In case you haven't already noticed, this website is a little different
than most, and this page will be no different.
I was listening to a Christian program one night and heard the man who
was speaking, list several things that were going to take place for several of us listeners.
He said that God would give us a strategy on how to order our ministry
and how to build the finances we needed, to do what God was calling us to do, He would give us a financial plan, we would
be debt free, God would reveal to us the hinderances to doing what He had called us to do and that His annointing and
glory would be on everything we touch.
This seems to be what quite a few preachers are saying these days, so
it seemed to be a valid question to ask of God.
His answer was pretty simple, uncomplicated and, uh..., not exactly humanly
acceptable, for most who would hear it.
He told me that He had already given us the strategy for our ministry
and we have already been following it.......Trust Him for the provision and the direction when He CHOOSES to give it.....Go
where,when and how He tells us to go.....Give what, to whom and when He tells us to, and do what He has told us to do when
and how.
There are no hinderances slowing down our ministry.....We just need to
wait upon His timing and direction and obey when He SENDS us.....When we have obeyed and done what He has told us to do, there
has always been results and we have experienced His annointing and, often, His glory. But we have always witnessed His favor,
other's response to Him AND His blessings upon our lives.
God also reminded me of some scriptures that He had given me to guide
us on this issue-
Zechariah 4:6-10-Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the
Lord of hosts. What are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become a plain, and he will bring forth the top
stone with shouts of Grace, grace to it. Also the word of the Lord came to me saying, The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the
foundation of this house, and his hands will finish it. Then you will know that the Lord of hosts sent me to you. For
who has despised the day of small beginnings.
Matthew 6:33-But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all
these things will be added to you.
Luke 6:38-Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your
lap a good measure; pressed down, shaken together and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to
you in return.
When God led us to set up the ministry that we have now, in 1993, the
foundation had already been laid back in 1973, when different items started appearing in my room, and I had no personal need
for them and no idea where they had come from, but God would tell me to hold on to them until He brought their intended owner
across my path. But I didn't know that was the beginning of our actual ministry. I just thought it was just training
for where I and, later, my husband would eventually be headed. Over the years from 1973 and 1993, I, and then, we built on
that foundation of giving whatever came our way and finding new ways to give and different ways of getting it to the intended
owners.
We registered our ministry in 1995, even though it was officially started
in 1993, because none of us could agree on the same name for the ministry for two years. Can't register a ministry or any
legal entity without a name. At that time, God had told us not to apply for nonprofit status. We thought it was to keep us
below the radar, since we knew that at some point we would be going into possibly dangerous situations.
When we finally had a crew of partners who were a part of what we were
doing, it was 1997. At that point, we had become more familiar with the nonprofit designation because of the women's ministry some
of us were in at that time. So we discussed whether to register or not, the same with incorporation. We discussed
this and prayed over it for months and kept coming back to the same answer-NO!!!
Around this time, I received an email from a Christian incorporator who
laid out the guidelines of what nonprofit, incorporation and qualification for church or ministry status required.
Becoming nonprofit or incorporated does not make an organization a church or a ministry. It just qualifies them for a nontax
status and REQUIRES that they raise funds and one third of that must be from outside sources, not of their own group. In the
USA it also limits what the minister can say in an official capacity if it is considered at all political in nature. What
we do is what qualifies us to be a church or a ministry, such as being ordained, registering the ministry with the state
and doing the types of things that churches are noted for, such as regular meeting times, ministry literature and a stated
doctrine.
God had already told us not to solicit funds or to take offerings, although
it was alright to accept what was offered to us, unless He told us otherwise, so we really didn't qualify for the nonprofit
designation anyway. Plus, we have found that if we just give out or use in the pursuit of ministry, most of what we have received,
we don't need to worry about paying taxes anyway. We also have the freedom to say whatever we are led to say. The ACLU can't
take away what we already don't have. The big PLUS, also, is that when we have the funds for a trip, we know that God
is in it, because He has to provide the way for us to go.
In the following pages, I am going to tell stories about how God has
provided for us, and the circumstances surrounding each one.
