Category: Miscellaneous

Thank you for your patience with us as we have begun implementing new security protocols. Our goal is to keep your banking and financial information safe, rather than transmitting it through email, which is insecure. If you have not yet contacted our Office to set up your security questions and receive your code phrase(s), please do so as soon as possible.

Using Signal Private Messenger

We request all sensitive information communication go through Signal Private Messenger or via a traditional phone call, rather than by email. If a question arises as to the identity of the individual with whom we are communicating, we will request your code phrase(s) &/or the answer(s) to the security questions you have set up with us. For most general communication, including prayer letters and Monthly Financial Reports, email is acceptable. Click here to download the WWNTBM Quick Reference Guide to Security Protocols, which gives guidelines for when to use Signal Private Messenger vs. who to email for various situations. If for some reason you ever feel there is a need for communication to be more secure, you are welcome to use Signal Private Messenger.

Using SecureCloud

Starting with your July Ledger (Ministry Expense &/or Salary Report) and with your August Support list, these files will now be uploaded to SecureCloud instead of sent to you via email. Of course, your monthly packets will continue to be posted to SecureCloud as well. Following are some reminders about utilizing SecureCloud.

You may access SecureCloud via the website https://cloud.wwntbm.com

The following applications allow you to access SecureCloud on your iOS and Android devices. Download the appropriate application:

‣ Click here to download NextCloud iOS

‣ Click here to download NextCloud Android

You will need three things to login with the NextCloud application:

‣ Server Address: https://cloud.wwntbm.com

‣ User name:

‣ Password:

Click here to watch a video on how to change or retrieve your SecureCloud password.

Click here to watch a video on how to share files in SecureCloud.

Using Password Managers

The weakest link to any security protocol is your personal password(s). We suggest that you make them long, complex, and random; do not use the same password for multiple accounts or websites; and set up a schedule to change your passwords on a regular basis. Using a Password Manager can assist you to remember various account information. Below are helpful links for choosing passwords and for managing and storing them.

• Click here for a website that gives good information on how to choose passwords.
• Click here to use an online password generator to assist in creating your passwords.
• Click here to read several good articles on email and internet safety.
• Click one of the following links to download an app that will assist you in storing and managing multiple passwords:
  LastPass for PC or Mac
  LastPass for iOS
  LastPass for macOS
  1Password iOS
  1Password macOS
  If you have an Android phone, you may search the Google Play Store for a password manager.

January 19, 1941-June 15, 2017

“Well done, thou good and faithful servant.”

Isamo Welles played an integral part in the founding of WWNTBM and in the spread of the Gospel throughout Micronesia. Bro. Wingard first met Bro. Welles around 1970. Bro. Isamo heard him speak on the radio and wrote asking Bro. Wingard to visit Pohnpei. During that visit, the Calvary Baptist Church of Kolonia was founded and began meeting in the Welles’ home. Under Bro. Isamo’s leadership, Calvary went on to start five daughter churches on Pohnpei, as well as a TV ministry, Christian school, Bible Institute, and radio station. In addition, works in Kosrae, Yap, Majuro, and Jaluit grew under the sponsorship of the Calvary Baptist Church.

Isamo Welles was born on January 19, 1941. He attended school in Canada, where he graduated in 1968. He married Esther Joel on June 7, 1969. Together, they have six children: Kenneth, Glenda, Gordon, Shirley, Bruce, and Annette.

Bro. Isamo worked for a time with the Juvenile Delinquency Office, as well as for the US Post Office. In 1972 he was officially accepted as a missionary with WWNTBM. Due to his extensive influence throughout Micronesia and the Pacific Islands, Isamo Welles has become known to many as the “Apostle Paul of Micronesia.” In recognition of his efforts to assist the cause of missions, he was made an Honorary Member of the Executive Board of WWNTBM in June of 2002.

If you would like to contact the family, you can email Mrs. Esther, or mail cards to her home:
P.O. Box 2179
Kolonia, Pohnpei, FM 96941
MICRONESIA

As a tribute to Bro. Welles, we are including the words to the song At Home In Heaven. Click below to listen to the Calvary Baptist Church choir sing.

