WWNTBM
March Prayer/Praises and Special Dates
Click the link above to download a PDF of prayer requests and praises as well as the birthdays and anniversaries for March. Note: You will need to login to SecureCloud in order to view this document. Once you have logged in, click on Files, Shared, then Headquarter Happenings, then scroll to the month you would like to view. This step protects people with WWNTBM in restricted access fields.
March 15 – Please register for Family Week by this date, or let us know if you are unable to attend.
March 16 – Please contact John O’Malley by this date with any feedback on changes for our National Missionaries.
April 1 – February Financial Reports will be due.
May 1 – March Financial Reports will be due.
May 2 to 13 – Prayer letter services will be suspended; please see more information below.
June 15-18 – Family Fellowship Week in Kinston, NC.
Scripture is full of illustrations where God instructed men to come together for the purpose of remembering His goodness to them, and specifically, to annually memorialize great deeds He had done. These times of remembrance were often times of gathering, celebrating, and even feasting. In 1971, God answered the desire of Pastor Wingard’s heart and enabled him to start World Wide New Testament Baptist Missions. That first year, Calvary Baptist Church in New Bern, NC, hosted what would become the first annual Family Fellowship Week. This summer, we will again gather at the 50th Annual Family Week, where we will recount God’s blessings of the past, and look forward with anticipation to His blessings for the future. Please make plans to join us at New Testament Baptist Church of Kinston, NC, from June 15-18. Full details are available online at familyfellowshipweek.com.
We request that all users complete their financial report template using Microsoft Excel rather than Apple’s Numbers or other programs. Although Apple’s spreadsheet application does export to Excel, doing so removes many key features that our staff relies on to review the reports. Similarly, Google Docs is not structured to handle many of the formulas in the template and often creates problems with the figures. If you need to purchase a copy of Microsoft Excel for Windows or for Mac, we can obtain these for you at a discounted rate. If switching to Excel creates a hardship for you, please contact us. If you have any questions, please let us know. We appreciate your assistance in this area!
Changes in ministry can affect the typical expenses you list on your reports from month to month. For instance, someone on deputation will primarily have travel expenses, while someone on the field may have more costs related to renting a building or purchasing snacks and Sunday School supplies. Someone coming home on furlough will be dealing with meal allowances and lodging costs they do not usually see when on the field and may be using a borrowed vehicle, which must be recorded differently from a vehicle they own. We suggest that you click here to review our checklist of commonly overlooked expenses and make sure you are claiming all allowable deductions. If you have questions about your financial reports, please contact Naomi.
Due to staff vacations, our prayer letter editing services will be unavailable from May 2 to May 13. Please submit your letters to [email protected] anytime before 4:00 PM EST on May 1, to be sure it is sent out in time. Letters received after this date will be edited on May 14, when our normal processing schedule will resume. Please schedule your upcoming prayer letters accordingly. Thank you for your help with this!
Benaiah William Tyndale Folkers was born on February 18. He weighed 9 pounds, 9 ounces. Benaiah is the first son of Seth and Kaitlin Folkers and joins his older sister, Atarah, who is 18 months. The Folkers minister in Cameroon, where they assist with mobile Bible College training. Pray for them as the country is in much turmoil at this time.
WWNTBM has partnered with Ambassador Baptist College to lead a missions trip to Utah this summer for young people ages 16-30. We realize that many small churches do not have the resources to provide opportunities for their youth to see missions first hand. If you know of someone who would benefit from this trip, please direct them to our website at seetheharvest.com.
Dear World Wide Family,
I am very pleased to bring you some changes that took place on February 25, 2020. During our scheduled board meeting, I proposed to the Executive Board that Brother John O’Malley be made President of World Wide New Testament Baptist Missions and that Brother Jeremy Lockhart be made the General Director. The men accepted my recommendation and voted to appoint these men to those positions.
I understand when changes like these come, it is often assumed that there is a problem. Nothing could be further from the truth. It was my desire when Brother O’Malley came to work with us twenty-six years ago that this day would come. The Lord has graciously given us Brother Lockhart as well, and he proved himself to be capable during Brother O’Malley’s recovery from heart surgery.
What will I do? I will do much of the same things that I have done for the last thirty-five years. Darleen and I will continue in missions conferences and traveling overseas, and I will remain as Vice Chairman of the Executive Board of World Wide. It has been my joy to serve at the pleasure of the Executive Board in each capacity that they have given me. That will not change.
Fifty years ago, the Lord called Pastor Wingard to establish this mission. It has been my greatest pleasure to serve alongside of him with the hope that in some small way, I could help him fulfill our Lord’s desire for this work. That is still my hope. Be assured that I did not make this proposal without first talking to Pastor Wingard. We are in agreement. I am blessed to have a wonderful relationship with him, as well as with Brother O’Malley.
This decision is effective immediately. Should you have any questions, please feel free to ask me, Pastor Wingard, Brother O’Malley, or any board member.
