As the locus of missionary-sending countries is transitioning to the Majority World, there is a pressing need to find avenues to fund those called to work in ministry in ways that will raise needed resources while still engaging local support and ownership. Wycliffe’s “Matching Funds Experiment” has produced some intriguing results for the global Church to consider. The experiment had two components. The first encompassed the sending of three consultants from various countries to do partnership development training for colleagues in three other countries. Our hope was to equip people to more effectively raise funds in their own contexts. How this played out in each country was slightly different. However, the results at the Translators Association of the Philippines (TAP) were considerable. The second aspect of the experiment entailed a fund-raising initiative by Wycliffe UK. They presented the needs of the workers through an online campaign, as well as to major donors, in an attempt to raise funds that would match or supplement local funds raised in culturally appropriate ways. As the team (including myself) examined the results, a number of issues appeared to be quite significant.
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