Your View: VINE should be supported by community

July 19, 2008 11:34 pm

— This letter is about the July 7 article in The Free Press “Giving goes on in hard times.”
A pastor from a thriving church in Third World country views America as a new missionary field. He came here as a missionary as American churches are preoccupied with building programs and meeting their own needs.
The Free Press article referred to a church that is struggling to give 10 percent of its budget to missionary activities and other programs outside of the church. Transformation churches seek to demonstrate more of an emphasis outside of their church in their giving and use of volunteers. An example of this change in emphasis in Minnesota is the Christ Lutheran Church in Otsego.
Pastor Greg Pagh reported that they have made the commitment to, in 10 years, give 51 percent of its budget and volunteers time to missionary activities and to needs outside of their church.
Perhaps too much emphasis is being placed upon government carrying out tasks that should be shoulder by churches and local communities. Support for the VINE program may be a good example of a service where community volunteers and financial help should be coming from churches and the local community.
It may no longer be possible for the state and federal government to fund all worthy programs.