TOO MANY HANDS IN THE POT? PART ONE

The philosophy of mission is often referred to as presence and is a popular term because it’s very biblical. As the term implies, the Christian mission is understood to involve the Christian’s presence and in every nation. It is in this ‘presence’ that the Christian missionary serves and ministers to the needs of suffering humanity. Whether that service means of winning sufferers to Christ is not the primary intent although often the key byproduct. This article will focus specifically on the types of missionaries; their form, function and funding.

Peter Drucker, famed management expert, says in his book, The Profession of Management: “The Salvation Army is by far the most effective organization in the USA. No one even comes close to it with respect to clarity of mission, ability to innovate, measurable results, dedication and putting money to maximum use.” The SA in Canada has, perhaps correctly, applied that same description to itself…

All religious bodies have a responsibility to God and their supporters to be faithful stewards and to maintain integrity and openness in their financial practices. This therefore means that, we are committed to fulfilling sound, Godly standards in all our financial management and resource deployment. we recognize our accountability both to Him and to our donors. We have a responsibility to be faithful stewards and to maintain integrity and openness in our financial practices. Therefore, most religious bodies are committed to fulfilling the following standards:

·      We are governed by responsible Finance Board on many levels (Corps, DHQ, THQ, IHQ), Our Boards consists of qualified and certified accountants and economists that meets to establish policies, approve budgets, and review operational results and ministry accomplishments.

·      Our financial statements are prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.


·      We seek to conduct our activities with the highest standards of integrity and to avoid conflicts of interest.

·      Our fund-raising appeals clearly identify the purpose and programs to which donations will be applied, and we ensure that donations are used for the purposes for which they were raised. (NEEDS IMPROVEMENT!)

·      Whenever possible the Board directs that all contributions designated for specific projects shall be applied to those projects.

·      A ten percent fee is assessed for administering the gift at each administrative level. Occasionally, we receive more contributions for a given project than can be wisely applied to that project. When that occurs, we use these funds to meet a similar pressing need.

THE MISSIONARY TYPES

1.    Independent

2.    Endorsed

3.    Partnership

4.    Supervised

5.    Sponsored

Today's missionaries are sent out and supported and the nature of that sending out and support varies from group to group.

1.    The Independent missionaries are those who support themselves by engaging in full-time work, perhaps at home prior to setting off to a foreign land, engaging in some form of work in the mission country. They draw no official Salvation Army support.

2. The Endorsed missionary receives church support and is typically engaged in designated and approved missionary efforts. Reports are returned to the sponsors from time to time, however, the endorsed missionary’s freedom is virtually unlimited.

Persons associated with highly organized missionary societies e.g. the Salvation Army would be unfamiliar with this type system and endorsement. None-SA sponsors would perhaps endorse such an individual and their mission.

3.    The Partnership missionary may have been in the mind of Paul when referencing the church in Philippi. (Phil. 1:5) For many missionaries this type/category offers an escape from the full burden of responsibilities associated with the endorsed category. This type missionary is not ordinarily seen in the Salvation Army structure.

4.    The Supervised missionary includes both the missionaries from religious bodies that have no other method of doing mission work, but also those potentially independent or endorsed missionaries who choose to surrender a measure freedom for the sake of working in a supervised capacity.  The structure provides missionaries adequate supervision to guide their field program.

The Salvation Army in its wisdom gives over the supervision to the local headquarters in the territory where the missionary serves.

5.    The Sponsored missionary is similarly assured various advantages not afforded to the other types. There is greater stability in the mission program in that the program design and budgeting is a shared responsibility among many. Difficulties do occur primarily because of cultural differences and expectations, and the educational achievements and experience of those involved.

The sponsored missionary goes into the field freed of the concerns associated with funding, housing, communication, travel and the availability of daily provisions. The missionary appointment is generally for a fixed term, except in the case of medical missionaries.

Salvation Army (sponsored) Missionaries - Zimbabwe

The Salvation Army has been blessed to serve God by placing committed and qualified officers in the Howard Institute/Hospital for nine decades providing desperately needed services to some of the world’s most vulnerable people.

Unwavering focus on this important mission has been carried forward in an unbroken line until the recent abrupt dismissal of Captain (Dr.) Paul Thistle. Thistle worked tirelessly for 19 years seeking to heal and strengthen physical, emotional, and spiritual lives  of those served by the HH. He believed in the SA’s approach, in large part redesigned by him, that healed and transformed individuals that, in turn, inspired long-term attention gto the various maladies and epidemics threatening their communities. Of special note is the Howard hospital’s provision of expertise to support the work in numerous areas of infectious diseases including HIV/AIDS and other community health programs. These programs are

supported by generous donations from the worldwide Salvation Army, the public, and partner organizations.

Financial information and statistics for The Salvation Army are available in many online financial reports.

Any time finances are involved it can be a touchy issue, and this is oft times particularly true in regards to church finances. And this is understandable.

If a person is giving sacrificially to a church (Salvation Army center), it is natural for that person to show an interest in how the finances are managed and disbursed. In some churches, virtually every financial decision is subject to a congregational vote. In other churches, no one other than the pastor/officer and/or a few leaders know how the finances of the church are being managed. The biblical balance is somewhere in between.

The Bible does not record how the early church conducted its budgetary meetings. The pattern appears to be that the church entrusted a leader (or leaders) with the finances, and then those leaders managed the finances. Romans 15:25-28 and 1 Corinthians 16:1-4 record churches taking up a collection and then giving the money to Paul and a group of others for distribution.

If a churchs’ or organization’s finances are being managed with honesty, integrity, good stewardship, and transparency, then, ultimately, it does not matter who has the financial oversight. A committee can misuse finances just as surely as an individual can, as seen in many recent scandals. Financial scandals have destroyed or damaged countless churches. And, in most of those cases, there has been a lack of accountability and transparency.

Whoever the person or persons are, accountability is crucial. The manner in which a church manages its finances should be completely transparent. A church should always be ready to demonstrate that the funds God has provided are being stewarded wisely. 

One Army, two worlds, and three administration fees

One of the difficulties that all missionaries face is that of funding the unexpected and unbudgeted items. These often appear as emergency equipment needs or in the unexpected expansion or improvement in programming and in providing emergency services where no funds were budgeted. 

The Howard Hospital difficulties is an example of how The Salvation Army’s long-established funding process failed. The process was misunderstood and objected to by donors, and possibly mistakenly misapplied or misdirected.  

END PART ONE

Sven Ljungholm
LIVERPOOL