"But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him" (Hebrews 11:6)

"... But having hope, when your faith is increased, that we shall be enlarged by you according to our rule abundantly" (2Cor 10:15b).

The Faith Promise Method of supporting world missions has been greatly used of God to put a maximum number of missionaries on the field in a minimum period of time. When rightly planned, presented, and practiced, it has proven to be one of the most productive methods for mission giving in local churches, whether small or large. Experience has proven that when the Faith Promise method is properly used, the tithes and offerings of local churches, as well as their mission giving, increases!

The Faith Promise Method for giving to missions is God giving His money through your hands. It is not you giving your money. God will give through you what he will not give to you! It is God Who does the giving. He simply uses believers as vessels or as pipelines to place His money where He desires it to be used.

Your part in the Faith Promise Method for supporting missionaries is to:

(1) Have an honest, heartfelt desire and be willing to be used by God.

(2) Pray and ask God to lead you and to impress upon your hearts the amount which He desires to give through you.

(3) By faith, begin to give that amount each week to the Faith Promise program in your local church.

2 Cor 8:12 states: "For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not".

God knows if you do not have the amount available. If you do not, He will surely provide it beforehand. If you do have the amount available, even though you could not normally afford to give it, He may want you to give the amount and trust Him to provide it afterwards.

According to Luke 6:38, this is the New Testament way of faith promise giving. Also, Hebrews 11:1 says: "Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."

(1) The money which you give by the Faith Promise method is not your tithe. Your tithe is given to your local church. It is not to be sent to a radio or TV preacher, nor a school, not an evangelist, nor a missionary, nor any other place. "The tithe is the Lord's" (Leviticus 27:30). You cannot designate money which belongs to another person. The same principle holds true in Faith Promise giving. There is nothing wrong with someone sending a special offering to an individual missionary of organization. However, such gifts must be above one's tithe and the faith promise commitment made. The faith promise amount is to be given to the local church for the support of its missionaries. The faith promise offering cannot be given "through the local church" and then designated to a particular missionary of project.

(2) The Faith Promise method of giving is not a pledge. A pledge is a commitment which you make to your church. It is generally made by signing and turning in a card. Pledges are usually for some special project such as erecting a building or purchasing new equipment. A pledge is collectable! The church has every right to individually contact those who have made a pledge and request payment when said project is complete.

(3) The Faith Promise method of giving is not you doing what you are able to do! You should do what you can in the way of tithes and offerings. Faith Promise is God doing in and through you, that which you, humanly speaking, cannot do!

(4) The Faith Promise Method is not necessarily a plan to replace what a church is already doing. It is a means to enlarge and expand the outreach of the church.

During our Mission conference we will be handing out a faith promise card. As your pastor, I ask you to participate in our Faith Promise effort to further spread the Gospel. When I first encountered Faith Promise I promised only $5 a week. I was absolutely amazed at the way God provided every dollar, every week. Bev and I have doubled our Faith Promise gift over and over in the past 10 years. Our kids have all given testimony of God's promises and goodness because of Faith Promise. As best I can I want to challenge you to test God on this promise.