out’ our way to the end of November when we begin to receive our 2009 THANKSGIVING OFFERING.

But, THE MISSIONARIES’ MONTHLY ESSENTIAL MAINTENANCE TRANSACTIONS MUST STILL BE SUPPLIED FROM OUR MONTHLY GENERAL FUND SOLVENCY FUNDS...EACH AND EVERY MONTH.

TWO URGENT APPEALS
So – again we must make TWO URGENT APPEALS to EVERY GIVING FRIEND:

[1] INCREASE YOUR PERSONAL OR CHURCH’S CONTRIBUTIONS TO OUR MONTHLY GENERAL FUND SO WE CAN SUPPLY OUR MISSIONARIES’ ESSENTIAL MAINTENANCE.

[2] PRAY...PLAN...AND PREPARE FOR AS LIBERAL AND GENEROUS A THANKSGIVING OFFERING AS THE LORD ENABLES YOU TO GIVE. We hope you have already been laying aside your 2009 Thanksgiving Offering since giving your 2008 Offering. But, if you have not, THEN DO SO RIGHT NOW!

Ask the Lord what He wants you to give. Then, ask the Lord to give you what He wants you to give. 2 Corinthians, chapter 9.

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THANKSGIVING MISSIONS CONFERENCE / NOVEMBER 23, 24, 25
PLAN TO ATTEND!