Ministry Finances

MINISTRY SUPPORT FINANCES

Primary financial resources for our church planting leadership at Tokyo Multicultural Church come from churches and individuals who choose to donate to our half-time ministry. As of June 1, 2025 we serve with Christar Canada. So donations to our ministry can now be routed through our Christar Ministry Budget or Project Fund, or both.

By way of context, in January 2025 the EFC of Canada board laid off its overseas ServeBeyond Canadian missionaries because liability insurance coverage was no longer available for them. With no more missionaries to lead in Asia, there was no longer a role for us as Asia Regional Coordinators. Having lost half our ministry portfolio we moved to half-time status in May 2025, focusing only on our church planting leadership ministry at Tokyo Multicultural Church. And we ourselves could no longer stay with ServeBeyond. But the Lord opened the door for us (and others from ServeBeyond) to transfer to Christar Canada, allowing us to continue our TMC ministry.

HALF-TIME MINISTRY BUDGET

2025 Budget
Our Jun-Dec 2025 half-time Christar ministry budget is CAD6600/mo (about USD4800/mo). This foundational Ministry Budget includes the following items covered at 1/2 our former full-time budget:

salary
housing
US medical insurance

And the following items are fully covered as in our former full-time budget:

airfare for our 3 trips per year to Tokyo
international travel medical insurance for that travel
legals for that travel (passports, visas, etc.)
office supplies
internet
phone
banking fees (wire transfers, etc.)
mission agency admin fees (10% with Christar, formerly 15% with EFCC ServeBeyond)

Our total half-time 2025 Ministry Budget is about 60% of our previous full-time ServeBeyond 2025 Ministry Budget, which was CAD11,000/mo (about USD8000/mo). This is due to the fact that, excluding the more personal items like salary and housing, our half-time ministry expenses have remained about the same as when we were full-time. That is, we still travel 3 times a year to Japan, office fees for our ministry haven’t changed much, etc. And much of our former ServeBeyond Asia Regional Coordinator costs were covered from a different budget.

Income from our support team over the Jan-Jun 2025 period has been 98% of our budget. Thank you support team!

2024 Budget
Our 2024 income fell short of our former ServeBeyond 2024 budget of CAD143,867 (USD99,600) or CAD/12,000mo (USD8300/mo). Income was CAD128,047 (USD88,700) or CAD10,670/mo (USD7390/mo), which was about 90% of budget. We made up the difference by postponing some ministry expense claims and taking a voluntary salary reduction.

2023 Budget
Our financial support team fully met our former ServeBeyond 2023 budget of CAD131,291 (about USD96,000) or CAD10,940/mo (USD8000/mo). Praise the Lord!

PROJECT FUND

TMC’s church planting fund provides a subsidy for launching and establishing the church.

A new church struggles with facility rental costs. In Tokyo those costs include damage deposit and realtor fees (4-6 months of rent), remodeling, ongoing monthly rent, and contract renewal (2-3 months of rent). TMC’s rental costs, including utilities, are about CA$3000/mo (US$2100).

Another important financial responsibility for a new church in Tokyo is taking care of its pastoral staff. TMC uses a model of multiple pastors/ missionaries with a stipend available for those who need it. Those who have completed their seminary education can receive JPY100,000/mo and those who have not yet done so JPY50,000/mo.

In 2025 TMC’s budget includes one JPY100,000 stipend and two JPY50,000 stipends, coming to a total of JPY200,000/mo. Lord willing, in the summer of 2026 one more JPY100,000 stipend will be added.

Furthermore, TMC would like to expand its rental facility because the 3F of the rental facility has become available. Currently TMC rents the entire 1F. Renting both the 1F and the 3F would provide the space needed for an increasing Sunday attendance, both adults and children (PTL!). This would add JPY120,000/mo to TMC’s facility costs, as well as initial contract fees.

HOW TO GIVE

Donations to our Christar Canada ministry at TMC can be routed through Christar Canada or Christar USA. Christar Canada has a .ca domain (christar.ca/give), whereas Christar USA has a .org domain (christar.org/give). In both cases, instructions for giving are noted. And in both cases individuals and churches may donate.

CANADA DONORS
Choose a donation method at christar.ca/give (Canada):

Options are automatic withdrawal, e-transfer, credit card or cheque. Cheques can be mailed to Christar Canada, PO Box 20164, St. Catharines, ON L2M 7W7.
Only our names (Dale and Ann Little) or the name of our project is necessary (Tokyo Multicultural Church). But our account numbers are:

Ministry Budget #4911 (Dale & Ann)
Project Fund #4912 (TMC)

For further Canada donation information, please contact Christar Canada at 1-800-295-4158 or donations@imioi.ca. (“imioi” = International Missions in Ontario Inc.)

USA DONORS
Donate at christar.org/give:

For our Ministry Budget, enter our account #4911. This will bring up “4911: Lit.” After entering an amount to donate and clicking “Give,” the Checkout page appears. On that page, options of giving by credit card or check are provided. Recurring donations are possible. Checks can be mailed to P.O. Box 851377, Richardson TX 75085-1377.
For our Project Fund (TMC) use the following direct link: https://www.christar.org/project/tokyo-multicultural-church
USA donors may also give through christar.ca/give (Canada).

For further USA donation information, please contact Christar USA at (214) 838-3800 or info@christar.org.

A big THANK YOU to our support team for continuing to partner financially with us as we transition to half-time church planting leadership at TMC.