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I wrote the following before we began our newly focused ministry initiative. It was my effort to bring precision to the thought patterns Gail and I were having and as a way, for those interested, to ponder and understand some of the things we are launching. As I hope to have said to you already, we have realized that whatever means we have used in the past is not big enough in capacity to contain what we feel God is doing and about to do. Therefore, this written communication is an attempt to ‘write the vision, and make it plain,’ and invites those who know and believe in us to come along side to help.
Just the fact that you are reading this site means you are interested. Thank you. I must warn you however; this is several minutes long. Most of my friends are too busy to navigate this much in written form, and is why I added the audio hoping it will be a little easier. However, I will not blame you if you stop now. For those of you that I have already had the privilege to speak with personally about the concerns herein expressed it will probably be just so much repetition anyway. But, if you are interested, you are invited to read (and listen) on.
How ever much time you spend at this site and how ever much time you spend even thinking and praying about Tony and Gail McWilliams and our ministry endeavors is very much appreciated. So, thank you.
I trust you are understanding our need to take our ministry from its present mode to its next levels of destiny and potential. As our ministry now stands in terms of its day to day operations, its anticipated effectiveness toward national and international projects, and its mobilizing of Gail and myself to do what we do best, we do not believe we can experience the preferable future of taking it to its next levels unless important changes are implemented.
This is why we are making personal contact with you and others. Not just to ask you for serious consideration in supporting this vision but drawing you into our network of advisors. This not only expands our network it increases the contribution of Godly wisdom into our ministry and increases combined effort in things that pertain to the kingdom of God and the proliferation of its gospel via our common faith and vision.
We presently have a developing itinerary which you can access via our web site at www.gailmcwilliams.com. As you will notice, we continue to make ministry investments in various parts of the country, but when we are home Gail and I are making constant effort to answer email, network with various individuals and organizations, schedule ministry engagements and address the broader and mundane issues of administration. And we still don’t have time to write, which we feel is a priority. It is not unusual for both Gail and I to be working late into the night in our respective offices at our home. We are realizing that as long as this is common practice that this is indication that we are still in a survival mode, and we are probably wearing ourselves out. It is indeed further indication that we desperately need to make the changes that this communiqué is all about.
With humility and prayer we are approaching individuals who have known us and who believe in us, some for more than 30 years, and are asking them to become a part of our covenant partners by supporting us monthly at $500 or a portion thereof. If God blesses us with a strong donor base we believe we will indeed move forward toward a fulfillment of our calling, be able to make the needed changes and expand to do all that God wants us to do. This means that we will leave behind a ‘mom and pop’ ministry strategy that keeps us very busy, for sure, but probably means that we are not as effective as we should be and what we are called to be.
I have included a diagram to help you see what we are seeing. The Old Model of our past is a survival mentality with an uncertain future. The New Model is an expansion mentality with a sustainable future. Click here to see that diagram.
A Strong Donor Base: The Priority
A healthy donor base is the main factor toward making this a successful ministry initiative. It is absolutely essential to everything we have vision to do. Until a healthy and active donor base is in place we feel that everything else we do will fluctuate at best and our ministry’s sustainability for future effectiveness will be uncertain. If we have anything at all to offer the greater body of Christ then faithful stewardship on our part demands not only a plan to mobilize but practical and effective organization in place to sustain our forward movement. And the size of this donor base determines how financially anchored we will be to accomplish the objectives.
Product Sales
We have been favored to move 2000 of Gail’s books in eight months time producing testimonies that indicate that this new book is effective. For a first time author this is a significant sign that people are paying attention. We even have another publisher evaluating the book and are considering it to be added to their product line. Twice in one week we were asked to consider it as a movie project through people who have experience in that industry. All of this would enlarge our exposure, to be sure, but it would be wrong to put all of our fiscal eggs in this basket, as you don’t build the financial future on a single book. However, and with mixed emotions, the finances generated by these book sales, so far, has been absorbed by salaries and operational expenses. Frankly, this is unacceptable. We cannot eat our seed. Though we have 3000 more books in hand (all paid for), we must begin now to set aside product income for its intended use, namely, product creation and product re-orders. This makes the reality of a generous donor base in place a priority otherwise we have a significant re-ordering problem when the 3000 are gone and we find ourselves in the same undesirable place of struggling to only survive. Instead, our New Model attitude is that we must thrive.
