“As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy.  They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasures for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.”  –1 Timothy 6:17-19 (ESV)

What are the benefits of your work?  For most, the primary benefit is the monetary compensation or salary.  But the fringe benefits also have value.

Defined as, “an extra benefit supplementing an employee’s salary,” a fringe benefit package might include: health insurance, life insurance, discounted meals or services, a company car, or many other compensations.

In his book, The Treasure Principle, Randy Alcorn discusses four benefits of living a generous life.

A Good Relationship with Our Heavenly Father –Paul told the Corinthian believers, “God loves a cheerful giver.”  Of course, God loves us all but when we are generous, we align ourselves with God (John 3:16) in a way that brings us closer to His heart and character.

Freedom from the Encumbrance of Things – Physics teaches us that the greater the mass of an object, the greater its gravitational pull.  In life, this plays out as the more we accumulate, the more time, energy, and cost is required to use and maintain it.  A wealthy businessperson once told a colleague, “It takes a lot of time and money to maintain three houses.”

True Prosperity – Generous Christ-followers keep score differently.  It is not how much is accumulated in the here and now, but what is distributed (given) for others’ benefit that matters.  This is what Paul taught in 1 Timothy 6:17-19: “As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy.  They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasures for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.”  (ESV)

Joy – “In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”

I would encourage you to explore the many facets of generosity. One sure reason is that giving with an open hand and a generous heart brings joy to the giver!

These are a few of the benefits of living the giving life – a life of generosity to others.  Now you can decide which are the primary and which are fringe benefits in your life.

©2021 CDF Capital Foundation

Many of you have responded generously to the news a couple weeks ago about a partner on the Bay of Bengal!  This active partner was ready to complete construction on a Primary Care Clinic, but didn’t have the funds- and might not be able to easily receive them after March.

This partner had the foundation poured when FAME Executive Director, Bill Warren visited in February of 2020 but had to stop construction because of the global shut-down.  In April and May of 2020, the funds they had saved for their construction were used to feed thousands of starving people in the 35 villages where they have planted churches.

In February of 2021, Bill Warren agreed, in faith that God’s people like you would respond, to send them half of the funds we had committed if they would begin construction immediately.  And they did!

Look at the progress!  They began 48 hours after receiving the wire transfer of funds!!

We still need to raise $ $19,800 to replenish the Reeves Project Fund from the first $15,000 sent ahead and the remaining $15,000 we HOPE WE CAN SEND!  If you can help us reach this goal, any amount will help!

If you aren’t sure how this will impact these fishing villages, let Jeff Coon tell you about emails that he and Bill Warren receive often.

Every couple of weeks I can count on a boost of encouragement about medical evangelism with our partners from this Bay of Bengal partner.  Why?  Because I receive an email that has an average of 12 photos of baptisms.  Not baptisms of children who have grown up in a church family…but of adults who have made a serious decision, even in the face of persecution, to follow Jesus Christ!  Here’s a couple of photos for you to enjoy!  I could wallpaper FAME’s Warehouse with the hundreds and hundreds of baptism photos I’ve received the last few years!

This clinic will save lives physically and spiritually!

As this long-awaited Spring season finally approaches, I am encouraged in knowing that after a long winter, and year for that matter, that you have remained steadfast in your partnership by praying for the ministry of FAME.  We are blessed to have so many faithful partners in ministry.

This month, we ask for prayers for our mission partners in Myanmar and Haiti, along with the countries themselves as both countries are in the midst of political and civil unrest. Pray that a resolution will happen quickly and that peace may return. Pray also for the safety of our partners there.

Also, please pray for many of our individual volunteers and volunteer groups that come on a regular basis to serve. Volunteers are a vital part of the ministry, and we are so blessed to have so many come to give of their time and talents. If you or your church would like to learn about volunteer opportunities at FAME, you may contact Barry Reed, Director of Mission Resources at barryr@fameworld.org.

Also, please join us in prayer as you did in January, for various countries in the world by using the website or book Operation World. www.operationworld.org/countries-alphabetically. In January, the countries for whom we prayed were countries where we have partners and are currently working. This month, please pray for some of the countries where we are not working, but where we pray opportunities may open for us to share the love of Jesus through medical evangelism.

