troppuS||Support

For the past year and a half, Jana's and my income has largely come from the support of people outside of our ministry. This comes from a variety of sources. A tiny portion of what every Southern Baptist gives to the Cooperative Program and Annie Armstrong Offering makes it (hopefully!) to us through the North American Mission Board via the Utah/Idaho State convention. We are partially funded by two partner churches. NorthStar Church, where we work, also contributes to our monthly support. The rest of my salary comes from several individuals--friends and family who feel called to be a part of our ministry and what God is doing in North Idaho.

It is interesting. I am working at NorthStar. I am paid by Globe Outreach. My income comes from a plurality of organizations and individuals. It is actually kinda confusing. Or it would be. If I were not in the service of a King whose kingdom extends over all of these different entities.

Our support is not guaranteed. None of our supporters I mentioned are under any contractual or legal obligations to continue to give. If they all decided next month that they would not give then Jana and I would be on our own to figure out how to pay the bills. There is a certain amount of insecurity involved.

But I guess that is really true for every person. Contracts and obligations or not there is no guarantee that your current situation is permanent. What I'm getting at is that while many people tell us they would not have the faith to raise their support I believe that faith is necessary whether you live off of support or not. Being in this situation is teaching us the discipline of trusting God with our well-being. We do our best to inform Godly people about what we are doing and how He is working, but the results are God's alone.

Thanks for listening! Here's what you really want to know:

• Our church has begun the process of nominating a pastor search team.
• Please pray that this will be a team that can work together, have spiritual vision, serve with great patience, and always be joyful!
• Please pray for ongoing needs in our church. We have those with physical ailments, emotional trials, and spiritual needs.
• We are already in the processes of planning a really full calendar of ministry for next year. This planning is complicated by the absence of a lead pastor. Ask God to give us wisdom as we move forward.
• Praise God for the members of our church who are stepping up to be leaders wherever they are needed!