December 14th, 2021, 8:43 am
AFM has a wonderful problem, and we are hoping you will help us with a solution.
Over the past four years, the LORD has blessed AFM abundantly. The number of career missionaries in the field has increased by 46 percent. God is answering our prayers for more laborers!
Also growing is the number of AFM sister organizations. Besides AFMS (Canada), AFM–SAT (South Africa) and AFM–Brazil, we are actively pursuing the creation of a new office in Asia. Our sister organizations bring not only new career missionaries but also short-term and student missionaries.
While this surge of new front-line missionaries has added to our workload in the home office, we have not added support staff to process all of the paperwork necessary to take good care of our missionaries: banking details, expense reports, and travel arrangements, including visas, tickets, COVID-19 documents, insurance, and more. AFM’s blessings require adding critical staff to improve our service to missionaries and sister organizations, foster further organizational growth, and expand our reach to the unreached.
Another area that needs improvement is our web donation page. For several years, donating online has been a source of frustration for our supporters and office staff. Recently, we acquired access to new functions that will allow some much-needed changes. However, we are also seeking a more permanent solution to the problem that provides supporters a single login to see both hidden access missionaries and giving history. While this sounds simple, I have learned that what sounds simple in theory can be quite complex to implement. I am very thankful I work on a team that understands HTML, APIs, CRMs, databases and the like.
With the COVID-19 crisis came a plea from supporters for more digital stories. Designing and building a recording studio would allow AFM to create higher quality productions without recording in a closet, our worship room, or an empty attic. These dedicated facilities would allow for controlled lighting and sound, with the ability to record on a moment’s notice. Being able to start a project without moving all the equipment would be a huge blessing!
I do not talk about our office needs very often. But having funds to pursue the plans listed above would allow us to improve our service to you, our missionaries and most importantly, the unreached. Our year-end goal for 2021 will go to fund these improvements. We would appreciate your help. Thank you for your continued support.