100% of the OGM funds the long-term presence of CBF field personnel.

Field personnel raise their support for programming from within their circles of influence. Some field personnel are also in partnership with specific churches that meet some of their programming needs. Gifts to field personnel projects and ministries do not fund their long-term presence (i.e., their salary, benefits, housing, etc.).

Presence covers the costs of field personnel and their families to live full and healthy lives in their place of service, including their salaries, benefits, housing, and children’s educational needs. Programming encompasses the costs of various projects and regular ministries of field personnel. Gifts to the OGM do not cover mission programming. And vice versa, gifts directly to a field personnel unit for their programming does not cover their presence (i.e., their compensation and living expenses).

No. 100% of the OGM goes towards providing for the long-term presence of field personnel. Chaplains, church planters, and Together for Hope are funded through other channels, although f ield personnel may relate directly or indirectly to these other ministries associated with CBF. Field personnel may be appointed to work in some of these settings and are thus funded by the OGM.

This is the amount needed to cover the presence costs for CBF’s current field personnel.

Not automatically. Unless you specify to your CBF State and Regional Organization (SRO) that you want a certain amount or percentage of your donation to go towards OGM, your SRO will not automatically send a portion of your gift to OGM. There are a small number of SROs who implement a formula funding model where a certain percentage of gifts they receive go toward CBF’s general budget. Contact your state or regional office to learn their policy.

There is no specified time set aside to promote the OGM within CBF. That determination is up to each individual church, though the most common seasons of emphasis occur near Christmas and Easter. CBF has two weeks set aside during the year to pray for the offering. There is a week in the fall (third week of October) and a week in the spring (second week of March). Resources to promote the offering can be found at www.cbf.net/ogm. Resources for the week of prayer can be found at www.cbf.net/OGMpray.

No. CBF neither funds nor staffs networks. Instead, individuals within the Fellowship who desire to connect and share resources, encouragement, and support around a particular need or interest, may form a network. If you have more questions regarding the networks, you may contact fellowship@cbf.net.

Undesignated contributions to CBF fund ministries such as Young Baptist Ecosystem, chaplaincy, advocacy, outreach/diversity and inclusion work, convening and collaborative ministries for congregations, cultivating identity, global missions infrastructure that supports the work of career f ield personnel, Global Service Corps, Student.Go internships, missional church engagement, disaster response, and overall administration that supports all ministries. CBF’s unrestricted contributions that fund all of these ministries comprise 67% of CBF’s budget. Contributions to OGM and Field Personnel programming account for the remaining 33% and strictly support field personnel. For a more detailed explanation of CBF’s budget, click here.

The general budget of CBF covers any gaps for field personnel salaries and benefits that are not raised through the OGM. However, this is neither an ideal nor healthy situation because it puts a strain on other ministries and limits CBF’s ability to scale the Global Missions infrastructure to meet needs on the field.