International (MNN)–The trend toward charitable giving may be on the upswing, but as many mission agencies can testify, their budgets are in a funk.
In fact, many of them are facing a 40-percent drop in giving, which means that they’re looking at ways to cut back and scale down their ministries.
The picture at Bible Pathway Ministries bucks the movement. According to Pathway’s Karen Hawkins, 2003 meant 75 tons of Bibles, Bible Pathways and other teaching materials shipped internationally.
She says all indications for 2004 point to continued growth. Requests coming in at the end of the year back her up. Their overseas popularity may be attributed to their targeted users. “We send them (materials) to churches, to evangelists, to Bible schools, to other ministries all over the world. For a lot of them, we are virtually their sole source of printed material, and tapes, and videos and things.”
However, growth doesn’t come without cost. Hawkins urges prayer support. “We really believe that the window for a lot of these places is open for a very short time. Pray for the funds to continue to do this, because, as I said, we are basically the lifeline for many churches and Bible schools in Third World countries where they just do not have other resources.”
