When was the last time you got an allowance? If you're an international ministry worker, hopefully it was this month! While there was a time when I got an allowance quarterly, with the more rapid flow of finances around the world and my advanced age, that is like talking about WW2. (Yes, that's World War 2, the one fought in the mid-20th century.) Anyway, most ministry workers don't talk about money in much detail, and some not at all, so I thought some of you might be curious about how it all works. (If that's not you, just skip to the bottom or move on!)
Basically, all the years I've been in intl ministry I've gotten an allowance. This allowance is based on someone's estimate of what I need, not what I deserve. As one friend put it, after he got his doctorate it would have been nice if he had at least gotten a dollar more in his allowance! When I started in my 20s, I only raised $600 a month--and that amount seemed huge to me. I think $120/mo was my living allowance and the rest was for expenses, like travel, administration, public relations, and so forth. Of course, $120 in 1978 would be $478 today, so you don't have to feel quite so bad for me ;-).
Through the years I've gotten cost of living increases, etc., but the biggest change was when our kids left home--when they hit college, our family size changed and our income dropped big-time!* These days, husbands and wives are treated a little differently, but many workers, like us, treat the wife as a volunteer and only take one full-time equivalent anyway.** Of course, every organization has their own policies and scales, but I think you get the drift. And if you're in ministry and want to write back, I'd love to hear how it is for you. There is no "glassdoor" I know of for people like us. (Fellow boomers, glassdoor.com is a website where you can compare your compensation to others in similar positions.)
Did I mention that we only get that allowance if the funds are available in our ministry accounts? Every organization is slightly different, but generally each single or family is responsible for their own fundraising, and the org gets a % toward administrative expenses as the money comes in. Of course, each org tries to keep that amount as low as possible also, but sometimes that means they're also doing direct fundraising to our same donors, but using the money that comes in for general purposes or other projects.
Why do we do this? The bottom line is that we're passionate about maximizing ministry, most of us don't want to spend any more time raising funds than necessary, and we also want to maximize the number of people deployed as God's ambassadors. Think of it this way: We'd rather have another coworker than a bigger allowance.
In the one who keeps us, with love, Steve and Laura
Some notes:
-COVID-19 marches on. For us that means we're still avoiding travel, meeting people outside and virtually, wearing masks when we go places. Many, if not all, of our ministry colleagues face disruptions in travel, ministry, and strategy.
-Because we aren't travelling, we've enjoyed the Colorado fall colors this week. You can see some of our pictures here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/p2q7HLdJLMaA9kx16
-I must be getting old to write an email update like this! Talk to your other ministry friends--some of them may be glad you were interested! Don't be surprised if others are slightly embarrassed. Money stirs up many emotions.
-I'm not writing this because we're short on funds. We greatly appreciate our ministry partners, but as we're "approaching" our senior years we are not actively seeking new funding partners. (See that last paragraph!)
-In our international ministry career, we've been sponsored workers with three non-profits: TEAM.org, MTI.org, and now Paraclete.net. We have served contentedly with each of these and recommend them to others.
*Our kids got great financial aid. Thank you, Rice University, but that's a different topic.
**Right now, we take 35% of one full-time equivalent, which means we need to raise less money!
Steve and Laura Spinella
US: 1930 Springcrest Rd, CO Springs 80920
mail: 9685 Otero Ave, Colorado Springs, CO 80920
Steve cell 719.355.4809, Laura cell 832.755.4261
<spinella@alumni.rice.edu> <lauraspinella@gmail.com>
<spinella@alumni.rice.edu> <lauraspinella@gmail.com>
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