At Home In Heaven

Right here I travel through this world of trouble and sorrow,
And sense I’m a stranger everywhere.
But up to heaven I will go some happy tomorrow,
And I’ll feel at home when I get there!

I know I’ll feel at home in heaven,
Abiding in a mansion of my own!
I’ll be no stranger to the angels,
For I shall know up there as I am known.
Sometimes I feel so sad and lonely,
Can’t seem to be contented anywhere –
But someday soon I’ll move to heaven,
And I know I’ll feel at home when I get there.

I often read of heaven and of its beauty, I ponder
And think of its treasures rich and rare;
For if I know about the things awaiting me yonder
Then I’ll feel at home when I get there.

Each day I praise the Lord for blessings that He has given,
And thank Him for all His tender care.
I want to stay in tune with all the glory of heaven,
So I’ll feel at home when I get there!

Many of you have had the privilege to get to know Tim Daniel’s assistant pastor, Jackie Elwart, and his family at Family Fellowship Weeks over the past few years. Others of you were able to meet them as you traveled through New Testament Baptist Church (Kinston, NC) on furlough or deputation. Jackie, his wife Kari, and their three daughters, Charlotte (10), Audrey (8), & Sadie (6), love the ministry and missionaries, and their enthusiasm and joy have endeared their family to World Wide in a special way.

You prayed with the Elwart family back in 2013 as Kari fought and defeated leukemia for the first time. Then you joined with them to pray for healing again late last year when it was discovered her leukemia had returned. Our prayers for healing were answered when she entered into heaven at 5:06am on Wednesday, March 1.

In the words of her husband:

She crossed the finish line with such grace. Kari went to be with the Lord at 5:06am.

No more cancer, pain, or suffering. She has been eternally healed. We are so thankful for God’s perfect grace, IT WAS AMAZING. She went so peacefully, and she was surrounded by family.

Thank you to each and every one that has prayed for Kari, our girls, and I throughout this amazing journey. We have been so blessed, and we would appreciate your continued prayers.

“Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.” Psalm‬ ‭30:5

We grieve with the Elwart family and the New Testament Baptist Church of Kinston, NC, while at the same time rejoicing that Kari is with her Savior and in no more pain. Please keep their family and friends in your prayers in the coming days and weeks.

Funeral Arrangements:

• VISITATION – Friday from 5-8pm at New Testament Baptist Church located at 126 Neuse Rd., Kinston, NC 28501.
• FUNERAL – Saturday at 10am at New Testament Baptist Church located at 126 Neuse Rd., Kinston, NC 28501. Graveside service to follow at Westview Cemetery

If you would like to contact the family, you can email Bro. Jackie or mail cards to the church:
New Testament Baptist Church
126 Neuse Road
Kinston, NC 28501

So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.

O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?

The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.

But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

1 Corinthians 15:54-58

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.

World Wide Missionary List October 2016

Click the link above to download a PDF of the current list of World Wide missionaries.

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 “Missionary List October 2016”. This step protects people with WWNTBM in restricted access fields.

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 2015

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. 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 may 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 may have returned to the US for more than 35 days in 2015 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 2015, 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 request churches to 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 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 exceed the amount spent to hire a professional. (Statistics 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 listing of tax preparers used by other missionaries is available on SecureCloud, under the Forms and Manuals section.

Tax season is once again upon us! Following are several reminders for our missionaries 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 when listing expenses on your financial reports. Thank you!

The Affordable Care Act and Your Taxes

This is the first year that the Affordable Care Act 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 may still need to discuss your Health Insurance plan with your preparer, as it is our understanding this will affect your tax return this year. Questions about this should be directed to your tax preparer.

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.

1099 Forms

If churches issued funds payable to you in excess of $600 during the year 2014, 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 if 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.

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 return on furlough, as this could affect how much you are allowed to claim under the foreign tax exclusion.

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.

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 Form TD-F90-22.1, and give it to your tax preparer. 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 the new Form 8938. Please refer to the IRS website and your tax preparer if you have any questions.

The True Cost of Doing Your Own Taxes

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 exceed the amount spent to hire a professional. (Statistics taken from daveramsey.com.) We strongly recommend that all missionaries use a certified tax preparer who is familiar with special tax situations that affect missionaries. Contact the Office for a listing of tax preparers used by other missionaries.