Honorariums and Love Offerings
The honorariums, stipends and love offerings generated by personal appearances and presentations are unpredictable in both size and frequency. Generally we have been blessed to connect to generous churches and organizations for which we are most grateful, but after analyzing the big picture it is best said that these generous organizations are only making up where many other organizations fall short. This is a reality which we are willing to navigate, as it is our intention at every opportunity, at least in spirit, to give more than we receive; however, the financial breathing room for which we hope and plan cannot sit squarely on this form of revenue. Once again, a healthy donor base in place is the main reason why we can keep moving forward when other streams of revenue oscillate.
Grants
Another thing that will happen with a donor base in place and our other various revenues streaming to provide support to various areas of ministry expense will include funds that can be matched for releasing grant money. This empowers national and international projects that expand our ministry influence even further.
Significant developments concerning the translation, production and distribution of Gail’s book to Spanish speaking countries are underway and another development includes a Japanese project. Also under evaluation is getting Gail’s book and DVD into Crisis Pregnancy Centers around the country. One CPC director purchased 100 of Gail’s books to give to his staff and the book and DVD are given to their clients. We are seeking grants that will pay 50% of these projects for which people in the know are highly encouraging us to obtain. A great deal of time and effort was spent in January and February completing the application processes. However, these monies only fund the project and are not to be used for everyday issues of payroll and operational expenses.
These international projects alone put us in a whole new realm of stewardship and responsibility, not to mention prayer and spiritual warfare, and therefore demand that our old way of thinking and operating give way to bigger and better ways to accomplish these ministry objectives.
Endowment Fund
We also are planning to fold an endowment fund into the picture as it is only logical to anticipate fluctuations in any financial strategy over time. This, too, complements our desire for sustainability. We are asking God for contributors to this fund and once we get our donor base solidified will create a plan to designate a percentage of our regular budget to this fund as well. But to repeat, the donor base is our priority for now.
Relationship with CFNI
Our relationship with CFNI keeps us active with our 100 classroom presentations per school year. This keeps us accessible to incredible opportunities and keeps us stirred and focused on the life messages that have developed in our lives, our family and our ministry. We are constantly stretched in academic and spiritual matters, not to mention the steady stream of students with whom we fellowship, counsel and mentor. It keeps us sharp and is probably one of the single most significant opportunities of our life thus far, and is one of the reasons Gail and I now see a ministry vision that is global. When you rub shoulders with students representing 60 nations of the world, you just can’t help it.
Because of these benefits we plan on continuing our relationship with CFNI indefinitely; however, our investment there as adjunct instructors yields a very limited amount of revenue relative to our personal financial concerns. If we do not make the transition to an expanded ministry level soon (what this letter is really all about) then even our relationship with CFNI will be in jeopardy because fiscal circumstances will mandate my generating other forms of income, the idea of which I am not against, as life’s realities come knocking, we just believe that the timing and calling of God is demanding more focused ministry energy.
Because I believe in what we are doing in ministry as a couple, through McWilliams Family Ministries, the idea of being bumped off the ministry path we now pursue by circumstances that I believe we can truly avoid would be most disappointing. This hope for avoiding such circumstances demands that we ask others to join our team, become part of the donor base that will anchor our ministry financially and empower Gail and I to keep doing what is in our heart to do.
We hold our opportunities at CFNI with an open hand before God, especially in light of the fact that a new ministry focus may begin to demand more of us. But, as you might imagine, a disconnect from CFNI to give attention to income earning realities for my family would disallow our intended change in direction. Yes, Gail’s ministry has incredible merit on its own and would continue with limits; however, with me out of the picture stewarding a job or entrepreneurial effort outside our home, her present circumstances would still demand a helping hand including someone to accompany her on ministry engagements and provide administrative support. This would create new struggles and we would still be in a survival mode mentality.
With that said, I hope you understand my desire to stay in a position where I can personally provide and oversee this support by my physical presence and leadership, to say nothing of the fact that Gail and I, working and ministering together, creates a synergy that brings an increased anointing and encouragement to those who experience our corporate ministry. We have already experienced this dynamic in various opportunities around the country.
Gail
I would like to put in words what I believe Gail can and does offer her audiences. I believe that those who know Gail will confirm the following.
