An Upbeat Take on a Downward Economy

If you’ve ever had the pleasure of talking to Allen and Trish, you know that they have very different personalities. Even so, they share some important qualities. They are both incredibly upbeat and positive when discussing issues that might cause other people to throw their arms in the air and say, “I give up!” Allen and Trish are not giver uppers even when circumstances seem a little grim. Today’s post is Allen and Trish’s upbeat take on a downward economy.

Unless you’ve been living in an underground bunker, you’ve probably noticed that the price of just about everything has been going up. Hey, it happens. And when it happens, we all adjust our finances accordingly. The simplistic advice of the financial advisors from a few decades ago would tell us that this is the time to cut out some luxuries. No lattes for you! But what if you have already been living a completely latte-less existence? What happens then? Well, you find other, non-latte-related areas to trim. You turn down your thermostat. You cancel cable. And, sometimes that means that people trim their charitable contributions. 

This is where Allen and Trish’s upbeat and positive outlooks come in especially handy. Your costs are going up. Their costs are going up. Donors have less money to give. Sowers4Pastors receives less money. It’s like a one-two punch. Meanwhile, an economic downturn means that more people are turning to Sowers4Pastors for help, so they are hit in yet another way. Then it's like a one-two-three punch!

The challenge for Sowers4Pastors is how to survive this time without closing down or reducing programs. At the same time, they are committed to keeping the cost of sponsorship the same for as long as possible. Remember that they are not giver uppers! Instead, they are looking at this as an opportunity for our amazing God to do some amazing God stuff. Trish pointed out that they are not down in the dumps.

Trish said, “We’ve been through economic downturns with the economy and personally. We experienced this when we first came to the mission field with five kids. It doesn’t daunt us because we have a lot of experience with trusting God to provide during times like these.” 

With already being very frugal, there aren’t obvious places for Sowers4Pastors to trim their budget. They have worked hard to watch their overhead and raise their own support to live on the mission field. Allen has done a lot of “tent making” over the years, meaning that he has picked up jobs to add to the family finances. Cutting out lattes, lowering the thermostat, and canceling cable aren’t options for them because they don’t have lattes, a thermostat, or cable. If you’re already extremely frugal people, it’s just hard to find ways to become more frugal!

Where the ministry is concerned, they already put every donation dollar to work. There is no wiggle room in the cost of sponsorships. They don’t make a profit from visiting teams. The money from the teams goes directly to the cost of supplies, hotel rooms, food, and additional transportation costs.

Allen and Trish are praying for wisdom that God will reveal places where they haven’t trimmed the budget as fully as they might, and they ask that you join them in this prayer. If there is the need to reduce an area of ministry, they are praying for specific direction. They are facing the challenge head-on and would like to thank you for your continued prayer and financial support during these extremely challenging times.

- posted by Christi