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You’ve heard the various commercials for MasterCard: new jeans, $98; picnic lunch, $32; rope for tug of war, $17; making memories in the mud-bowl tug-of-war—priceless.
The same thing can be said about constructing a Maranatha church: materials for construction, $30,000; Maranatha employees who set up the entire project, $25,000; volunteers who fly from various countries for the Maranatha project, $90,000; the new church and experience—PRICELESS!
But if those elements don’t all come together, you never get to that desired result of “PRICELESS”!
When it comes to finances, most of us only think about how much money we will need to raise in order to participate on a Maranatha project. The most expensive item is air fare. In fact, for UW, we’re apt to spend more on air fare than on everything else combined (food, local transportation, insurance, excursions, modest housing, a bible and t-shirt, etc.).
But what about some of those necessary costs that might not enter our minds. For example, what does Maranatha pay to get the materials for the churches we build? And where does that money come from?
Maranatha is still in the process of figuring out what the cost will be for the materials for each church next year in Mexico. When UW was in Mexico in 1994 and 1995, the cost was about $30,000 for the foundation, cement slab, steel frame, block, mortar and grout, and roofing materials. Do you expect the cost to be higher in 2009? Maranatha does.
In countries like the U.S. and Canada, the host church pays for all of the materials. In other parts of the world, like Chile, Mozambique, India, or Mexico, it varies. One example is that Maranatha will pay for 2/3 of the materials. The Adventist Church will pay the remaining 1/3 by splitting it evenly among the church being built, the mission (a geographical portion of the country), and the union (the Adventist organization for the entire country). In a scenario like this, the cost for materials would look like this:
$20,000 Maranatha
$ 3,333 Church members at the church being built
$ 3,333 Mission (north Chile mission)
$ 3,333 Union (Chile mission)
But what happens when the costs are higher than expected? What happens when the church members can’t come up with their portion? Usually the bill is left with Maranatha. Please keep in mind that these numbers are just one example. It varies from country to country, and from one time period to another.
That takes us to the other question, “Where does that money come from?”
The brief answer is: donations made to Maranatha.
Some donations are large ones that come from people God has blessed financially. But the majority come from hundreds and even thousands of people who make small and medium size donations.
Some people are able to donate enough money to pay for the materials for an entire church (or school or clinic, etc.). Some join with others to come up with an amount that large.
But what about the rest of us? One of my favorite plans is called “The $10 Church.” Hundreds of people are donating $10 each month to go towards construction materials for Maranatha. Some mail in their $10 each month. Many have an automatic payment made each month from their checking account or a credit card. And some put it in a lump sum and pay $120 (or more) once a year.
When it comes to a project like Ultimate Workout with five construction projects, that means 5 x $20,000 = $100,000 for Maranatha if we use the figures given in the example above. In some countries, that number is even higher.
For a number of years, Maranatha has designated several of the UW churches as “$10 Churches.” This means that the funding for them came from $10 Church donors because there weren’t enough other donations to pay for them.
We’ve come under conviction as UW alumni that teens (and UW veterans from past years who now work full time) can come up with money out of their own pockets to make a difference when it comes to funding the construction materials for some of the churches we build on Ultimate Workout.
Our goal for UW 19 is to fund the construction materials for at least one of the churches we build. We made a verbal commitment to do so at the end of UW 18. Without knowing the exact cost yet, we do expect it to be beyond $30,000.
We’re suggesting a goal of $5/week ($20/month) for each one of us. That will make a difference in how you do life, although not extreme. You know it will make a difference in the lives of those who receive the new church, and it probably will be extreme! Some UW alumni won’t do this. Some will donate more. What will you do?
You can go to www.maranatha.org and click on “donate” and then click on “Ultimate Workout Donation.” If you prefer to work this through your parent’s credit card or checking account, be sure you give them the money to make it happen (and invite them to join, too!).
Let’s think beyond ourselves. Let’s even consider the word “sacrifice.” This is one of the ways we can put into practice what Jesus said when he told the crowd, “Don’t store up your treasure on earth where it can disintegrate or be stolen. Instead, put your treasure in heaven, where it can truly be safe. Wherever you put your treasure is where your head will end up.” (paraphrase of Matthew 6:19-21)
Will you start donating? Will you encourage others to join you? Will you make a difference in providing a new church for a community in Mexico next year?
Go for it!!!
- Steve Case
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