About four to six months after we planted our first church, the LaLoma Baptist Church in LaLoma, Quezon City, Metro Manila I did the following:

1. In the Sunday School hour I taught the teens and adults the HOW TO GET MORE MONEY FROM GOD SERIES
    (Credit where credit is due) (Important letter to our National Pastors Written in the 80's)

2. In the Sunday Morning Service I taught/preached the FAITH AND STEWARDSHIP SERIES

Note: It takes faith to give. Faith and Giving go together. They are bed-fellows.

Dr. Son Sisk said, "If you want to keep your people poor then don't teach them how to give."

Pastors and Missionaries need to change their minds about giving. If you don't believe it
it is for sure your people won't believe it. Nobody is too poor to give to God.

We then had our first missionary conference, making it something really big and exciting. I invited
a few missionaries who needed support to give their burden and calling of God to our people. We
put up flags around the meeting place and a map of the world and the Philippines.

All of our music was centered around missions. Here is a good one, "How will they hear?"

I began to make a thermometer to be displayed near the pulpit area so the people could see
what was being given each week to missions. This might seem a little "hokey" to you and it might
not look super nice but it helps motivate your people to see how their Faith Promise offerings are growing.

While at Highland Park in Chattanooga, just before the offerings were taken, Dr. Lee Robinson would always hold up his envelope and make a comment about the tithes and missions offering . People, in most cases, will follow the example of their Pastor. I did the same thing in the States as well as in the Philippines. It really works!

Sad to say, these days it is hard to see any evidence of missions or missionaries nor will you hear
anything from the Pastor about it. Is it any wonder why missions is almost a thing of the past? Your people
will give if they are taught stewardship from the Bible. Fear or ignorance will keep things going downhill and then what?

I praise God for those Pastors and Churches that put missions and missionaries on the front burner.