Author: WWNTBM

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From the Memo Board: March 2017

Dates to Know

April 1 – February financial reports will be due

April 14 – The Office will be closed in observation of the Resurrection of our Lord

June 19-22 – Family Fellowship Week in Ocala, FL

Tax Notes

As you prepare to submit your financial documents to your tax preparer, here are some things you may want to remember to give them:

• List of dates you were in the US vs. out of the country
• Details of any housing expenses
• Information on any retirement plans
• Information on any investments
• Information about any foreign bank accounts on which you are a signatory
• Details of any family births or deaths (Names, dates, and SSNs)
• Details of estimated taxes submitted
• Information about your health coverage and medical expenses
• W-2s, 1099’s, and other tax forms received
• Information about tuition and fees paid for a child in college (including name and SSN of the child) and a copy of Form 1098T if received.
• Details of charitable contributions

Encouragement Opportunity

For several months, we have been hosting a weekly virtual meeting for those on deputation. This is a 30 minute call that is a time of fellowship, encouragement, and prayer. (Click here to listen to past recordings.) We would like to expand this opportunity to all of our missionaries, as a means of building community within our missions family. Our thoughts are to offer two different meetings per month, to allow for participation regardless of time zone. Our goal is for this to be a time of connection, encouragement, strengthening, and prayer as we seek to build each other up in the work to which God has called us. Please click here to provide your feedback on what times would work best for you to be able to participate.

Women of World Wide

You asked – we answered! We have been approached several times about finding a means by which ladies in our missions family can connect with each other to share ideas, struggles, encouragement, and fellowship. We have launched a special Facebook group called Women of World Wide. This will be a closed group, open only to ladies within our missions family. To join, email Laura Cmaylo and request to join the group. Once your request is approved, join in the conversation! Feel free to share prayer requests, recipes, recommendations, and ask questions of the other missionary wives in the group. We hope this will be a help and encouragement to our ladies!

New Babies!

Congratulations to Tim and Kristin Stalcup on the birth of Timothy Richard, Jr., who was born on February 5th. He weighed 8 pounds and was 20 inches long. The Stalcups also have a two-year-old daughter, Anna Faith. They are on deputation to minister to the Muslims in New York City.

 

 

 

 

Congratulations as well to John and Sarah on the birth of their second child, Eliana Noelle, on February 21st. She was 19.2 inches long and weighed 7 pounds 5 ounces. She joins her older brother, John Gabriel, who is 19 months. Everyone is doing well! Keep them in prayer as they continue to serve overseas.

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Tax Time Reminders

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. Please be sure that you are following published guidelines found in your Missionary Orientation Manual when listing expenses on your financial reports. Thank you!

Tax Paperwork for 2016

Tax related paperwork generated by WWNTBM will be in your SecureCloud folder on February 1st. This includes W-2 forms, MFR Summary Reports, and Estimated Tax letters. Be sure to look at the 2nd page of the MFR Summary, to see if there are any specific notes for you and your tax preparer. If you requested that we submit your tax information directly to your tax preparer, please note that those documents may not be sent until mid- to late 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.

The Affordable Care Act and Your Taxes

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) will affect your taxes in regards to your Health Insurance coverage. If you are enrolled in the Health Insurance Marketplace, you should expect to receive a Form 1095-A from the Marketplace, which you will need to submit to your tax preparer. If you were not enrolled in the Marketplace, you will still need to discuss your Health Insurance plan with your preparer, as it is our understanding this will affect your tax return this year.

It is our understanding that US residents living overseas who have returned to the US for more than 35 days in 2016 may also be subject to specific fees regarding the Individual Shared Responsibility Provision of the ACA. Information about this is available on the IRS website by clicking here.

Questions about this should be directed to your tax preparer.

1099 Forms

If churches issued funds payable to you in excess of $600 during the year 2016, 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 W-2. Our office can assist you in verifying whether the funds were included on your W-2. 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 ask churches if they could make checks payable to WWNTBM to avoid this issue in the future.

Foreign Tax Exclusion

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 your tax preparer what dates would be the best travel dates when planning to leave for the field or to return on furlough, as this could affect how much you are allowed to claim under the foreign tax exclusion.

