Appointed For Fruitfulness

Just recently, a very encouraging note from long-time friends and supporters of the ministry of World MAP came across my desk. It meant a great deal to Wendy and me, and I received their permission to share it with you:

“Dear Frank and Wendy,

      Just a note to greet you two warmly and tell you how we appreciate participating in World MAP’s ministry from the giving end.

      Although we’re on retirement income, I pray we’ll always be able to support financially World MAP. We feel it is bearing much fruit (the harvest that is ripe) and the financial gifts are used wisely.

      Hope this finds you and yours well and joyful in the work of the Lord. Your co-laborers in Christ…”

As I read this letter, I was so moved in my heart. I was immensely humbled by the trust they expressed, and so grateful for hearts that resonated with the assignment God has given to World MAP.

My heart-response soon swelled to include thoughts of you – the faithful saints who partner in practical ways with World MAP through diligent prayer and generous giving. While it is a tremendous blessing for us to join with you, your partnership provides an even more important source of blessing for tens of thousands of others around the world.

As I thought about the confidence and trust you place in the ministry of World MAP, I realized that it has been quite a while since I reviewed with you some of the foundational principles of World MAP’s stewardship and mission.

Uniquely Positioned

God has given World MAP the vision and mission to provide sound, biblical training and equipping for church leaders in developing nations – particularly those who have the least training available to them due to challenges of poverty, persecution or proximity.

World MAP’s primary teaching tools include the printed pages of The Shepherd’s Staff and ACTS Equipping Magazine, and conferences for pastors that include both teaching and spiritual refreshing. These resources have uniquely positioned World MAP for this season of life in the global Church.

Unquestionably, the Church of Jesus Christ is growing exponentially in most of the developing world. Often, the places of greatest persecution and resistance to the Gospel are where God is reaping the greatest Harvest. We write to you often about these amazing triumphs of God’s advancing Kingdom in World MAP’s DIGEST, Prayer Corps bulletins and monthly receipt letters.

World MAP’s ministry calling is to assist and equip these newly-raised-up church leaders, that they might effectively shepherd and disciple the rapidly growing numbers of new believers.

Primary Tools

World MAP’s primary teaching tool, The Shepherd’s Staff, is a 1,000-page Bible-sized church leader’s training resource. It includes a New Believer’s Training Manual, Topical Concordance, Bible helps and articles, and foundational teachings for fruitful ministry preparation.

We are thrilled to report that World MAP has distributed more than 930,000 of these hand-held Bible schools (Shepherd’s Staffs) in 17 languages and in more than 140 nations!

Churches in these nations range from 15 to 25,000 people. But if we simply use an average of 200 people who are taught by each pastor, the number of people getting solid Bible training because of World MAP’s Shepherd’s Staff is almost staggering – likely more than 200 million! All glory to Jesus!

World MAP also distributes ACTS Magazine (a 40-page single-topic Bible study) to more than 120,000 pastors in Asia, Africa and Latin American countries. Topics have included: The Anointing of the Holy Spirit; Christianity and Comparative Religions; and Spiritual Adoption and Heavenly Citizenship.

The ministry of World MAP also provides hands-on training and encouragement to church leaders through our Spiritual Renewal and Equipping Seminars. These vital times of worship, teaching and refreshing are always filled to capacity. World MAP has standing invitations in more countries than we could possibly get to. May the Lord of the Church continue to give strategy and provision to walk through the open doors He has provided. All of this reveals why God has positioned World MAP to be a fruitful tool in His hands in these days of Harvest. Your generous and often sacrificial support makes you a vital part of this “fruit production”!

Structured For Fruitfulness

It is only God Who can bring true fruitfulness (1Cor 3:6,7). Yet, in His infinite wisdom, God enlists the participation of His children in His purposes. Each one of us has an important role to fill (Eph 4:16) in God’s unfolding plan. So whether you pray, send or go, your part is as important as any other!

The Lord of the Harvest has both appointed and structured World MAP for fruitfulness. The oversight of our Board of Directors in the Spirit-led and wise stewardship of the resources God has provided has allowed abundant fruit that is having lasting impact in the nations.

In addition, World MAP is guided by some unchanging and over-arching principles that help us to maximize our resources. I would like to present some of these to you now.

Cornerstone Of The Ministry

There is a foundational truth permeating all that we do and seek to become at World MAP: This ministry belongs to God – not to any person(s).

We know, therefore, that our primary role here is to serve God’s sovereign will, to bring glory and honor to His Son, Jesus Christ, and to edify His Church at home and abroad. The only Kingdom we are interested in serving or building is the Lord God Almighty’s!

Here, then, are some of the key policies and guidelines that shape this ministry and guide our service.

Organizational Structure

World MAP is a non-profit ministry, legally recognized and licensed by the federal government and the State of California to carry out its ministry functions. World MAP is overseen by an independent Board of Directors who serve in a voluntary capacity.

The Board of Directors monitor, support and act as general overseers of organizational goals and objectives. World MAP’s ministry director ensures that the policies, motions and prerogatives of the Board are respected, initiated, implemented and not violated. 

The Board establishes policy, governs the affairs of World MAP, reviews and establishes all staff compensation, and approves program budgets annually. There is a preset limit for capital acquisitions that is monitored. Every quarter, the Board receives a detailed financial report prepared by an independent accounting firm.

