Partnership
Ray Porter’s recent article on Missionary Funding (EN, November 2009) raises important issues.
Alan Purser
But it leaves the reader with more questions than answers. How then should long-term, international cross-cultural gospel work be funded? What is the responsibility of those who set their hearts on doing this kind of work? What is the proper role and function of a mission society, and how ought such organisations to be funded today? What is the biblical model for the relationship between churches and would-be mission partners? Ray’s concerns arise out of his long and distinguished personal experience of global mission and his undoubted passion to see proper provision made. However, a statement like ‘there is no biblical justification for burdening missionaries with fundraising’ frames the argument in a way that does not help any of the parties to grasp the biblical model of gospel partnership, which is an essential piece of the biblical picture.