Estimated Tax Payments

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. Estimated tax payments can be submitted on your own, or, if you are interested, you may contact our office for information on how we can submit them for you.

Tax Paperwork for those with Foreign Bank Accounts

US Treasury Dept. 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. It is our understanding that there have been several changes to these requirements in recent years, and you may also need to complete Form 8938. Please refer to the IRS website and your tax preparer if you have any questions.

Ministry Bank Accounts

If your ministry has been chartered and established as a non-profit organization, we recommend having your ministry get a bank account in its name. Funds for purchases such as land may be able to be sent directly to your ministry, thus eliminating your personal tax liability. Please note that there are limitations to this option. Of course, regular support could never be sent this way. Please contact our office for more information.

Utilizing a Tax Professional

Studies have shown that the average person who uses a tax professional, instead of filing their own taxes, receives a much greater tax return. When comparing the returns of those who self file vs. those who use a tax professional, it is estimated that a self-filer loses between $297 and $791 in missed refunds. The savings far exceeds 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 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. A list of tax preparers used by other missionaries is available on SecureCloud, under the Forms and Manuals section.

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From the Memo Board: February 2017

Dates to Know

February 15 – You should receive the 2017 MFR Template with the new mileage rates.

March 1 – January Financial Reports will be due.

June 19-22 – Family Fellowship Week in Ocala, FL.

Benefits of Financial Reports

The Monthly Financial Report (MFR) is the tool that missionaries can use to become accountable to WWNTBM for their reimbursable expenses, rather than having all funds listed as salary. Over the course of 2016, 80% of those eligible chose to submit MFRs. By doing so, they were able to reduce their W-2 Wages by a combined average of 32.27%. If you are not currently utilizing MFRs and would like information about how to begin, please contact our office.

Financial Status Report

We have uploaded a Financial Status Report to your SecureCloud account. This is meant to show you the financial details that we have on file, such as your support estimate and the average amount of support you received this past quarter. This is information we provide to pastors who may call about your ministry. We ask that you update your support estimate once every four years, or as your lives and ministries change. Please review this information and contact us if you have any questions or changes.

Deputation Meeting Archives

Bro. O’Malley holds weekly meetings with our missionaries on deputation, our office staff, and a different guest speaker every Friday. Audio and notes from these meetings can be found in this Dropbox file.

Communication Tools

Our goal is to communicate with you in the best and easiest way available for you. Many of our missionaries use a variety of apps to communicate easily with those on their field, as well family who are far away. If you have a tool you are using for communication such as WhatsApp or WeChat, and you would like to be able to communicate with the office using this tool, please contact us with your information, and we will connect with you there.

Easter Traditions

Over the Christmas season we featured Christmas traditions from several mission fields on our social media accounts. We would like to do the same thing for Easter this year. If your ministry has a special outreach or your field has an unique tradition for Easter that you’d like to share, please let us know.

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Prayer & Dates: February 2017

February 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 February. 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.

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Prayer & Dates: January 2017

January 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 January. 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.

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From the Memo Board: January 2017

Dates to Know

January 9 – Missionaries will receive their emailed statements of December Support Received.

January 11 – All missionaries will receive their final December support on this day, regardless of the day that they normally receive support.

January 16 – December financial reports will be due, along with any remaining receipts or financial paperwork for 2016.

June 19-22 – Family Fellowship Week with Memorial Baptist Church in Ocala, FL. Begin arranging your summer schedule to be with us!

New Missionary

Matthew and Rebecca Rose have been accepted with World Wide as our newest missionaries to Kenya. They are sent out of Grace Baptist Church of Hinesville, GA, with Pastor John Mills, where Bro. Rose has been serving as the youth director for the past five years. The Roses have four daughters: Deborah (5), Hannah (4), Esther (2), and Lydia (1). Please pray for the Rose family as they begin deputation.

