Should missionaries be given a ‘local wage’ or should they be paid the same as a minister at home?
What do you think?
We are in a slightly unusual position in that we will be sent directly from our denomination which Tom is ordained in (Westminster Presbyterian Church), to the Presbyterian Church of Vanuatu.
There are some great advantages in this, such as the fact that we don’t have to raise the money that goes to administration costs. However one problem with it is that we have no organisation to set the amount of “support” we need to raise. So the question we are being asked is: ‘how much?’
On one hand, missionaries are…
- … serving Jesus Christ, for the love of his kingdom, focused on treasures in heaven
- … often living in foreign countries using different currency and
- … often living much like local people (although that doesn’t work if your mission field is Japan)
On the other hand, missionaries…
- … often have children to look after who will grow up go to university and get married
- … need to be responsible about planning for old age
- … have flights, medical insurance, and children’s education to pay for
We would love to hear what you think.
Thanks,
Tom and Margaret
