HOW FINANCE THESE ESSENTIAL MINISTRIES ? (1)

How to finance essential ministries like Talking Bibles International is a real challenge.Years ago, serving as denominational missionaries supported by our board of world missions, we never worried about our personal support. The Board, perhaps, did, but we never had a concern. Our world mission board raised its money for our salaries and ministry expenses through the many Partnership in Mission (PIM) churches they had enlisted to provide an agreed upon annual share of financial support.
We loved this relationship with our Board and with those PIM congregations. We developed close ties with many of those PIM congregations. They took a special interest in our family and in our missionary activities. It was a wonderful arrangement for both Board, churches and us missionaries.

I have often pondered how something similar might be possible for ministries like Talking Bibles International. My observation is that it is a challenge to have donor partners recognize that there is a significant difference between the actual cost of a Talking Bible and the placing of a Talking Bible in someone’s hands in places like India or Africa.

For a Talking Bible to be designed, manufactured, loaded with a NT in a desired language and placing that TB among non-reading people, many cost factors need to be recognized and provided for with adequate funding. It is a huge challenge.

Let’s go back to the beginning. For there to be a Talking Bible Ministry, before anything could happen, there had to be people of vision and passion to lead it. There were and these same people formed an organization which they lead. To do that they had to have an adequate building to house the ministry. Their own salaries and those of essential staff members had to be funded. And they needed computers, recording equipment and programs to carry out the ministry. Etc.

From where would the money to do such a ministry come? How would the difference in cost to manufacture the Talking Bible and the total essential costs to fund a Talking Bible Ministry be communicated effectively to donor and potential donor partners?

This, I suspect it is an ongoing challenge. In my next blog, I hope to share some additional perspectives which may be helpful. Meanwhile, let me invite you to visit www.talkingbibles.org and learn much more about this marvelous ministry.

Because they need to hear,

Harvey Hoekstra – harvey@talkingbibles.org
www.talkingbibles.org

Goal: AN ANNUAL TALKING BIBLE SUNDAY IN THOUSANDS OF CHURCHES TO LEARN MORE AND TO HELP FUND TALKING BIBLES FOR NON-READERS AND THE BLIND.