11 >> "Can I really live on a missionary's salary?"

This depends on your definition of living. Will you be able to drive a Hummer to campus? No. However, living on a moderate salary does not mean you'll have to pander for recyclables and bathe at the YMCA. In most Christian organizations your income will allow you a sufficient amount to give cheerfully to the Lord's work (2 Corinthians 9:8), as well as adequately meet your daily needs, educate your children, and provide for your retirement.

Almost 67 percent of the more than 420 North American Protestant mission organizations require their staff members to develop their own financial support. That's more than 67,000 people depending on vocational ministry salaries. In Campus Crusade for Christ, for example, each staff member's salary is evaluated annually in light of the Consumer Price Index and, if necessary, adjusted to the rising cost of living.

In addition to salaries, a number of other expenses may be covered through reimbursements (insurance and ministry expenses). Plus a group insurance plan provides staff members with full health coverage for personal injuries and sickness; and a life insurance and pension program is designed to meet individual needs and give families a reasonable level of security. It is the philosophy of Campus Crusade in financial matters that a staff member should be free to minister without undue financial pressures.

The steps of good men are directed by the Lord. He delights in each step they take. If they fall it isn't fatal, for the Lord holds them with His hand. I have been young and now I am old. And in all my years l have never seen the Lord forsake a man who loves him, nor have I seen the children of the godly go hungry. Instead, the godly are able to be generous with their gifts and loans to others, and their children are a blessing (Psalm 37:23-26, Living Bible).

 

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