Accountability.
We’ve all come across the word but what does it mean in practice and why is it so important?
As if we weren’t already aware of it, the last few weeks have underlined the fact that nothing on Earth is certain. The ripple effects of the Brexit vote continue to play out but we have already seen a fairly dramatic effect on currency exchange rates. Since 24 June, the value of Sterling has dropped against many currencies creating as much as a 15% reduction in the exchange value of donations from supporters for some Christian Workers based abroad. The suddenness of the fall has created a problem for some who are finding their incomes being cut while bills and general living costs in their country of residence remain the same.
As I write this, the summer holiday season is coming to an end, and the resorts, camps and festivals are winding down for the winter. For some, holidaying involves passports and foreign currency, for others it’s camping equipment and windbreaks. Summertime, and particularly the school holidays, seems to exert a call to holiday as strong as the need for the swallows to migrate north in May.
At the end of the year we posed five ‘awkward’ questions to challenge you on your personal approach to your work. Now that 2016 is well underway, we thought it might be good to shift the focus forward with five questions to help you look to the future.
There are some questions that only a very good friend will ask you – the kind of awkward, put-your-finger-right-on-the-sore-spot, kind of questions that no-one else will ask you. We’ve come up with our top five ‘awkward’ questions to get you thinking about your personal approach to your work. Call it an end of year review...
There’s a little-known and yet vital part of setting up a recipient account with Stewardship. It’s not a secret and yet sometimes it would appear that it might as well be. Time and again we’re surprised at how few Christian Workers are aware of it and how it can help them.
OSCAR is the premier online information portal for missionaries. We spoke to its founder - Mike Frith - about the top 5 resources every missionary should know about.
In 2011, we set out to discover how we could support Christian workers more effectively. We conducted two surveys and asked a range of questions relating to personal finances, budgeting, income, savings and lifestyle. It came as no real surprise to learn that Christian workers are living on far less than average income, and are often receiving less financial support than they need.
Our recent international survey of full-time Christian mission workers has revealed that 27% of those surveyed rely on an annual income of £10,000 or below.
Of those Christian workers who took part, the average income for survey respondents was revealed to stand in the region of £15,000 per year. This is at a time when the average salary in the UK is reported to be £27,415 (Source: PayScale).
blogs by the Stewardship team and selected guest writers.