This week we got some not-such-great news in an email memo from our ReachGlobal Europe Division Business Manager. He informed us that our individual ministry account has dropped below the required family minimum. He indicated that we need to cease submitting expenses and take the initiative to decrease our salary as required.
In fact, we’re aware of our status and reality hasn’t changed that much just because we got the memo. So the news was not a real shocker. On the other hand, we’ve hit an unpleasant milestone that calls for some action on our part when we’re already operating pretty lean. For one thing, we haven’t been submitting any expenses to the mission since early 2006 (school related expenses are covered by a scholarship). Plus, I’m not sure we can cut our salary further.
The real rub is not our current financial status, though; it’s our preparedness for a return to Slovakia in 2010. In order to return we need a significant increase in our support level. There are quite a few reasons for that. Here are two. First, a significant level of salary (rent) has been covered by scholarships that we will no longer be receiving. Second, we will have a dramatic increase in our expenses since we have none in our current support schedule.
This is definitely going to be the greatest ministry development challenge that we have faced. In each of our previous experiences we have seen God provide in tangible ways. In fact, when I look down the list of the four churches that support us, each of those churches initiated contact with us (by God’s providence). The same is true of the individuals that support us. So we trust that God is going to provide the finances we need for this stage as well.
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