2015 Thanksgiving Offering FAQ
FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
1. “WHY DO WE HAVE A THANKSGIVING OFFERING?”
We have a Thanksgiving Offering because WE NEED IT for the coming year to supply the financial commitments we have made to our missionaries for the services and benefits we provide from the General Fund.
2. “WHY IS THE THANKSGIVING OFFERING SO IMPORTANT?”
The Thanksgiving Offering is ESSENTIAL because it is the only source of funds for supplying our missionaries’ needs during the coming year. All of the commitments we make to our missionaries are supplied from the General Fund – and the Thanksgiving Offering funds are the only available resources to provide many of those benefits.
3. “WHAT SERVICES AND BENEFITS DOES THE THANKSGIVING OFFERING PROVIDE?”
The Thanksgiving Offering enables us to provide the services and benefits we have committed to our missionaries “as the Lord provides.” These benefits include:
- reimbursements for missionaries’ Furlough (Home Assignment) airfare/transportation expenses to and from the field
- reimbursements for their hospitalization personal deductibles for the year (their personal deductible is $1000 and we reimburse them $600 of that amount)
- children’s school/education expenses (if funds are available)
- expenses for mailing The Mission Sheets (missionaries’ monthly letters, reports, updates — and detailed report of all offerings given through BFM that month)
- expenses for maintaining Stateside office for communication and daily services – there are a lot of activities that go on Stateside to keep our missionaries functioning on their fields of service
- providing and maintaining a Furlough Home in Lexington for those missionaries who choose to use it
4. “HOW ELSE IS THE GENERAL FUND SUPPLIED?”
The standard supply for the General Fund is from monthly offerings which are given to the General Fund. These offerings are listed monthly in the Mission Sheets under “General Fund”. These monthly General Fund offerings are used to supply the “Essential Maintenance Transactions” [EMT] which we have committed to the missionaries for their standard essential monthly expenses. These include:
- their monthly salary
- their monthly standard housing allowance
- their monthly standard ministry allowance
- their monthly hospitalization premium
- expenses for printing The Mission Sheets – their monthly newsletters, reports, and updates
Note: these monthly “Essential Maintenance Transactions” are not supplied from Thanksgiving Offering funds – but from the monthly offerings given to the General Fund.
Note 2: For detailed explanations of how our missionaries’ ministries are funded, please access our two brochures “Baptist Faith Missions” and “Caring for those who care for the world” on our website (baptistfaithmissions.org), click on FaithWorks Blog and open the thumbnail brochure icons on the right margin.
5. “WHY IS THE THANKSGIVING OFFERING GIVEN AT THE THANKSGIVING SEASON?”
- The BFM Thanksgiving Offering began many years ago in conjunction with the annual Thanksgiving Missionary Conference in the Detroit-area and has continued that way to this day.
- Also, the Thanksgiving season is good reminder of the thanks we owe God for His Indescribable Gift in Jesus Christ – and our Thanksgiving Offering is a good way to express that thanks.
- And, the Thanksgiving season and Offering is a good occasion for us to give missionary offerings so others, also, may hear the blessed Good News of salvation through Christ…and, in this way, MULTIPLY STILL MORE THANKSGIVINGS TO GOD.
6. “HOW CAN I GIVE MY THANKSGIVING OFFERING?”
If your church receives a Thanksgiving Offering for the missionaries supported through BFM, then we encourage you to give your offering through your church. Most of the Thanksgiving Offerings which are given by churches are made up by the voluntary offerings of individual members who give to the Offering. Pastors, we encourage you to give your church the opportunity to contribute to our BFM Thanksgiving Offering.
7. “WHAT IF MY CHURCH DOES NOT RECEIVE A BFM THANKSGIVING OFFERING?”
If your church does not participate in the Thanksgiving Offering, you may send your personal gift to the Treasurer of BFM and designate it “Thanksgiving Offering.” (Baptist Faith Missions / Pastor George Sledd, Treasurer / P.O. Box 471280 / Lake Monroe FL 32747-1280)
You can also give online at baptistfaithmissions.org and click on ‘Donate/Support’ and designate for ‘Thanksgiving Offering.’