The Board is the primary overseer of the ministry, with the authority to approve or disapprove decisions of the ministry director. A primary role of the Board is to protect and defend the moral and financial integrity of the organization.

Financial Accountability

As stated, the ministry of World MAP belongs to God. Therefore, the Board of Directors and the ministry director must be faithful stewards of both the opportunities God gives for ministry, and the resources He releases through His people to carry out that ministry. In order to function with an economy of effort, several important policies have been established:

World MAP’s accounting and financial reporting are done by an independent professional Christian accounting firm that specializes in serving nonprofit ministries. World MAP is held to and adheres to the proper and legal procedures set in place for the handling of all donated monies, and abides by the laws and regulations for nonprofit ministries.

ALL donations to World MAP that are designated for a specific ministry purpose are used 100% for that ministry purpose. We are particularly blessed that the majority of our administrative costs are met through non-donated income, which includes rental and interest income. Thus, your donations go completely to providing ministry leadership training! World MAP also gives a tithe of all undesignated income to other like-ministries for particular needs or ministry partnerships.

Each Board member receives a quarterly detailed financial report for their review.  The Board of Directors meets at least once annually for ministry planning and vision, corporate fiduciary reviews, approval of budgets, and any other related concerns.

The ministry of World MAP does not operate on borrowed funds for ministry purposes. When God leads us in ministry outreach, we trust Him to confirm His desire by making provision for that ministry outreach. The Bible teaches, “Be diligent to know the state of your flocks” (Prov 27:23). We take this admonition to include using wise business sense, balanced by the fact that we are not a business – we are a ministry. The “bottom-line” is not profit, but spiritual fruit!

In the normal course of carrying out the ministry, World MAP makes purchases from vendors. We pay our bills when due each and every month. We do not use a vendor’s credit to finance our operations. World MAP pays its bills on time, recognizing not only that this is a moral obligation, but also that the witness of Christ is seen (or not) in everything we do as a Christian ministry.

Guidelines For

Ethical Fundraising

Recognizing that the ministry of World MAP belongs to God, we are careful and diligent stewards of the resources He releases to us. This also means that if He chooses to close the doors of supply to this ministry, we will humbly yield to His sovereign will.

Apart from that occurring, however, we are completely committed to fulfilling the vision and mission God has given us. It is both spiritual and scriptural to let your requests be made known to God and to cast the vision before His people, so that God’s people can respond as He directs them (see Acts 11:27-30; Romans 15:26,27; 1 Corinthians 16:1-4; 2 Corinthians 8:1-12, 9:5-15; etc.).

Therefore, we communicate with you on a regular basis to inform you, inspire you, and give opportunity for practical expressions of faith through giving. I cannot tell you how grateful we at World MAP are for each of you – and how humbled we are by your faithful prayers and sacrificial gifts. You are a treasure and an inspiration to us, and a tremendous blessing to the cause of Christ in the world today!

In order to be faithful to the trust you have placed in us, we have set strict guidelines to avoid common fundraising abuses.

Because we respect you, we will not resort to manipulative, dishonorable techniques or “cheap tricks” to elicit a response. We will do our best to accurately communicate the need and the urgency, trusting the Holy Spirit to stir the hearts of those He would lead to support this ministry.

We will give our utmost effort to maximize the benefit of every dollar given. We recognize that as stewards of the gifts you entrust to us, we are honor-bound to direct that money carefully and prayerfully.

This includes obtaining multiple bids for service, traveling as economically as possible, printing our publications overseas, outsourcing when feasible, and much more.

We try to raise only the funds we need to fulfill the current ministry requirements. We are blessed that at the turn of the millennium the Lord clearly directed us to “prune” the ministry. Over the ensuing years, He led us in creative ways to consolidate and outsource, enabling us to go from a staff of 32 people down to the current 5 people (which includes Wendy and me). We believe the Lord has helped us to balance faith for expanding need and vision with wisdom to fulfill the call within the bounds of what He is providing. Also, in faith, we believe the Lord has well positioned the ministry for healthy growth and expansion in the future as He leads and provides.

We receipt all donations and respond with a letter of acknowledgment within 2-3 days of receiving a gift. We want you to know when your gift has arrived, and to be assured that we are sincerely grateful for your partnership.

We do our utmost to guard the confidential information in our mailing list. Therefore we will never sell, loan, rent or distribute the mailing list of our friends and supporters of World MAP.

Each and every donation that we receive that is designated for a particular area of ministry is used 100% for that designation.

We will never knowingly receive support or other resources that should be directed to another church, para-church ministry or missionary endeavor. Instead, we will seek to foster the unity of the brethren and, where possible, participate in advantageous, mutually aligned partnerships for the sake of the advancement of the Gospel.

We trust that this brief overview of the stewardship guidelines for World MAP’s ministry will be an encouragement to you. We do not take lightly the favor God has given, or the trust you have in us.

The World MAP Board of Directors, our staff, and Wendy and I all deeply appreciate you and your partnership in ministry. We, with you, are committed to doing our utmost to serve the Lord Jesus and His purposes in this great hour of Church history. Thank you for serving this great cause with us, to the praise and glory of God!

Blessed to be serving with you,

Frank and Wendy Parrish

World MAP President & Directors