July 5, 2010

Support budget details

So what does it take for us to live and church plant across Poland? Faith, prayer, and provision through God’s kingdom.

We have practical financial needs which are outlined in the budget below, there are two primary parts the “ministry” budget, and our “personal” budget. Our Polish residency permits require we have an organization “sponsoring” our “financial well being”, so this means having 100% of our financial support. Part of our accountability towards our friends at Foursquare Missions is that we will be good stewards of what God has given us, that we will budget realistically, even more conservative than is probably needed, and that we are transparent with our needs.

The following is a breakdown of all our expenses, with Poland eventually joining the Eurozone and other economic factors this budget is subject to change, we have been conservative in our numbers by buffering the costs of most things by 10%. It may seem like a lot at first glance, and so we made intentional efforts to break things down in reasonable bites, please feel free to ask questions. In the end though it is God’s kingdom and he will provide for what he orders. For those that have already joined our team, your sacrifice and support in helping to expand God’s Kingdom is greatly appreciated!

A quick breakdown of our budget:
Take note of the small blue tabs at the top of the budget document below to see details, and our current (updated monthly and adjusted for currency exchange rates) financial status.

Monthly Personal budget: What we as a family live on, such as groceries, tuition, utilities, etc. This does not include money for ministry costs, such as conferences, travel to different leaders and groups in Poland, training material, books, equipment, etc.

Monthly Ministry budget: These are costs associated with ministry and community immersion, conferences, church planting workshops, camps, on-going Polish language lessons, travel to other leaders and groups in Poland, savings for these kinds of events, benevolence, resources/programs for training and discipleship. This also includes our “ignition” fund which helps start church plants, these funds are only temporary in each location, then we move these funds to new plants as they become sustainable.

Why do we aim for 120% of our monthly budget?: This helps offset a number of “unforeseen” items, like currency exchange rate changes, emergencies, cost of living changes, and donation drops/changes. If you wish to donate monthly, but can’t start giving yet, you can pledge now and start later. The 20% margin (which is kept in reserves and not sent to us until needed) allows us to continue the work and minister when our donations fluctuate or other economic issues arise.

Deployment budget: Everything we needed to deploy to Poland, residency permits, 3 months of budget reserves, savings, emergency costs, etc. – Thanks for making it happen!