 

New Baby

Congratulations to Matthew and Nikki Brown on the birth of Judah Lee, who was born on Christmas day! Judah weighed 6 pounds 13 ounces, and was 20 inches long. Praise the Lord for a safe delivery, as there were several complications during the pregnancy. Mom and baby are doing great! Judah is the Browns’ third child, joining Joshua (3) and Julie (1). The Browns minister in Cambodia.

Family Fellowship Week Change

Due to the damage caused by Hurricane Matthew, our annual Family Fellowship Week for 2017 is being moved to Memorial Baptist Church in Ocala, FL, with Pastor Michael West. It will still be held on June 19-22, 2017. Please check your calendars and make arrangements accordingly.

SecureCloud Packets

At the end of each month, we scan any mail that has come to the Office and place it in your SecureCloud folder.  This would include check stubs for all bills paid by the Office, as well as any cards or correspondence from donors. Please be sure to check your account periodically, especially this month, as many missionaries have received Christmas cards and letters, which would be available to you there.

Missionary Orientation School Online Update

In 2016, we launched a website for our new Missionary Orientation School (MOS), so missionaries can take classes online to assist in beginning deputation or refresh their memory on various topics. We have recently updated this website, so that any user can take notes online while watching the lessons. (See the photo below for the icon to access this notes feature.) On the main homepage for the videos, users can now see two new links for “Public Notes” and “My Notes” from which you can access or download all your notes at once, or you can click through individual lessons to see your notes there as well.

We would like to encourage all current students to work on finishing these classes as soon as possible in the new year. If you do not have a user a account and would like to take these courses, please contact our office and we will be happy to send you credentials so you can avail yourself of this opportunity.

January Income Totals

During a typical month, we close the books on the 25th, and any checks received after that date are posted to the following month. Due to receipting requirements, we cannot do this in the month of December. As a result, please be aware that your December support total may be higher than normal, while your January support total may be lower than normal. Please be sure to plan ahead for this!

Housing Allowances for 2017

Housing allowances previously in place have automatically rolled over to the new year. Missionaries who are ordained are eligible to have a housing allowance in place, which can provide certain tax benefits. If you did not have a housing allowance in 2016 and would like to have one for 2017, or if you have questions regarding this, please contact our office.

New Excel Template

A new Excel template for the year 2017 will be available during the second week of February. This will give us time to review the need for any possible updates. January financial reports will be due on March 1. Should you wish to complete your report before the new template is available, you are welcome to submit it on the 2016 template.

New Mileage Rate

Beginning January 1st, the IRS mileage rate has decreased to $0.535 per mile for business/ministry miles. This change will be reflected on the new Excel template for 2017.

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Featured Article: Seeing Past the Bars

Germanos - Mar 2015

By Stephanie Germano

Matthew 9:36 says “But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.” In this verse we see the depth of Jesus’ love for us and His desire for “all to come to repentance.” Oh that we may see the lost through the eyes of the Lord.

On October 28th, 2015, we got on a plane and took a one way flight to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. We were amazed how God provided every need! Within our first week, He had provided us with a car, a place to live, and many people who were so kind to help us get settled. Not long after we had moved in, I had noticed something that I had overlooked during all the busyness of the move. There were thick bars in every window for security. It seemed odd to me, and sadly it really took away from the beautiful view outside. As time went by, however, the initial excitement of being in a new place began to fade. Soon, reality began to set in. The new culture and its differences became more defined. The inability to communicate with others began to feel isolating. Keeping house and home has always been something I have enjoyed, but all of a sudden those bars in the windows began to feel confining. They began to represent something more, reminding me of the homesickness that was growing each day and the changes to which I was trying adapt. Every time, however, where there was discouragement, God would replace it with His sweet joy! We could feel Him helping all of us adapt in every way.

One morning toward the end of June, I woke up with what I thought to be bad case of pink eye. Later, we were told by the doctor that I had somehow contracted salmonella in my right eye. The infection left a thick scar over my cornea. Though it was a scary few months, God replaced fear with His sweet peace. I have felt the prayers of God’s people as I have had the privilege to literally watch the Lord heal my eye! Over just a few months’ time, the Lord has restored my sight close to what it was before the infection!

