As members of The Sanctuary prepare to vote on the proposed budget on Sunday, many people in our church body will notice we are increasing our spending in the area of missions.
We wanted to explain why the missions budget is so important to our church leadership and where that money goes.
“The church was established under the assumption of valuing missions, both local and international,” explained Linda Smith, one of the leaders of the Missions Team.
The Sanctuary financially supports five groups through the missions budget — three families and two organizations. Instead of supporting a large number of missionaries, the church has chosen to give a greater amount of money to fewer missionaries. We also intend to support the same families/organizations for a long period of time so those groups know they can count on our support year after year.
The church also tries to increase the missions budget by 1 percent each year, allowing us to give our missionaries a “raise.” In a time when many missionaries and not-for-profit organizations are struggling financially, we are thankful we can increase our giving, rather than make cuts.
If members approve the proposed budget for the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1, the church would allocate about $42,000 toward missions. The Missions Team earmarks 80 percent of that amount, about $30,000, toward our five missions groups.
We support three international missionaries: Karen Hibberd Crebs with Campus Crusade for Christ, and two other families who are doing work in closed countries. We also support two local organizations: Bolingbrook Christian Health Center and the Pregnancy Resource Center.
The remainder of the budget goes to support short-term missions trips, such as the Good Works trip; and one-time gifts to help missionaries who have unexpected medical or travel expenses. At times, we also have supported disaster relief efforts or given end-of-year gifts to our missionaries.
If members approve the new budget, each of the groups we support would get an increase of at least $50 a month.
If you have questions about the missions budget, please contact Randy and Linda Smith, directors of our Missions Team.
