Our “Self-Sustaining” ministry focuses on empowering the national pastors, and lay ministry leaders to become more self-sufficient, helping them to work towards financial independence. The main objective is to allow them to spend more time focusing on their ministry calling: spreading the Gospel, discipling new converts, and growing their local congregations, without the distractions and stress of financial instability. This is accomplished through training and walking with them through our five-step program. The five steps of our program are: identifying revenue generating opportunities, developing a thorough plan, securing the funding necessary for the project, implementing the plan, and monitoring the successfulness and effectiveness of the project.
Let’s dive deeper into each of the steps.
Identifying revenue-generating opportunities: This first step is crucial in establishing a sustainable ministry. It involves brainstorming and identifying ways to generate revenue that are feasible and aligns with their interest and abilities. This could be anything from small-scale farming, creating and selling handcrafted goods, opening a small store front, operating a Taxi or Tuk Tuk service, to even starting a small cooperative community business. The objective here is not only to fund the ministry’s operations, but also to provide economic benefits to their local community, which in turn allows them to build grow and build new relationships.
Developing a thorough plan: Once a suitable revenue-generating opportunity has been identified, the next step is to devise a comprehensive business or project plan to bring this opportunity to fruition. This plan would include details such as: required resources, personnel needs, timeframes, estimated costs, and projected income. This plan should also include outline strategies for overcoming potential challenges and risks, any additional training needed, as well as plans for growth in the future. This step is also essential for setting clear, achievable goals, and for keeping the project organized and on track.
Securing the necessary funding: This step emphasizes a shared responsibility in funding the project. The goal here is to gather enough capital to launch and maintain the project until it becomes self-sustaining. While many times external financial support is required to fund the project through donations, or even with low interest loans, it is equally important to have “buy in” by the national pastor, lay ministry leader, or even the community itself. When they contribute their own resources, whether in the form of funds, labor, or materials, they become co-investors in the project. This sense of ownership not only fosters a sense of responsibility and commitment but also significantly improves the project’s chance of success in becoming self-sufficient. Additionally, it cultivates a spirit of self-reliance and empowerment, which in turn reinforces the idea that the project is not just external aid, but it is about working together with a focused effort on establishing a self-sustaining ministry.
Implementing the plan: With funding secured, we along with the pastors and lay leaders now shift our focus to execution. During this step our anticipation and hope begin to take shape, and the first solid steps on the road to self-sufficiency become visible. Throughout this step we stand by them, assisting them, and encouraging them during this process. Depending on the nature of the revenue-generating opportunity, this step might involve purchasing equipment or resources, hiring and training personnel, or even launching a simple marketing campaign for community awareness. Successful implementation requires good communication and attention to details to ensure that the plan is executed correctly, efficiently, and within the projected budget.
Monitoring the success and effectiveness of the project: The final step involves ongoing monitoring of the project for at least one year. By tracking the project’s progress and measuring its success as well as reviewing simple financial reports we can help the pastors and lay leaders refine their strategies and make any needed adjustments if deemed to be necessary. This can involve setting up regularly scheduled meetings, reviewing the reports with them and providing additional training as needed during this step. In our opinion this is a crucial part of ensuring the successful implementation of a self-sustaining project.
Our “Self-Sustaining” ministry not only provides the support needed for these pastors and lay leaders to start revenue-generating projects but also equips them with the knowledge and skills in order to maintain and grow these projects in the future. In this way, the ministry fosters long-term, sustainable growth that strengthens both the leaders’ economic situation and their ministry.