8. “CAN I GIVE MY THANKSGIVING OFFERING ONLY AT THANKSGIVING…OR DURING NOVEMBER?”
No. Most churches and individual Friends of BFM give on or around Thanksgiving Sunday (either the Sunday before or after Thanksgiving Day). However, offerings continue to come in to the Treasurer during the month of December, and sometimes on into the next year. You can give your Thanksgiving Offering any time. But, all offerings designated “Thanksgiving Offering” go toward the same collective Offering for that year.
9. “HOW IS THE “EVERY FRIEND A GIVING FRIEND” PERSONAL GIVING MINISTRY PERTINENT TO THE THANKSGIVING OFFERING?”
We introduced the “EVERY FRIEND A GIVING FRIEND” ministry and plan during the 2003 Thanksgiving Conference. “Every Friend a Giving Friend” encourages each of our missionaries’ friends to personally participate in regular giving to the General Fund. This plan is nothing new or unique; it is just another way to express and articulate what the Friends of BFM have been doing since the inception of the Mission.
It is also patterned after the instructions Paul gives us in 2 Corinthians 8 and 9: that is,
- to purpose in your heart to give an offering (9:7)
- to give as generous an offering as God enables you (8:1-3 & 9:6)
- to ask God – and trust Him – to supply you with the funds you will need to give the offering (9:8)
- to plan and begin preparing even a year ahead of time (as Paul instructed the Corinthians and the other churches to do) (8:10-11 & 9:2)
- to give your offerings to the Lord and to the Lord’s missionaries willingly and cheerfully (9:7)
- to express your love and obedience to the Lord (8:8 & 9:13)
- to give as your response to Jesus Christ’s grace and gift of Himself to you (8:9 & 9:15)
We encourage every Friend of BFM to be a Giving Friend and give a personal
Thanksgiving Offering to help supply our missionaries’ needs which are met through the General Fund.
“EVERY FRIEND A GIVING FRIEND” also challenges each Friend of BFM to personally participate in missions by giving monthly offerings over and above the regular tithes and offerings you give to your church to meet the needs of your local church’s ministries. We encourage each Giving Friend to make a personal commitment to either begin giving or increase your giving each month to the General Fund.
10. “WHY DO YOU SET GOALS FOR THE THANKSGIVING OFFERING?”
We set goals because the goal amount is keyed to the projected needs we expect to meet for the coming year of missionary ministry. And, when we increase the commitments, services, and benefits we need to give our missionaries so they can fulfill their ministries, our needs for the necessary funds increase also. And, please remember with us that we cannot approve and commit to increasing the modest support we give our missionaries unless we believe the Lord will supply those funds through your giving.
OUR 2015 THANKSGIVING OFFERING GOAL IS $55,000.00.
Would you please pray and ask the Lord of the Harvest what he would have you give to this year’s Thanksgiving Offering? And then ask Him also to supply you with that gift from his inexhaustible resources of Grace?
Thank You, GIVING FRIENDS!
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Giving Options:
You can give your Thanksgiving Offering either through your church’s offering, or by mailing your personal check to our Treasurer, or by giving online through our website www.baptistfaithmissions.org ‘Donate/Support’ tab and typing in Thanksgiving Offering in the memo field.
Click here to make a one-time donation.
Click here to set up a recurring donation.
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2013-2014 Thanksgiving Offering
2013-14 THANKSGIVING OFFERING
Please be making your plans to give as generously as the LORD enables you to our upcoming Thanksgiving Offering. We encourage EVERY friend of our missionaries to be a GIVING FRIEND!
Pastors, will you be willing to announce and promote the Thanksgiving Offering in your church – and encourage your people to give to it? Our missionaries’ needs continue to be great and the Thanksgiving Offering is essential to providing those financial commitments we have made to them.
And, remember – you can give your Thanksgiving Offering either through your church’s offering, or by mailing your personal check to our Treasurer, or by giving online through our website www.baptistfaithmissions.org ‘Donate/Support’ tab and typing in Thanksgiving Offering in the memo field.
Click here to make a one-time donation.
Click here to set up a recurring donation.
A PERSONAL APPEAL FROM YOUR DIRECTORS
We who serve you and our missionaries as Directors have embraced the responsibility of acquainting you with their needs and appealing to you on their behalf. We represent them and their needs to you.