Not too long ago as I was watering the flowers, I looked out over our neighborhood. Now many of the faces we see each day have not just a name, but a story. At times you can see some of the students from the school around the corner crossing the street. Many of them do not know Jesus as their Savior and desperately need Him to change their lives. There is a lady across the street, who cooks at park to provide for her two precious daughters. Oh what the Lord could do in her life if she would just place her trust in Him. I watched the men who deliver the weekly water jug orders as they zoomed in and out of the cul-de-sac on their motorcycles. What an opportunity that the Lord has given us to be a witness to them each week! As I was taking everything in, something suddenly occurred to me. For the first time I was able to look out of the window and not even notice those metal bars. Furthermore, I realized that it was not just my physical sight that the Lord was improving. God had given grace where it was needed to help me look past myself and the changes in my life that seemed, at the time, so hard to ignore. There will always be a set of challenges that we have to look past. May we as Christians always depend on God’s strength to help us do this very thing, and only then can we look through the eyes of Jesus to see the faint and weary “sheep having no shepherd.”

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From the Memo Board: December 2016

Dates to Know

December 9 – Revised pay date for those who normally receive funds on the 10th.

December 9 – All prayer letters should be submitted to our staff in order for your recipients to receive them before Christmas.

December 16 – Please contact us by this date if you will need funds in your account before Christmas or the end of the year.

December 21-28 – The Office will be closed in celebration of Christmas.

January 1 – November financial reports will be due.

January 9 – Missionaries will receive their emailed statements of December Support Received.

January 11 – All missionaries will receive their final December support on this day, regardless of the day they normally receive support.

January 16 – December financial reports will be due, along with any remaining receipts or financial paperwork for 2016.

December Support

Please contact us by December 16 if you would like funds in your account before Christmas. Final December support distributions will be made on January 11th for all missionaries, regardless of their regular pay date. Contacting us by December 16 will enable us to schedule your funds around bank closings and holiday hours. Should you have an emergency need after December 20, you may contact our staff at the following numbers:

John O’Malley: 704-974-6108
Kim O’Malley: 704-974-1008

January Income Totals

During a typical month, we close the books on the 25th, and any checks received after that date are posted to the following month. Due to receipting requirements, we cannot do this in the month of December. As a result, please be aware that your December support total may be higher than normal, while your January support total may be lower than normal. Please be sure to plan ahead for this!

New Board of Reference Member

renfrowsWe would like to welcome Pastor Mike Renfrow as a new member to the Board of Reference of WWNTBM. Pastor Renfrow and his wife, Priscilla, are from Wilson, NC, where he pastors Trinity Baptist Church. Prior to their time in the pastorate, they served for several years in evangelism. They have four children: Micah, Stuart, Emily, and Laura. Trinity is the home church for Ruby Kersey, as well as Alejandro and Fina Sanchez.

New Missionary cordeiro_tati-2016

Tatiana Cordeiro has been accepted with World Wide as our newest missionary to Brazil. She is sent out of Fairfax Baptist Temple in Fairfax, VA, with Pastor Todd Abbey. Miss Cordeiro has already served in Brazil for ten years, where she has ministered with the Mike Ring family. Please pray for her as she continues to raise support and makes preparations to return to the field early next year.

Retirement Accounts

Each year we are required to publish the following to all missionaries:

WWNTBM currently offers our missionaries the option of participating in a 403(b) Retirement Plan, the non-profit version of a 401(k) plan. We encourage all of our missionaries to participate in some type of retirement planning. If you do not currently have a 403(b) account and would be interested in opening one, please contact our office for a listing of vendors and more information.

Due to IRS regulations, we are required to use a Third Party Administrator (TPA) to handle all 403(b) accounts. The administrative fee is $50.00 per year, which will be deducted from Support each January or February for those who contribute. The TPA assists us by administering our plan and keeping us in compliance with the Department of Labor and IRS codes.

Please note that loans and hardship withdrawals are not allowed by the companies who manage your 403(b).

Please see the file in SecureCloud for the latest information on contribution amounts and limits for 2016 and 2017.

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Prayer & Dates: December 2016

December 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 December. 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.

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Prayer & Dates: November 2016

November 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 November. 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.