Remember this: he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly. He who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Let each man give according as he has determined in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, that you, always having all sufficiency in everything, may abound to every good work. As it is written,
“He has scattered abroad. He has given to the poor.
His righteousness remains forever.”
Now may he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food, supply and multiply your seed for sowing, and increase the fruits of your righteousness, you being enriched in everything for all generosity, which produces thanksgiving to God through us.—2 Corinthians 9:6-11, World English Bible
Around Christmas, there is a great outpouring of generosity as people celebrate the Christmas season. That is a good thing, as Father God is the greatest example of a giver ever, because He gave His only Son to redeem us from our sin and shame. The Holy Bible is full of great teaching about giving and some great examples. Giving to support God’s work in this world is a joy-filled privilege. Lori and I really do enjoy giving as the Lord leads us. Yes, we like to receive the gifts that make our ministry possible, but it is even more fun to give when we can. We give to help support other missionaries and ministries, as well as giving to our local church. In essence, my ministry is all about giving: freely giving God’s Word to people in the languages they understand best and in formats that are useful for them. See eBible.org/metrics for the counts. I get excited about the hundreds of millions of Scripture deliveries in over a thousand Bible translations. It brings me great joy that there are people who partner with us in prayer and finances to make this giving possible, and even to increase it. Hallelujah!
The leading of the Holy Spirit and the joy of giving is motivation, enough. Some of us are blessed to be in a country where we get tax breaks for such giving. That is awesome, too, as it puts us in a position to give even more while still having enough to take care of ourselves. Of course, tax deductions shouldn’t be our only motive. We support a missionary from a country that officially discourages Christianity. There is no official tax-deductible channel to get money to this child of God, but we send it, anyway. The rest of our giving turns out to be tax deductible in our home country, so that is nice for now. We don’t know how much longer this benefit will last, given the trends we see in government.
To count as a tax-deductible gift in this tax year, the gift must be given in this tax year (i.e. dated and postmarked or given digitally before the end of December 31st). Depending on your tax situation, it may be to your advantage to give more before the end of the year. If you can take advantage of the charitable giving tax deduction in the U. S. A., it is best to give to our ministry through World Outreach Ministries. You can give online, or use a good, old-fashioned paper check. If you can’t, you still may give through World Outreach Ministries, or use one of the other options on our partner page for personal gifts (like for birthday presents, etc.).
As you give, please consider the monthly option. Of course, we appreciate all gifts, large and small, one-time, and recurring. The regular monthly gifts are important to cover our regular monthly expenses, while the one-time gifts cover things like major equipment purchases and travel. If you do choose the monthly option, please make sure you update your payment information if your credit or debit card expires/gets replaced or you change checking accounts. This is easier to do if you set up an account on the World Outreach Ministries donation site. (If you don’t, you can call their office for assistance.)
Any questions? Please ask.