Baptist Faith Missions administers support contributions for twelve families of sound, committed, and faithful missionaries who are sacrificially serving the Lord in the nations where the Holy Spirit has called and sent them to minister. They have gone to their respective fields of service upon the commitment from us, their financial supporters, that if they will answer the Lord’s call to go where He sends them, we will give the offerings needed to supply their needs.
But, the only financial commitments we Directors have resources to give them are: “We will do everything we can to make your needs known to our supporting churches and friends and then forward them to you ‘as the Lord provides.’ If the Lord provides the support funds we have committed, then we will send them to you; if the Lord does not provide what we have committed, then we will send you what we have.”
WHAT DO WE DO WITH MONTHLY GENERAL FUND OFFERINGS?
WE NEED $46,600.00 EVERY MONTH IN OUR MONTHLY GENERAL FUND OFFERINGS TO SUPPLY THE MONTHLY ‘ESSENTIAL MAINTENANCE TRANSACTIONS’ OUR MISSIONARIES NEED JUST TO MAINTAIN THEIR DAILY LIVES AND MINISTRIES. This amount is for those 12 missionary families’ salaries, housing and ministry expenses allowances, hospitalization premiums, and the costs of publishing their newsletters and correspondences with you in The Mission Sheets. These commitments are funded by our monthly contributions to the GENERAL FUND. If we do not receive sufficient funds EACH MONTH, then we must reduce the commitments proportionately among them in the amount of the deficit of the monthly GENERAL FUND supplies.
So far in 2013, it has become necessary to reduce their monthly committed funds by an accrued total of $6800.00 divided proportionately among them. It may be necessary to do so again before the year is completed.
WHAT DO WE DO WITH THE ANNUAL THANKSGIVING OFFERING?
THE THANKSGIVING OFFERING IS USED TO SUPPLY ALL THE OTHER SUPPORT SERVICES AND BENEFITS WE PROVIDE FOR THEM THROUGHOUT THE YEAR AS THOSE COMMITMENTS BECOME DUE. Last year’s Thanksgiving Offering was $52,348.17. We are here in October at the time of this appeal, and those funds are all but depleted. We have been serving our 12 missionary families throughout the year with these funds. And, some of those services and benefits which are supplied from the Thanksgiving Offering were either not granted or were only partially granted due to shortages in the Thanksgiving Offering funds.
WE NEED A VERY GENEROUS THANKSGIVING OFFERING TO EXCEED LAST YEAR’S AMOUNT TO FULLY SUPPLY THEIR NEEDS THROUGHOUT 2014.
WE ARE, FIRST OF ALL, ASKING OUR HEAVENLY FATHER
We want to tell you something else: we also know that before we appeal to you, WE MUST APPEAL TO OUR HEAVENLY FATHER. He is the One who created, owns, and transfers all of the assets that are in the world…and which He has committed to our stewardship. Our Lord Jesus Christ taught us and promised us two different times in Matthew, chapter 6, that our Heavenly Father knows what we need before we ask Him (verses 8 & 32).
So, WE ARE, FIRST OF ALL, CALLING ON GOD to see their needs and hear our appeals. We are calling on our Father to please arise and give us “bread” to set before our friends as our Lord taught us to pray in the parable He preached in Luke 11.1-13. Then, we are asking Him to give every one of us His Grace and move our hearts to respond to Him. Our missionaries are His servants, they are ministering His Gospel, and they are aiming at His Glory in everything they do.
Click here to make a one-time donation.
Click here to set up a recurring donation.
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2011-2012 Thanksgiving Offering Update
PRAY – PURPOSE – PLAN – PREPARE – PERFORM
[2 Corinthians 8-9]
Please give as generous an offering as the Lord enables you to give.
We praise God for each of you who has given to our ongoing Thanksgiving Offering. Our current total offering amount is $56,065.38. While this amount is still less than last year’s offering [$63,720.13], we do know that every one of you who has given has done so graciously, generously, and gladly. We bless you and commend you for your obedience to the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.
“But my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19
Please continue to give to our still-open Thanksgiving Offering and also to our Monthly General Fund as God gives you something to give. 2 Corinthians 9:8-15
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