Do I need life insurance?  (Click here for this month’s download resource)

Life insurance is about protecting the people you care about most.  We cannot know when we will need it, but we do know it is important to have it in place before that time.

Life insurance can help prepare for the unexpected, to make sure your family will have financial resources if tragedy occurs.

How much life insurance do I need?

Let me start by saying, you are worth more than you think.  Life insurance agents and financial planners have their own way to determine what that magic number is for you.  Of course, your very specific circumstances and needs will impact that calculation.

To get a general idea, we suggest you apply the DIME formula:

• Debt – How much do you owe and what final expenses may you have?
• Income – What is the annual income needed to support your family, and for how many years?
• Mortgage – Do you have a mortgage on your home?
• Education – What funds will be needed to educate your children?

As your income and expenses rise, it is a good practice to review your coverage every few years.  If you have other unique situations — such as business entities, providing for charity, taxes — you may want to consider additional coverage.

Reviewing Your Life Insurance Coverage

When you purchased life insurance, it was likely to meet specific needs should your untimely death occur.  Since your purchase, what has changed and how might that impact your life insurance needs?

Some life-altering events may require that you increase your insurance coverage.  Marriage, the birth of a child, a new business venture, and a home mortgage are only a few things to consider when reviewing the amount of your current coverage.

On the other hand, are you carrying life insurance to cover specific needs or obligations which have already been met?  Have your children completed college and set out on their own careers?  Have your home mortgage and other debts been paid from income or other assets?

If you have life insurance that is no longer needed for its original purpose, consider these options:

• Cancel the policy to save paying the premium. This may be especially appropriate if there is no cash value and the premium amount is a burden.

• Check to see if the cash value is sufficient to pay the premium. Some policies have this feature.

• Maintain the policy but name a favorite ministry or two as beneficiaries.

• Gift a policy to a ministry, receive a charitable tax deduction, and help provide for a work you love. Additional deductions may be available for gifts to pay ongoing premiums.

And finally, as you review your life insurance, do not forget to review beneficiary arrangements, settlement options, and its place within your total estate plan.  You may find our eBook, A Steward’s Consideration of Life Insurance, helpful. You can download your copy here. And if we can answer any questions as you make your review, please let us know.

May We Help?

It is always wise to seek counsel and advice from an expert when you consider life insurance as a part of your future planning. Before you do, you may find our eBook,  A Steward’s Consideration of Life Insurance, helpful. You can download your copy here. And if we can provide assistance or encouragement along the way, please do not hesitate to contact Jeff Coon at Jcoon@fameworld.org.

©2021 CDF Capital Foundation

A friend once loaned his light-duty pick-up truck to a fellow church member who was moving. When the truck was returned, something was not quite right.  It seems the light-duty truck had been put to heavy-duty use and it was never the same after that weekend.

Was the man angry and upset?  Sure, for a time he was – after all, the borrower didn’t own the truck and yet he abused it.  Looking back over time, that incident now serves this friend as a reminder that we really do not own all that we use in this life.  The Bible makes it clear that ownership of all things belongs only to God: 

“The earth is the Lords and the fullness thereof…”  Psalm 24:1

“The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, declares the Lord of hosts.”  Haggai 2:8

“Whatever is under the whole heaven is mine.”  Job 41:11

So, the trucks, cars, houses, tools – just everything – is entrusted to us by God but we do not own any of it.  Randy Alcorn, in The Treasure Principle, says it this way, “God owns everything, I’m his money manager.”

Our management strategy must be one that brings Him a great return on His investment. Taking good care of His assets is certainly part of our management responsibility.

Like the two sides of a coin, God’s ownership and our management are inseparable.  The challenge is to remember who the owner really is, and to make wise management decisions to bring Him a good return.  Or as Jesus put it to “Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”  Matthew 5:16 (ESV)

What does it mean to be a good manager of God’s assets?  First, God expects us to care for those who are dependent upon us.  Read 1 Timothy 5 and you will see Paul’s explanation that when it comes to caring for widows – and by extension, all dependent family members – we are to do it without exception!  In fact, if we do not care for their needs, according to Paul, we “have denied the faith and are worse than an unbeliever.” (1 Timothy 5:8)

A second thought is shown in the generosity of God.  “For God so loved the world, that He gave…” John 3:16.  It’s been said that we are never more like our Heavenly Father than when we give.

A generous heart is evidence of understanding God is the owner and we are His money managers.

Let us know if you would like to discuss managing God’s assets or if we can be of any help in your stewardship walk. Contact Jeff Coon at JCoon@fameworld.org.

©2021 CDF Capital Foundation

This request is urgent – as in, FAME needs to send $30,000 before the end of March. On your behalf, we just wired the first portion to your FAME mission partner and they will start construction in 2 days!  Here’s the story.

You may remember that in late 2019, FAME partners like you paid for an ambulance (pictured) for the work started by the xxxxxxxxx family (unlisted for their safety).  That ambulance staffed by medical professionals now travels to 35 villages where they’ve started churches.  Many thousands of aged, widows, orphans, and families receive their primary medical care – in the name of Jesus – from that ambulance.

The xxxxxxxxx family works mostly with the fishing families of their region – and they’re acutely aware that a lack of healthcare is devastating to entire families when a fisherman is unable to work.  Here’s just one example:

Dhatri was severely injured in a fishing boat and net accident and was unable to work for 6 months because of a fracture that was not set since there was no healthcare available.
There should be no reason for such a crisis!

The xxxxxxxxx’s also know that many more people can be reached through medical outreach and they’ve begun work on a 16,000 square foot clinic.  It will provide primary health care, and a direct opportunity to connect this fishing community with the Great Physician!

To me, this opportunity seems a bit like the story in Mark 1 – “the whole town gathered at the door and Jesus healed everyone with various diseases.”

Here is how our mission partner sees the opportunity:

Children, mostly under age 5, will get regular immunizations and be treated for scabies and other skin diseases.  Mothers will receive prenatal care and the maternal and infant mortality rates will drop.  Fathers will receive medical care that will allow them to better work at their demanding fishing tasks.  Then there is the care for the elderly and widows…

Named after FAME’s first Executive Director, the Reeves Project Fund is for exactly this type of opportunity.  But the fund doesn’t have a bottomless amount of money, so I’m asking if you will make an immediate gift to help with this clinic for India.

The reason we need to send the money ASAP has to do with the coming changes of law in India.  The ministry is required to close their existing bank account and open one with the government bank.  Suffice it to say, getting the funds there by March 31 will save costs and simplify the process greatly.  Can you help today?  Thank you!

You can respond with a check – or, if possible, give online at www.fameworld.org/give to get your gift to FAME in the quickest way possible.

Either way, your gift will make a difference and will serve people working hard to survive and hungry to know the truth of the Gospel

Will we ever think of the numbers “2020” the same? I’ve set goals for 2020 using the 20/20 Vision theme since 2000 – but now we DO have a 20/20 Vision look at 2020, don’t we?

We’ve been asked, “What did you do in 2020 that was a COVID-19 Response?” That answer is simple,
“EVERYTHING!” The impact of this global pandemic was, well, global! Whether we sent funds, equipment and supplies or people – it was a response to the pandemic. Some were because the partner had spent their medicine funds on the starving people in their community. Others were directly related, like ventilators and oxygen related equipment…no matter the help and hope…it positioned our global partners to care for the needs around them and share the good news!

Thank you for your partnership! You have impacted one million of the world’s most vulnerable because of your generosity and partnership!

Click here for our 2020 Year in Review