Faith
Reigniting Church Budgets for Global Missions
Faith Facts
- The majority of churches in America dedicate around 10% of their budget to missions work.
- Some faithful congregations have reached or surpassed the 50% benchmark for mission-focused giving.
- Over half of the world’s population remains unreached by the message of Jesus Christ.
Early followers of Jesus boldly proclaimed His works, setting a high standard for modern churches to fulfill the Great Commission. Today, the call to share the Gospel worldwide still stands as a charge for believers to embrace wholeheartedly.
“Now the crowd that was with him [Jesus] when he called Lazarus from the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to spread the word…So the Pharisees said to one another, ‘See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after him [Jesus]!’” (John 12: 17-19; NIV)
Recent decades have seen a decline in Christian affiliation in America, making intentional missions giving even more critical. Many churches are called to move beyond comfort and make missional giving a visible priority.
“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” (Matt. 28:19-20; NIV)
While typical congregations allocate only a fraction of resources to missions, testimonies from both church leaders and missions directors show that dedicating 50% is possible and spiritually fruitful. Fulfilling the biblical mandate requires faith, generosity, and accountability to serve both near and far.
“Of every dollar given to a [US] Protestant church, the average amount that goes to overseas missions is two cents… In contrast, of every dollar Antioch Presbyterian Church in Chonju, Korea, takes in, 70 cents goes to missions…”
May churches across America rediscover their missional purpose, using their blessings to reach the unreached and testify to the mighty works of God in every nation. Let us strive toward budgets that reflect hearts on fire for the Gospel, to the glory of Christ.