Why CBF’s New Funding Model Matters

Why does CBF’s new funding model matter?

Well, one reason among many is that my wife and I are victims of the old model. That may sound harsh to put it that way, but here is our story and this is why the new model matters.

From the beginning of our marriage my wife and I felt called to mission work. Once I completed seminary we were ready to serve others in Christ’s love, to live as Jesus would have us to. It just happened that this took place at a time when the resources necessary to be commissioned as fully-funded field personnel did not exist.

At the time we were grateful for CBF making a way for us to be field personnel, to live and serve in Arica, Chile.  We were (and are) grateful for the connections we were able to make within CBF churches as we fundraised. We knew that fundraising would be hard, but we were ready for it.

Not long into our time on the field, my wife became pregnant with our first son. It was a time of excitement as we served and as we prepared for our son. That eagerness soon turned to sorrow. One week before he was full term, our son died. He was still-born in Chile.

Our world fell apart.

CBF was wonderful in helping us repatriate our son’s body, and they took care of us in our grief and heartache, aligning us with counselors to help us process our loss (something we are still doing to this day). The one thing that wasn’t taken care of was funding.

Who can fundraise while they’re burying and grieving their son?

We spent three months in the United States attempting to recover from our loss. While one never recovers from such pain, we decided it was time to go back on the field. In Chile, we entered the house that would have been a home for our son. We travelled the same streets, and saw the same faces who, at last sighting, were ministering to us. Then we tried to get back to the work we knew and loved. We weren’t there long, though, until we got the news that we were on probation; we no longer had 3 months’ worth of cash in the bank.

Again, who can fundraise while you’re mourning?

It isn’t the only reason we’re no longer on the field, but it is a big one. The tragedy of losing our son led directly to the crisis of wondering how our bills would be paid.

The attrition rate for CBF during this time of partner funded missionaries was/is high, as could be expected. Each of those numbers, though, have a story; it’s not simply a statistic. This is our story.

For that reason I’m thankful that CBF is trying to find new ways to be faithful to God’s call, while also taking care of the field personnel they commission and send around the world. I hope and pray that no one ever suffers the pain that my wife and I did while on the field, and hopefully this new model will make sure that even if they do, raising their salary will not be another concern to deal with at that time.

For the faithfulness to the mission of God, and for the health of those we send, I pray this new model serves us well, and I believe it can, if we commit ourselves to it.