The end of the year is upon us, and I'm getting emails and letters from ministries reminding me to give. It makes me wonder if I should be writing a similar email. What do you think?
You probably know our ministry is supported financially by ministry partners. Our ministry includes partners who are family, friends, coworkers, and four sending fellowships. We enjoy these partnerships not just because of the ministry we get done together, but because we love the relationships with all of you. Thank you one and all!
We've just completed another year of ministry. We especially thank those of you who have partnered with us in our ministry! Ministry has been our primary focus since at least 1990. In these 20 years we have almost entirely forgone for-profit contracts and work in order to focus on international ministry. This is way cool from our perspective and we are grateful. We have not gone hungry either!
What about 2010? We all know this has been a hard year economically. For us, it's also included a transition--we've just returned to Colorado for a global member care ministry after almost 15 years in Taiwan.
Bottom line: Our ministry accounts dropped about $11,909 in 2010.
We still have some reserves, but over the last year that's been dropping $992 every month. The ministry we left behind in Taiwan, the Center for Counseling and Growth, is also wondering how they will make up the shortfall created in part by our departure, including a financial shortfall I just heard the acting director estimate at about $1000 per month also.
Indirectly we are also supported by our sponsoring non-profit, TEAM. While our ministry partnership contributes administrative monies each month toward infrastructure expenses, TEAM raises and spends more. Last year we were looking at a large deficit in TEAM's current funding for international administration, leadership, and public relations. Someone suggested if each ministry partner involved with TEAM personnel gave an extra $100 we could make up that shortfall. This morphed into the "everyone one hundred" public relations campaign. We designated an extra $4000 from our ministry funds to TEAM's international administration on behalf of the 40 regular ministry partners in our ministry. What do you think, should we do that again?
As you might guess, TEAM's focus is not just on funding, but also on intercession and information. This year the "everyone one hundred" is also being linked to the "one hundred days" in 2011 before Easter. Laura and I will be tracking with this and we invite you to join us if you're interested.
We also want to invite you to partner directly with our ministry. The most direct way to partner with us financially is to give a gift to TEAM with a note asking them to apply it to "the ministry of Steve Spinella." You can do this by phone, online, or by mail, by check, credit card, or various other ways. If you want, you can send a note to us telling us or we can just find out when TEAM processes your contribution. One note: TEAM does not bill anyone and neither do we. If you stop giving or lose your last receipt and reply form, you can restart whenever you want or even call up TEAM and ask for another form, but we want to leave the initiative with you in how, when, and if you decide to give. We invite and welcome your partnership, but we also believe you are the one to best decide what part in ministry everywhere and anywhere you want to take.
We're having a great time with our kids and also Laura's parents. We expect to say goodbye to Joey and Robby Saturday, 1/1, and to Sarah Tuesday, 1/4. We're still praying about living arrangements going forward in the new year, but for now we are once again with Laura's parents, Bob and Martha Ramage. Let me take this chance to also especially thank Bob and Martha and also Sarah, Joey, and Robby for the unique contributions and sacrifices they each make for our continued ministry!
With love from the mountainside, Steve and Laura
PS How to participate in the Everyone One Hundred campaign:
Signing up is easy! Just go online at www.TEAMeveryone.org and fill out the form. Or, if you prefer, send an email with your contact info to helpnow@teamworld.org and ask to sign up. You can ask TEAM anything else you want at that same address!
PPS Well, there's our letter! What did you think of it?
9685 Otero Ave, Colorado Springs, CO 80920, 719.528.1702, cell 719.355.4809
TEAM, PO Box 969, Wheaton, IL 60187, 800 343-3144
<spinella@alumni.rice.edu> <lauraspinella@alumni.rice.edu>
TEAM, PO Box 969, Wheaton, IL 60187, 800 343-3144
<spinella@alumni.rice.edu> <lauraspinella@alumni.rice.edu>
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