May 01, 1996 by Greg Parsons

Whether you support someone at the USCWM or with another agency (we hope you do support some missionaries), here are some tips that might give you an idea of what you can do to further your involvement in the aspect of giving.

In the faith missions tradition, most missionaries are required to develop what we call a Ministry Team. These "team" members are a crucial part of the ministry of any missionary. They commit themselves to pray and/or support (financially or in other ways) their missionary.

Here are some ways you can support your missionaries that you may not have thought about:

•--Check your missionary's support level to see if they have all the support they need. You can also check with the mission's personnel office. You might be surprised one way or the other! If they don't have all the support they need, consider "giving them a raise" in your personal or church giving. When's the last time the missionary's got a cost of living increase. Perhaps you could help to find others who might be interested in the same vision.

• Give those extra frequent flyer miles. With many airlines you can give your miles or other certificates to others (usually a full flight in the U.S. is a minimum--around 25,000 miles). Here at the USCWM, we often have U.S. or International conferences to attend. At times, staff don't have enough personal Work Budget (work funds) to be able to go to key meetings. Not only do the donated miles help that, they also mean that the usual requirement of a Saturday Night stay is not necessary (allowing some of us to get home sooner!). I know of churches that pool those miles to help missionaries get to the field by lowering their out-going expenses.
• Consider a one-time gift. A missionary's tires need to be replaced just like yours, but with the minimum salary level, sometimes those funds are not available. One-time gifts help this. Ask if there are any special needs or projects as well. Like a computer hardware or software upgrade or a special training class or conference.
• Consider supporting a mobilizer. This is a great way to get the vision going more in your area or in our country. Perhaps you know one in your area--someone who is a great multiplier of vision. Someone like a regional missions representative or ACMC rep. Our own staff often don't have enough financial backing. Many agencies have a special account where gifts can come in to help special needs of under-supported staff. You might consider giving a special gift to your favorite agencies for this purpose.
• Give us other ideas you've tried.

We'll try to print some in Mission Frontiers from time to time.

You can contact us at the above address, email, fax and phone.