For years our ministry has been committed to helping our Bible School graduates and network ministry partners as much as we possible can. One of the ways we’ve made room for this in our ministry is by creating the A.I.M. Fund; this fund consists of setting aside 5% of our ministry income and designating it to help Ambassador In Ministry by equipping them with the resources they need to be more effective. For example, one such resource would be transportation, and our most recent A.I.M. contribution was just that. We helped a local pastor purchase a motorcycle.
We will continue to grow this fund, and as our ministry increases so will our ability to help. But there’s another side to helping, and this is what I want to talk to you about.
Introducing,
The Global Mission Fund
This is not a new concept, but it’s still fairly new to us. It’s the concept of micro-finance lending.
Here’s the why: in places of extreme poverty (like we encounter in India), where there is great need, we must empower local ministers without making them depend on foreign funding. To do so, we need to find creative ways to help establish local avenues of income. The problem though, that many face in the third world, is that the poor have no access to capital; and in this world, without money it’s nearly impossible to make money. So they always depend on someone else. That’s the problem, so how do we fix it?
Here’s the how: the way we solve this problem is by making capital available to the poor in the form of a micro-loan. It’s not a personal loan, but it’s a business loan and must have a clear business plan to go along with it. The business must also be one that can begin generating income immediately.
With this in mind, we are launching The Global Mission Fund. This facet of our ministry will focus on lending to those who are too poor to borrow. We will make the process as simple as possible and make it affordable. Also, to make this initiative self sustaining, we will charge a fee (not interest) on the principle loan amount. There will be no compounding monthly interest or a fluctuating APR. It will be a standard amount, correlating to the principle amount of the loan.
Here is a real life example:
Pastor Sudhir Rana is a graduate of Domata India. He lives in an extremely impoverished area where there are very few employment opportunities and where people struggle for the most basic necessities. Sudhir lives in the village, and his ministry is focused toward people with little to no income, and therefore local support is non existent.
We’ve helped Pastor Sudhir over the years with projects, but in the process he hasn’t been empowered to prosper. He is poor, and the only way to rise above that in his locality is to create avenues for increase. So, I asked Pastor Sudhir to present a business plan. What could he begin doing immediately to earn money if he had the money to begin? His answer, the rickshaw!
Sudhir will need Rs. 75,000 to purchase a rickshaw like the one pictured above. He estimates that he can earn anywhere from 5,000 – 15,000 rupees per month depending on the season. For a micro-loan of Rs. 75,000 we will charge a 25% fee which = Rs. 18,750. Making the total loan amount Rs. 93,750. For a loan of that size Sudhir will be given 2 years to pay it back, which means he’ll need to work hard and make monthly payments of at least 4,000 rupees.
So, why not just give him the money? Well, again, we want to empower people like Sudhir and help them to become self-sufficient. We also want them to experience the sense of accomplishment that goes along with faithful stewardship and hard work.
But will he repay? Well, first of all this is built on trust, and by repaying there is a big incentive. After the loan is repaid, he will then qualify for another and perhaps larger loan. That way he can expand his business.
That is the Global Mission Fund in a nutshell, and as we work on our fist project I am praying for business partners who can help us with the funding. Our first project with Sudhir, will require $1175 to begin. At the end of 2 years that $1175 will become about $1470, and as we add other projects the resources will continue to grow.
Part of our mission is to connect God’s people in America to God’s people in India, and the Global Mission Fund makes it possible to not only connect people but businesses as well. We want to create opportunities to empower local ministers and churches through strategic partnerships, which will help them to become a supply rather than remain a demand.
If you are a business owner, would you pray about helping us to help the poor? Or, even if you don’t own a business but still want to help, we invite you to participate. Our first goal is $1175, but that is just the beginning. Together we’re already helping many people, and this is one more way we can touch many more lives. If you’d like to be a part of the Global Mission Fund, there are 4 ways you can help:
The Global Mission Fund
P.A.C.T.
- Pray – Pray for us to have wisdom in developing the GMF, and join us in praying for our fist project with Sudhir.
- Assist – If you have business experience, you could help us in developing this program. Potentially, and ideally, we could set up a completely separate entity and you could help us grow the project.
- Contribute – Any amount, whatever is in your heart to do. It could be one-time, monthly or annually. Your financial contribution will help us start more business to fund more local ministry.
- Tell – If you know others, especially business owners who might be interested in helping the poor, please help us spread the word. You can forward this email to them or send us their contact info and we’ll reach out to them ourselves.
If you have any questions, thoughts or suggestions, please let us know. Also, if you will be helping us with our first project, please let me know so that we can designate your contribution.
Thank you for your partnership!
Mike Van Buskirk