Not to say that Dong farmers are necessarily poor, but they certainly do not have much cash lying around. Home and food they have for the most part, but if a believer felt led to leave the village to share the gospel in other areas, they are hard pressed to do so.
Foreign funding is not the answer. The answer needs to be sustainable by the Dong people themselves. That is what "indeginous" means on the DongTeam Introduction page. The Dong church needs to be sustainable by Dong people; it needs to be fully Dong, indeginous to the Dong.
In the Bible, there seem to be two different methods (as we read in Paul's letters). The disciples seem to have worked full time off the tithes and offerings of the church. Paul, at least some of the time or in certain places, fully supported himself. Let us pray for the support of our brothers who are going out and sharing the gospel outside the village.
Father, you are the great provider. Any and all needs of the Dong to share the gospel outside their villages you have already provided. We ask for you wisdom as they contemplate how to support their journeys (whether short or long term). We also ask for those that want to support themselves; we ask that you would help them find a sustainable occupation through which you could both provide money for travel, but still allow all the time they need for ministry, full time or not.
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