A blended funding model

Over the past two years, MBMS International has been operating with a blended funding model, which includes both relational and undesignated funding.

Relational funding (also known as designated funding) now constitutes the majority of the MBMS International budget and includes all of our long-term and short-term missionaries and many of our community transformation-focused projects. Under this approach, 93 percent of long-term missionaries have reached full funding. The remaining missionaries continue to be fully funded from undesignated funds for a full term of service until they too are able to reach their full support level.

A new team of nine long-term missionaries to Southern Thailand was able to reach full funding within eight months. The new funding model has allowed for some 30 new long-term mission applicants to be processed for teams this year and an overall increase of 15 percent in giving to global missions through MBMS International this past year.

Undesignated funding has also grown four percent this past year. These funds play a key role in supporting essential facets of global missions. They are often the sole support for partner projects such as those in India (the MB Centenary Bible College, village evangelists, inter-faith outreach), Congo, and Eastern Europe. These undesignated funds also support international joint-appointment missionaries who are sent by other MB conferences like Colombia and Congo. New mission exploration work in locations such as North Africa and North India are made possible by these gifts, as is the work of the North America support staff.

All new missionaries are given four months of salary from these undesignated funds, freeing them up to focus their energy on preparing for their assignments and building their support team. We are very grateful for churches and individuals who continue to support MBMS International with undesignated funds!

The blended funding model facilitates both the stable funding required to maintain the historic commitments that link us to the global Mennonite Brethren family as well as the new funding connected to people and projects our churches support.

An example of these two types of funding working in concert occurred recently when we were made aware of ongoing financial needs for E.D. Solomon, a respected teacher at the MB Centenary Bible College in India. E.D. Solomon’s PhD studies required an additional year beyond our standard 3.5-year financial commitment to scholarship recipients. We were able to contribute $9,000 in additional funding from our undesignated funds while other donors contributed relational funds to meet the full amount required.

This blended approach to funding a strategic initiative of our Indian MB Conference’s Bible College will assist them in strengthening their training of future church leaders and missionaries. The undesignated gifts of our churches have allowed us to maintain consistent funding levels to the college while its leaders continue to develop support from the Indian MB Conference churches and committed supporters in North America.

We are very grateful for the generosity of our churches and countless individuals who faithfully and sometimes sacrificially give to the work of global mission. Whether that giving is relational or undesignated, it continues to define us as a family on a mission!

Randy Friesen is director of Mennonite Brethren Mission and Service International, based in Abbotsford, B.C.