Obviously, the setting she feels the most comfortable in is the body of Christ. I would describe her gifting as prophetic encouragement. She is indeed an effective communicator with an interesting and penetrating ability. Having witnessed her presentations often I have truly been amazed at how God has used her to infiltrate the lives of her audience in the power of the Holy Spirit. She emotes an indelible hope on the hearts of her hearers and the fact is that her own journey, through the crucible of infirmity and handicap, has created an authenticity that this generation desperately calls for. Besides holding audiences in awe of God’s grace in her life she has a heart warming friendliness that is equally authentic and refreshing. She has navigated through a difficult life with circumstances she herself has asked God to deliver her from, but she nonetheless comes out smelling like the heaven she represents.
It is no different when she has opportunity to speak to secular audiences in corporations and at social and civic clubs. She fashions her message in these settings to build a bridge for all present to cross, and then receives and hugs dozens as they stand in line to say something of appreciation to her; all this while still unable to see her audience and yet seeing very well what they need to hear. As the sub title of her book indicates she successfully helps people ‘see beyond the horizon’ where the sky is the limit.
I believe wholeheartedly that as her ministry, indeed, her very person, is more and more exposed to the body of Christ that she will be in demand in diverse groups inside and outside the church and at various venues. And she will deliver a message of hope and faith that will bring lasting results to many.
Her heart beats for souls and nations and she feels a personal call from God to mobilize to this end. She is motivated for sure but handcuffed by the practical limitations of our ministry as we have known to this point. An administrative assistant at her service would make an incredible difference. I am praying and working to see her released to places among people where her gifting and calling can find its best expression. These are some of the many reasons why I am asking you to please help us with these ministry objectives.
Tony
It might be risky business to write about one’s self. If I would have left it to Gail she would have written something incredibly nice about me as she enjoys being the president of my fan club. However, I felt that in a very real way I was needing to clearly convey some of my own passions, perhaps in a way that is characteristic of a résumé where an applicant has to make comments about himself that gives indication that he is aware enough of his own experiences and abilities to confidently handle the job or the task before him. So, allow me please the opportunity to express my own heart about how and what God has led me to do and to emphasize in recent years and why I believe my contribution to and my participation in this ministry effort is significant.
I am driven to make things, even the most complex things of life, easier to understand for my hearers. This is perhaps why I have been asked to teach at Christ For The Nations Institute over the last seven years in spite of the fact that I am not a CFNI graduate and spent most of that time on the administrative side of the CFN ministry. Almost every instructor there is a former student of this 37 year old Bible school. The lights seem to come on for my audience when I teach and many have given testimony to me through the years of how they have been helped and encouraged. Many a time my students and even former church members from years gone by will tell me about how they remember a particular presentation I gave and how it impacted their life.
There are many teaching emphases that I espouse that I desperately feel a need to be in written form. Therefore the idea of writing more than one book is in my plans (see www.TonyMcWilliams.com). Doing so would expand my efforts exponentially and help me to reach more people than ever. My challenges to men in the body of Christ are unique and my presentations to families, with Gail by my side to provide prophetic encouragement, help family members tackle areas where understanding had been previously dim.
On many occasion an individual will approach me who has completed the reading of Gail’s book “Seeing Beyond.” They will make effort to express gratefulness for my involvement in the story. I have told Gail from time to time that she was much too kind in how she portrayed me, as I feel that during those years that define the setting of the book that I did not rise to the occasion like a man of God should, but, too, I have been awakened in recent months to recognize the work of God’s grace in my life as Gail and I together climbed the rocky summits of life only by the grace of God; and in the final analysis God is to be praised for the message formed and delivered through our lives.
In Conclusion
Somehow God has placed on us both not only grace but an ability beyond ourselves to deliver at various opportunities a life message that encourages our hearers in a very unique way. I do not take that lightly and am even so bold as to make a proactive effort to ask you and others to earnestly help us get launched and stay in orbit.
I truly believe that Gail and I are standing at the threshold of some incredible opportunities that will make all the difference for many people both nationally and internationally. I request your serious consideration to support this ministry monthly with your prayers, your offerings, and your recommendations to others in your sphere of influence.
I am thanking you for the time you have taken to read or listen to this appeal and sincerely pray that God bless your life and those you love.
Respectfully in Christ Jesus,
Tony McWilliams
888-270-0182
Tony@TonyMcWilliams.com
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McWilliams Family Ministries, Inc.
PO Box 765127
Dallas, TX 75376-5127
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