Integrity, Viability, and Accountability Perhaps there is no greater challenge in missions than money. Paul reminds us, “For we are taking pains to do what is right, not only in the eyes of the Lord but also in the eyes of man” (2 Cor. 8:21). Money sufficient to assure the viability of one’s life work carries with it an insidious ethical virus that can easily infect the integrity and accountability of its stewards. The Realities of Money & Missions provides a unique level of credibility and transparency as it calls for evangelicals to reevaluate their relationship with money, both personally and corporately. Global case studies, workshops, and testimonials cover a broad range of topics such as: Misalignment between fiscal theology and practice Environmental stewardship, community development, and business as mission Mobilization, fundraising practices, and “faith financing” Short-term missions, patronage, and dependency Power dynamics and structural injustice The Realities of Money & Missions was not written by experts in the fields of investment, money management, or fundraising, but by men and women whose calling as missionaries, pastors, and administrators has brought them face-to-face with the complex, real-life issues involving the intersection of money and ministry. Read on and be challenged to change

Mission and Money goes beyond the common focus on elite universities and examines the entire higher education industry, including the rapidly growing for-profit schools. The sector includes research universities, four-year colleges, two-year schools, and non-degree-granting career academies. Many institutions pursue mission-related activities that are often unprofitable and engage in profitable revenue raising activities to finance them. This book contains a good deal of original research on schools' revenue sources from tuition, donations, research, patents, endowments, and other activities. It considers lobbying, distance education, and the world market, as well as advertising, branding, and reputation. The pursuit of revenue, while essential to achieve the mission of higher learning, is sometimes in conflict with that mission itself. The tension between mission and money is also highlighted in the chapter on the profitability of intercollegiate athletics. The concluding chapter investigates implications of the analysis for public policy.

Build high-trust ministry partnerships that are effective and joy-filled We’ve all seen fundraising and giving done poorly, but how do we get it right? Rob Martin was a grant maker for over twenty years and has been in and around the world of funding for a long time. He shares all that he’s learned about fundraising and giving in today’s world, the do’s and don’t, and how it can be a mutual blessing to all parties involved. He will teach you: how the paradigm of giving is changing in the 21st century how to craft a vision that donors will hear and appreciate how to build strong, successful relationships between donors and fundraisers This is an essential read for any Christian who gives or receives money. Ministry partnerships can be robust relationships that bring immense joy and remind us of our unity in Christ; this book will show you how.

We're In This Together. In Sacred Siblings: Valuing One Another for the Great Commission we learn about how teams come together with varying expectations of what team life should be. The authors offer ideas and positive practices of valuing one another based on a survey from 289 missionaries, representing 12 mission agencies. These practices not only build unity and understanding of each other, but enable greater effectiveness in ministry. Read this and have your agency make moves to be better prepared for the increasingly single next generation of field workers and take action for team effectiveness now. This book: Highlights 16 differences between the perspectives of married and single people. Offers helpful tools to address the challenges and enhance strengths. Asks applicational questions that would initiate dialogue among invested parties. Addresses the necessity of releasing physical family members to follow God’s leading. Points out differences in organizational policies and practices based upon marital status.

This revised edition of Missions and Money offers new reflections in the light of a changed situation in Christian missionary circles. Bonk offers new reflections in the lights of a changed situation, now marked by increases in the number of short-term missioners and increases in the numbers of Asians, Africans, and Latin Americans leaving their homelands to serves as missionaries to other people. The conversation on the ambiguity of wealth and Christian missionary outreach is deepened with essays by Christopher J.H. Wright on the righteous rich in the Hebrew Bible and by Justo Gonzalez on faith and wealth in the Christian Bible and the early church. Book jacket.

A former Special Forces soldier—and presidential bodyguard—shares heart-stopping stories of his time as a private military contractor in Iraq. “I remember the cracking sound of the AK-47 bullets as they tore through our windscreen . . . A piece of bullet struck my bulletproof vest in the chest area and another piece broke off and lodged in my left forearm.” Johan Raath and a security team were ambushed in May 2004 while on a mission to reconnoiter a power plant south of Baghdad for an American firm. He had been in the country for only two weeks. This was a taste of what was to come over the next few years as he worked as a private military contractor (PMC) in Iraq. His mission? Not to wage war, but to protect lives. Raath and his team provided security for engineers working on reconstruction projects in Iraq. Whether in the notorious Triangle of Death, in the deadly area around Ramadi, or in the faction-ridden Basra, Raath had numerous hair-raising experiences. Key to his survival was his training as a Special Forces operator, or Recce. This riveting account offers a rare glimpse into the world of private military contractors and the realities of everyday life in one of the world’s most violent conflict zones.

The explosive growth and rapid expansion of the Hispanic population is transforming the social, economic, and religious panorama of America. Hispanic Americans are now the largest minority group in America and are projected to comprise one fourth of the American population by the year 2050. According to the latest Census Bureau report, "the U.S. Hispanic population passed the 42 million mark and accounted for half of the growth of the US population since 2000, indicating that the nation's largest minority group is increasing its presence even faster than in the previous decade." This book analyzes these realities and explores their implications for leading Hispanics to a personal experience of salvation in Jesus Christ, establishing biblically sound, culturally relevant, reproducing congregations among them, enabling these congregations to experience healthy growth and meaningful ministry in their communities, and encouraging them to participate in the implementation of the Great Commission by sending Hispanic missionaries to highly strategic parts of the world