question for MNA committee members

[Kevin]

I was wondering if anyone has had experience with preparing a call for a church planter that is a tent-maker?

My question is would you include a salary amount & housing allowance amount, given that the sole source of these funds are to be from tent-making? Or would the call only include those budgeted amounts (non salary)that are to be raised?

thanks

 

[sdesocio]

As a church planter, the terms of call I have include the language which says I need to raise it myself, but its the total package. If you didnt have the total numbers you couldnt receive it from MNA or declare it on your taxes.

 

[Kevin]

yah, that is my case as well. However I have a question about a call for a brother that is to be a tent-maker.

 

[iainduguid]

My call from the ARP Presbytery to be a Mission Developer does not include my income from the college. It simply lists the money that I receive from them. The only situation where I could think of where it should be included would be a medical doctor working at a government hospital overseas as a missionary, where his small salary is paid to the mission and becomes part of his support.

Church planting as a tent maker is both crazy and wonderful: crazy because it means that you are trying to do two full time jobs and so you have to learn to live with severe limitations on what you can do in ministry (especially if you have a family). Wonderful because it enables you to engage in ministry over the long haul in areas where you couldn't become self-supporting in the timescale that many North American mission boards regard as "normal".

 

[sdesocio]

Well I would just assume that he could add something that specifically says that he has a certain percentage of time available for him to tent make, and then just follow our terms for the rest.

 

[Edward]

So BCO 20-6 wouldn't apply because the call is from the Presbytery and not a church, and only 20-1 ("A proper call must be written and in the hands of the Presbytery prior to being acted upon by a Presbytery. It must include financial arrangements (such as salary, vacation, insurance, retirement, etc.) between those calling and the one called,") is in view? Interesting question, and one I hadn't thought of before.

 

[Kevin]

I never thought of it either, until it came up!

Since the brother in question will be self supported for the foreseeable future, what should we put for his salary? It "seems" as if listing his income from his job is not appropriate, but we are not in fact authorising a salary to be paid out of funds raised. Since being paid out of funds raised is the most common form of call for church planters, I am unsure of what to do. I'm waiting for a call back from MNA, but I wondered if anyone else faced this before.

 

[Edward]

Would you post an answer if you get one?

Please don't rely on my guess, but I would think that the terms of the call should recite the compensation, benefits, and commitment of the calling body to the candidate. I'd exclude outside sources of income.

While typing this, I wondered if there are cases where retired men have then gone on to be teaching elders. That might be instructive here. Would the terms of the call include their retirement income (or trust fund, if that applies)? Again, I would think not, but perhaps some presbytery has had occasion to address such circumstances.