Equipping Students to Minister Now
| What is Minister Now? | Benevolence | Leadership |
| Keep them in the ministry in the short term so they can remain in the ministry for the long term. | Inspire future ministry leaders to take bold steps now based on how God is leading them. |
| What can you do? | Support Provide direct contributions to this short-term benevolence fund. $500 provides substantive help to one student family per month. | Pray That mentors continue to sharpen students in pursuit of their calling. That students step forward and grow in their leadership now. |
Benevolence:
How do we keep student partners in the ministry for the long term?
Our “north star” is to enable future ministry leaders to stay in the ministry for the long term. If they can’t stay in the ministry during this season of uncertainty, it becomes much less likely that they’ll be in the ministry in the long term.
Several of our student partners are international students who can only work on campus. Those jobs have been suspended. Here is a snapshot of a student partners’ budget before and after COVID.
Actual Monthly BudgetInternational Student, Family of Three
| Pre COVID | Post COVID | |
| Income | $2,800 | $0 |
| Rent | 1,242 | 1,242 |
| Food | 200 | 200 |
| Transportation | 150 | 150 |
| Insurance | 148 | 148 |
| Other/Medical | 208 | 658 |
| Total Expenses | 1,948 | 2,155 |
| Surplus/(Loss) | 852 | (2,038) |
Every year, we reserve a fund for the benevolence needs of our student partners. This year, that amount is $5,000. Providentially, we received an additional $4,600 before we told anyone about this. God is good!
We invite you, our 222 family, to participate directly in this fund.
Benevolence Fund Donation
Leadership Development
How do we inspire student partners to make this a character-building chapter?
Finally, it’s during troubled times such as these that leaders are tested, shaped and emerge with:
- Greater depth
- Greater compassion
- Greater experience
- Greater skill
- Greater dependence upon the Lord
10, 20, 40 years from now, 222 student partners will look back at this season as an important chapter in their ministry. We pray it’s one they look back upon not with regret, but with gratitude for how they persevered and grew.
In response to the challenge, our mentors have graciously stepped up their game to meet with and encourage their student partners. Most have increased the frequency of their meetings to once per week, texting daily and participating in group zoom calls.