Pray for EBM Missionaries

[John of Japan]

Evangelical Baptist Missions has had to close its doors because of a catastrophic financial failure. Please pray for their 90 missionary couples, who have lost an average of $20,000 apiece and now have to immediately find a new sending agency.

Link: http://baptistbulletin.org/?p=18018

 

[Tom Bryant]

John,
That is very sad. Did this effect you?

Will these missionaries have to come home quickly to recover the lost support from various churches?

This economy is hurting everyone.

 

[John of Japan]

John,
That is very sad. Did this effect you?

It doesn't affect us directly.

Will these missionaries have to come home quickly to recover the lost support from various churches?

This economy is hurting everyone.

One missionary couple here in Japan we know has been accepted by our board on a provisional basis after a conference call. They will have to go before the board in person within three years. They may lose some support, depending on their constituency.

I'm sure some missionaries will lose enough support (depending on what board they now join) that they will have to take an early furlough. Problem: such missionaries now have no furlough fund, since it was at an account at EBM. They are caught between a rock and a hard place, needing a furlough but not being able to afford it. And that includes missionaries who were due a furlough anyway. So sad and difficult.

 

[Salty]

John

What would you suggest as a policy so that a missionary / mission board never again end up between a rock and a hard place?

 

[John of Japan]

John

What would you suggest as a policy so that a missionary / mission board never again end up between a rock and a hard place?

Financial transparency is absolutely imperative. This is where EBM got in trouble. They haven't had an audit in three years according to one article. And even before then they were having trouble it was said.

Another place they got in trouble was in building up the home office far too much. They built a huge building they didn't need, then couldn't maintain it. Again, they have the same number of staff in the home office as my board, BWM, but we are much larger.

As to what a missionary should do, that's harder. We have to trust the home office to a large degree. But apparently some missionaries spotted problems at EBM during the years and changed boards, because I'm told they used to have many more than the 90 couples they had at the end.

 

[Mexdeaf]

Oh, wow- I can imagine how they must feel. God is greater than their circumstances. I'll be praying!

 

[abcgrad94]

Yes, our church supported some missionaries who were very unhappy a few years ago and changed organizations.

We are unable to get on EBM's web site and some acquaintances we know who worked there are unavailable for some reason. That troubles me.

 

[Mexdeaf]

ABCgrad,

If you read the letters that are attached to the PO they mentioned that the website would be going down when the EBM offices closed. There are other e-mail addresses listed to contact the board members for info.

A very sad situation, indeed.

 

[abcgrad94]

Thanks, I found it. It did ease my mind to know no criminal activity is suspected, just plain mismanagement. Not that it changes the missionaries' needs in any way, but at least there's no one getting arrested for embezzlement. I was thinking for worst there for a minute! Glad to see other churches/boards are stepping up to the plate to help out financially.

 

[milby]

Evangelical Baptist Missions has had to close its doors because of a catastrophic financial failure. Please pray for their 90 missionary couples, who have lost an average of $20,000 apiece and now have to immediately find a new sending agency.

Link: http://baptistbulletin.org/?p=18018

This is exactly why I have decided to support Gospel For Asia missionaries. 100% of the money goes to support them in the field.

$20,000 will support TEN GFA missionaries in the field for ONE YEAR! $20,000 X 90 western missionaries (and this is just what they lost, not what it actually costs to send them right?) = 1.8 Million dollars which would support 900 GFA missionaries.

 

[Salty]

This is exactly why I have decided to support Gospel For Asia missionaries. 100% of the money goes to support them in the field.

$20,000 will support TEN GFA missionaries in the field for ONE YEAR! $20,000 X 90 western missionaries (and this is just what they lost, not what it actually costs to send them right?) = 1.8 Million dollars which would support 900 GFA missionaries.

I was in a church with a missionary from Galilean Baptist Missions. Their policy was that the missionary recd 100% of all designated offerings sent to him. However, the church that he pastored would agree to support the mission board with 10% of undesignated offerings. (since our church did not have to pay the pastors salary - it was not a burden).

Later Galilean Baptist merged with Fellowship of Baptists for Home Missions in 1982 and renamed Baptist Mission of North America. The new board utilized the policy of deducting a % from the missionary.
I prefer the way GBM did it.

 

[John of Japan]

This is exactly why I have decided to support Gospel For Asia missionaries. 100% of the money goes to support them in the field.

$20,000 will support TEN GFA missionaries in the field for ONE YEAR! $20,000 X 90 western missionaries (and this is just what they lost, not what it actually costs to send them right?) = 1.8 Million dollars which would support 900 GFA missionaries.

Sorry, this has nothing to do with the OP. In fact, a few years ago a similar organization to GFA had a similar problem to EBM. Financial mismanagement can happen in any missions organization with any philosophy.

 

[Mexdeaf]

Sorry, this has nothing to do with the OP. In fact, a few years ago a similar organization to GFA had a similar problem to EBM. Financial mismanagement can happen in any missions organization with any philosophy.

[hijack]NTM, the ability to support national "missionaries" does not negate obedience to the command to send missionaries from our own churches, even if the cost is supposedly higher.[/hijack]