Funding
When considering various ministries that approach us for funding, there are three primary factors that will be considered:
1) Person
2) Proximity
3) People
1) The Person - What kind of person is approaching us for funding?
a. Is he/she a person of character as demonstrated by a consistent, Spirit-led walk with God (Eph 5:1-21)?
b. Is he/she a member of our church (our person)? (This does not mean that non-members will not be considered for funding, only that our members will be given priority in funding decisions).
2) The Proximity - Is the proposed ministry going to focus on the Long Beach/Lakewood area? Priority will be given to those ministries directly affecting the Long Beach/Lakewood area as opposed to those focusing on other parts of the greater LA basin.
3) Our People- Will the proposed ministry be a vehicle for our church members to get involved and volunteer?
These factors will be considered equally when making a decision for funding. Proposals that meet all three factors will be given priority. Proposals that meet two will be considered next, while proposals that meet one will be considered last. In addition to this, proposals that include factor #1 (The Person) will always be given more weight in decisions when there are only one or two factors being met. This is because of our commitment to mobilize FBCOL members to take part in God’s mission to the city.
There will also be secondary factors considered in a funding decision.
1) How thorough is the proposed ministry plan? Is it perceived as viable and realistic, with a good chance of effectiveness?
2) Is there a plan for financial self-sufficiency in place, or is the ministry counting on continued support?
3) How will this proposal affect the balance of our ministry focus? For example:
a. Because justice focused ministries and ministries based in the inner-city tend to have less financial resources that ministries located in more affluent neighborhoods, we will strive to maintain a budget that reflects this reality. Practically, this means that we will allocate approximately 65% of our funds to ministries located in financially deprived areas of our city or that are ministering to the people in these areas (this is a guideline, not a hard figure).
b. How does the potential ministry contribute to our overall purpose as reflected in our purpose statement? A ministry that does not contribute to our purpose will not be considered for financial support.
*While we realize that there are many unique situations that may not be covered in this policy, this document is not intended to be exhaustive. It is merely our best attempt to provide some basic guidelines for our team’s funding decisions. What this means is that every prospective ministry or urban missionary will be considered individually according to these guidelines, but that there may be times that the Holy Spirit directs us in a way that doesn’t fully match up with some of these guidelines. This can only be explained by the fact that our ultimate guide is the Spirit of God who gives us wisdom.
1) Person
2) Proximity
3) People
1) The Person - What kind of person is approaching us for funding?
a. Is he/she a person of character as demonstrated by a consistent, Spirit-led walk with God (Eph 5:1-21)?
b. Is he/she a member of our church (our person)? (This does not mean that non-members will not be considered for funding, only that our members will be given priority in funding decisions).
2) The Proximity - Is the proposed ministry going to focus on the Long Beach/Lakewood area? Priority will be given to those ministries directly affecting the Long Beach/Lakewood area as opposed to those focusing on other parts of the greater LA basin.
3) Our People- Will the proposed ministry be a vehicle for our church members to get involved and volunteer?
These factors will be considered equally when making a decision for funding. Proposals that meet all three factors will be given priority. Proposals that meet two will be considered next, while proposals that meet one will be considered last. In addition to this, proposals that include factor #1 (The Person) will always be given more weight in decisions when there are only one or two factors being met. This is because of our commitment to mobilize FBCOL members to take part in God’s mission to the city.
There will also be secondary factors considered in a funding decision.
1) How thorough is the proposed ministry plan? Is it perceived as viable and realistic, with a good chance of effectiveness?
2) Is there a plan for financial self-sufficiency in place, or is the ministry counting on continued support?
3) How will this proposal affect the balance of our ministry focus? For example:
a. Because justice focused ministries and ministries based in the inner-city tend to have less financial resources that ministries located in more affluent neighborhoods, we will strive to maintain a budget that reflects this reality. Practically, this means that we will allocate approximately 65% of our funds to ministries located in financially deprived areas of our city or that are ministering to the people in these areas (this is a guideline, not a hard figure).
b. How does the potential ministry contribute to our overall purpose as reflected in our purpose statement? A ministry that does not contribute to our purpose will not be considered for financial support.
*While we realize that there are many unique situations that may not be covered in this policy, this document is not intended to be exhaustive. It is merely our best attempt to provide some basic guidelines for our team’s funding decisions. What this means is that every prospective ministry or urban missionary will be considered individually according to these guidelines, but that there may be times that the Holy Spirit directs us in a way that doesn’t fully match up with some of these guidelines. This can only be explained by the fact that our ultimate guide is the Spirit of God who gives us wisdom.
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