In His Service,
Danny A. Whetstone
If this article has been an encouragement to you, you can email Bro. Whetstone here to let him know.
Tax season is once again upon us! Here are several reminders concerning tax issues that you may face. We trust that this information will be useful to you, both in giving you a better understanding of your reports and helping you to be aware of items that may affect your personal taxes.
World Wide Missionaries have always been considered dual status, in that you were self-employed but received a W-2. Following advice from our CPA and tax attorneys, starting with the tax year 2019 we are no longer issuing W-2 Forms, but began instead to issue 1099 Forms to our missionaries. When completing your tax return, you may want to ask your tax preparer about how the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TJCA) affects self-employed individuals. It is our understanding that you may be able to submit an amended return for the year 2018 if you did not fully take advantage of the TJCA benefits when you filed last year.
Tax-related paperwork generated by WWNTBM is in your SecureCloud folder. This includes your applicable 1099 form, MFR Summary Report, Tax Detail Letter, and Tax Receipts (if you gave through WW in 2019.) Please be sure to look at the second page of the MFR Summary, to see if there are any specific notes for you and your tax preparer. The Tax Details letter is a vital document for you to provide to your tax preparer if you had a housing allowance or if WW submitted estimated taxes for you. If you requested that we submit your tax information directly to your tax preparer, please note that those documents will be sent in mid-February. This is to ensure that there is time for us to include any forms that may arrive in our office from other sources. If you have any questions, please contact Naomi.
If churches issued funds payable to you in excess of $600 during the year 2019, they may issue you a 1099 form. If those funds were either mailed to the office or included on Line 2 of your MFR as extra income, they are already included in the total of your 1099 from World Wide. Our office can assist you in verifying whether the funds were included in your 1099. Your tax preparer can assist you on your return in recording this so that you are not taxed twice on the same income. We recommend that you request churches to make checks payable to WWNTBM to avoid this issue in the future.
In order to claim the foreign tax exclusion, you must be out of the US for 330 days over a 12 month period of time; however, these days do not have to be in the same calendar year. In order to gain the full benefit of the foreign tax exclusion, your tax preparer may be able to revise your returns based on the actual time you have spent overseas. Because of this, it is vital to provide your tax preparer with all of your travel dates to and from the US. You may also wish to discuss with them what the best travel dates would be when planning to leave for the field or return on furlough, as this could affect how much you are allowed to claim under the foreign tax exclusion.
It is our understanding that, while the Foreign Tax Exclusion does benefit many of our missionaries, it may not always be the best solution, as there are other situations which may give a greater benefit. Some of those options may affect taxes not only for this year but for future years as well. This is another reason we recommend consulting a tax professional who can advise you in relation to your unique circumstance.
Our financial report gives a location for you to track ‘health insurance costs.’ However, each individual situation is different. Some use this area to record traditional health insurance, some use it to record expenses through the Marketplace, and others use it to record details for a health care sharing ministry such as Samaritan Ministries. While all of these are health-related costs, each of the examples affects your taxes in a different way. Please be sure that your tax preparer is aware of the details of your health coverage, as it may affect how they complete your tax return.
Missionaries are considered to be self-employed and are therefore subject to self-employment taxes. Submitting quarterly estimated tax payments throughout the year will help to prevent having a large tax payment due each April. In addition, if you will owe at least $1,000 in taxes, the IRS requires self-employed individuals to submit quarterly estimated tax payments. Estimated tax payments can be submitted on your own, or, if you are interested, you may contact Kim O’Malley for information on how we can submit them for you.
US Treasury Department regulations require that if you have any foreign bank accounts, and if the sum total of all of your foreign accounts has ever been $10,000 at any given time during the past year, you must complete the IRS Foreign Bank and Financial Account Form (FBAR) and give it to your tax preparer. This includes all foreign accounts on which you are a signatory, such as a ministry account. This form, and further information about it, is available on the IRS website at www.irs.gov. Please refer to the IRS website and your tax preparer if you have any questions.
Studies have shown that the average person who uses a tax professional, instead of filing their own taxes, receives a much greater tax return. The savings far exceed the amount spent to hire a professional. Many have also found that using tax software does not always compare to the benefits of using a professional, either. In many instances, it is not that the software or the self-filer is wrong, but that other choices may be better. (Information is taken from daveramsey.com.)
It is also good to note that not all professionals are familiar with tax situations that might affect you. We encourage all missionaries to use a certified tax preparer who is familiar with special tax situations that affect missionaries and those living overseas. A listing of tax preparers used by other missionaries is available on SecureCloud, under the Forms and Manuals section.
In addition to your 1099 Form(s), MFR Summary, and Tax Details Letter from World Wide, you may wish to provide the following to your tax preparer as it will assist them in filing your taxes.
You may need to submit taxes in your foreign country, as well as in the US. Consult with a local tax preparer about this possibility. This may be especially true if you receive funds from that country.