Archive for the 'Finances' Category

My #1 Challenge

Published on October 3, 2011 by Chris Bean in Calling, Campus Ministry and Finances.

The question is often posed to me, “What are the biggest challenges of being a campus minister?”

And I often skip over my #1 challenge because I think people are looking more for answers like:

  • the pluralistic environment of campus ministry
  • the transient nature of young adults
  • the high degree of authenticity which college students require
  • etc, etc

But my #1 challenge is certainly financial sustainability. Obviously, not all campus ministers have to deal with this particular issue. Those in church-based college ministry often receive a consistent paycheck and have a budget for programming etc. That is not to say that all of my campus ministry peers who receive a salary from the organization are totally exempt from this pressure. Some may not be raising support for their individual salary, but they are expected to find new streams of fiscal resources to sustain ministry to the college and university campuses they engage.

Although I have posted previously about the benefits of this model of campus ministry (especially the partnering model which the CCO uses), I would be lying if I said the constant stress of being under-funded isn’t my #1 challenge. And after two years of working pretty hard towards becoming fully-funded…we have yet to close the gap. The financial anxiety of raising support is the ONLY thing that could keep me from enjoying this calling for the next 20 years!

However, in the midst of this challenge…we celebrate God’s faithfulness! The fact that God has provided for us during the last two years in such a way that we were able to buy a home this past summer is bordering miraculous. We continue to trust, that in God’s timing, we will reach our goal of being 100% funded. Often, when we least expect it…God brings someone across our path who wants to give $100, $50, or $30/month towards our ministry of transforming college students in Cincinnati. When that happens, God’s ability to provide never ceases to blow us away.

If you’d like to be one of those who partner with us to put that piece of the ministry in place, click on the $upport link above.   ;-)

 

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Provision, Praise, & Prattle

Published on July 19, 2011 by Chris Bean in Celebration, Faith, Family, Finances and Personal.

My love for alliteration is no secret to many of you. Those who have ever tracked with my facebook statuses, tweets, or blogging realize that it’s simply something you’ll have to endure if you want to hang out with me…especially in the virtual realm.

Now let me reverse the order and begin with “prattle.” Since this word means: to talk or chatter idly, it might not be the perfect word for what I’m going to share. Today’s “prattle” is all about my little boy, Josiah. He is just over 7 months old now and bringing even more joy to our lives than we might have expected (if that is possible). Here’s a little video of a recent feeding.

Josiah squeals from Chris Bean on Vimeo.

On to Praise. God is good, right?! Generally speaking, I would say that I’m coming out of a season of life (the past 2 to 5 years) in which ‘praise’ has not been my default setting. Cynicism, critique, questioning, complaining, etc  These have been words that come to mind more naturally than praise. But over the past year, I sense that God has been rewiring my brain a bit…and giving me a new appreciation for Who, How, Why, and Where HE is. Psalm 103 is coming to mind as my default setting: Praise the Lord, oh my soul!

Provision may have something to do with my increased tendencies towards praise. As we continue to live out our new faith-stretching call to campus ministry…and daily depend on God’s provision, we are increasingly amazed at how God meets our needs. Just this morning, I made the painful and scary decision to approve $600 in repairs to my Ford Focus. Having just had a baby (in the past 7 months) and bought a house in the past month, our financial margin has all but disappeared. Within minutes of telling the mechanic to move forward with the repairs, we heard from one of our monthly ministry supporters who wanted to cover that expense for us. God’s ability to PROVIDE far exceeds my ability to gather resources. So we continue to trust and live in this exciting space of gratitude.

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Following a Trail of Trust

Published on May 18, 2011 by Chris Bean in Calling, Campus Ministry, Faith, Finances and Prayer.

A couple of years ago we left the somewhat comfortable and secure model of church-based ministry (after about 16 years) and decided to help start something new at the University of Cincinnati. Our spiritual tribe (the Church of the Nazarene) had hopes of reaching out to the university campuses in and around Cincinnati, but the right people and pieces had not yet come together.

After a long season of discernment, prayer, and planning (3-4 months’ worth), we launched out in a new ministry to students at the University of Cincinnati. This venture is a partnership between the CCO (a campus ministry org based in Pittsburgh) and the Southwestern Ohio Nazarene Churches.

Perhaps the most troubling challenge before us was raising a significant amount of our own financial support to cover salary and ministry expenses.

In the last few posts, I was discussing the Top 5 Things I Love About Raising Support. Although each of these points are very true, the task of reaching out and inviting people to share in the cost/investment for our calling has been no less daunting.

After two years of trusting, asking, praying, inviting, confessing, calling, blogging, sharing, stretching…we have reached a milestone which encourages us to continue in this calling and mission of seeing college students transformed.

For those who have been a part of this journey in any way (praying, giving, serving, etc) we are deeply grateful.

And for those who have YET to partner with us in one of these ways…there’s no time like the present!   ;-)

Our goal is to be fully funded by the end of the summer. We have absolutely no doubt that God is able to provide all that is needed between now and then.

We are quite certain that many others share our passion for seeing college students transformed by Jesus so that they will live out their faith in every area of life. When a college student develops a biblical worldview and partners with God in His mission, there is no limit to the Kingdom impact which is being actualized. If that mission is something you feel led to support, we invite you to become one of our ministry partners with a monthly, quarterly, or annual donation. Click on the image below to find out more.

 

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