Partners For The Harvest
A MESSAGE FROM TIM JOHNSTON, DIRECTOR OF PARTNERSHIP DEVELOPMENT
I can remember it like it was yesterday. It sounded like a wolf’s howl or a wounded cat crying over and over. Throughout the community and the jungle brush surrounding
our mission home in Papua New Guinea, the wailing echoed all day and into the night. Someone had died in the village, and the women’s wailings and grief left an everlasting impression that formed another cry deep within me. (At a very young age, God impressed upon my heart the hopelessness of the lost and the great need to take Jesus to the lost people of the world.) I knew that I never wanted to attend one more funeral without hope.
I knew I wanted to give my life to missions to share the message of hope, the Gospel of Jesus Christ so that no one would cry ever again at the prospect of a godless eternity. Then, when I was 18, God challenged my heart through my study of His Word at Bible school to be part of taking the Good News
to the nations.
I came to a crossroads in my life and felt I could not ignore the immense need to reach those without hope, so my wife Jan and I chose to be part of the solution by participating in the Great Commission. This passion eventually led me to serve as the Director of Partnership Development at Friends in Action International.
Biblical Principles and Partnership
The biblical principles of stewardship, transparency, and accountability undergird Partnership Development at FIA. We genuinely count those of you who pray, who give, and who go to support our ministry as our dear friends! We pray for you and enjoy learning about the details of your life—both the happy and the challenging—so we can make those prayers specific.
The checks you mail, or the online notifications received when you give, are not the goal for us. They are just evidence of our partnership. You are out there in your places of work, neighborhoods, and churches using your influence, resources, and blessings to invest in the eternal. We never lose sight of the people who help make every project possible! Thank you!
“Every dollar counts because each gift is an offering given sacrificially, joyfully, and as unto the Lord Himself.”
We recognize that every dollar counts because each gift is an offering given sacrificially, joyfully, and as unto the Lord Himself. We subject ourselves to the scrutiny of an external and autonomous auditing committee and the sound counsel of our independent Board of Directors to ensure your giving is appropriately managed and allocated according to your wishes.
We are excited about some new ways to partner with FIA this year:
- Coalitions of Giving: Smaller businesses or churches can increase their giving impact by joining together
- Legacy Giving: Annuities, wills, endowments
- Tribute Giving: In honor of a special person or milestone
- Commodity Giving: Gifts-inkind or discounted materials
- Event Sponsorship: Our banquet save the date is in this issue!
I often think of Luke 5:7 as a metaphor for Partnership Development at FIA. As Jesus provided a great haul of fish, the disciples got busy trying to pull in the nets bursting with fish, but they couldn’t do it alone. “And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both the
ships, so that they began to sink” (Luke 5:7, KJV). God has made us fishers of men together. We cannot do it alone, nor were we meant to. We are so grateful that we can call on our partners to come and help pull in the harvest that God has prepared for Himself!
Thank you for partnering with us! Your giving makes a difference. Never underestimate what God can do with what you offer Him! You are helping to transform wails of hopelessness into cries of praise. “I cried unto him with my mouth, and he was extolled with my tongue” (Psalm 66:17, KJV).