Click here for the March Prayer Calendar

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

Big Year ahead; Big plans, Big trips, Big projects

Shipping PPE to a mission partner in China for a barely heard of crisis

Shut down, Separation

Trips canceled, Emergency appeal for a global pandemic

Big Hearted Response from Partners like you

Shipping PPE from Asia to Hospitals in crisis in the USA

Sending PPE, ventilators, and oxygen equipment to global partners

Global partners deal with starvation, lack of access to healthcare

$700,000 worth of equipment and supplies shipped to 32 Countries

Big open doors- Big opportunities

Big Needs, Big Response from people like you with Big Hearts serving a Big God

“Peace on Earth Good will to men.”  Luke 2:14 KJV

What “good will” did the angels mean?

A short Christmas word study shows that this “good will” means

FAVOR THAT RESTS UPON YOU 

Can I tell you that most of the people that your FAME global partners serve have not always felt as if “favor is resting upon them?”  Then they often feel without hope and helpless.

As told by one mom a partner met in Ghana:

It is very difficult for parents who have a sick child.  In times like this, there is pressure on you,  financially and emotionally.  If you fall into such a predicament and you neither have any support or money, then you are bound to lose your child. 

Thankfully to YOU and other partners like YOU- Jamilia’s story ends well!  Her son, who needed heart surgery, was treated and cared for by your FAME global partner.

FAVOR RESTING on you may come in the form of:

• being treated by a dentist in a rural village where there’s never been a dentist before
• being transported by an Ambulance that is only possible because of FAME partnerships
• a diagnosis of a serious illness and surgery because of a doctor who received surgery tables and lights from FAME partnership
• a medical team coming to your hurricane or cyclone ravaged village and caring when no other medical providers were available

Thank you for your partnership – it is bringing PEACE ON EARTH (as people meet Jesus) and GOOD WILL OR FAVOR as people are treated in the name of Jesus during some of their most helpless and hopeless times!

That’s why we tell you weekly, “you bring help and hope through medical evangelism.”

Thank you for continuing the message of Christmas, by partnership with FAME!

This is an amazing open door!

Do you know much about the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)?   Starvation is real, serious illness is chronic, sexual abuse of women rampant, and persecution of Christians is both common and severe in this Central African Nation.

You can imagine, into this kind of darkness – even a tiny light of hope shines like midday.  Recently we were introduced to a wonderful couple – both DRC survivors – who have been serving in the name of Jesus in their home country.  For their safety, I’m just going to call them Dr. and Mrs. DRC.

Since receiving asylum in the US in 2012, the couple has dreamed of helping those still suffering in the DRC.  Their dream?  A series of 7 medical clinics focusing on obstetrics, pediatrics, surgery, and trauma care.

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Dr. DRC was at the FAME warehouse recently – and I wish you could have walked with us.  As he moved aisle-to-aisle, shelf-to-shelf, bin-to-bin – his smile and relief at knowing we would help was really moving.

Of course, the “we” who can

help ship medical supplies to the DRC is really “you” and “me” and others like us who know the power of medical evangelism.  I can’t tell you how much I appreciate knowing you’re in this with us!  Thank you!

The open door is this – because of COVID-19, the DRC government has lowered the cost of shipping medical supplies into the country to unheard of low costs!  We’ve already been able to ship exam tables and other supplies to help Dr. DRC with 2 Clinics.

But there is only a short time to provide for the other 5 Clinics with this highly discounted custom taxes and fees.  We have many of the supplies on hand – would you like to help cover the cost of getting them to the field?

I’m estimating to acquire, crate, stage and ship will only cost a total of $10,000.  But it would be so much more without the DRC government discount on the cost to receive the medical supplies.  So, we really think this should happen right away before the rates go back up!

Oh, and we’re also helping 2 other ministries in the DRC – they now have quality hospital beds replacing bamboo mats!  Additionally, your gift could help us with sending help and hope to Ethiopia and 18 other African countries where we have active global partners this year!  But like Dr. DRC’s work, they have many other needs for their clinics.  Can you give a gift to “wherever needed” by December 31^st that will help victims of crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo and around the world?

Last thing,  – Dr. DRC’s work is so much more than just medical care.  Mrs. DRC oversees the “trauma care” and these services follow her Biblical Counseling training – so patients are impacted daily by workers sharing the hope of the Gospel!

Ok, that’s the open door I wanted to share.  If you’d like to help FAME with this opportunity and so many more, click DONATE above! Thanks for thinking and praying on what you might do right away.  Let me know if you have any questions.

Bill