How is ReFrame Funded?

ReFrame Ministries is funded by four major categories: gifts from individuals, planned giving options, ministry shares, and church giving.

Gifts from individuals and organizations made up nearly 40% of our gifts in the ‘23-’24 fiscal year. These are gifts from long-time partners who listened to our flagship Back to God Hour program, first-time Today devotional readers, and everyone in between. About 6,400 individuals contributed to ReFrame’s work in this way last fiscal year, and our partners around the world depend on these contributions for their daily ministry needs.

Planned giving includes gifts designated through wills, trusts, retirement plan accounts, real estate, and other planned giving options. ReFrame works closely with two organizations to help facilitate these gifts: Barnabas Foundation in the United States and Christian Stewardship Services in Canada. You can learn more about the different Planned Giving options available on this page.

Planned giving is the most difficult category to budget for due to the unpredictability of the size or quantity of these types of gifts in a given year. For that reason, ReFrame is developing a Stewardship Fund with the goal of using each of these gifts over a 10-year period.

Ministry shares is the primary way that ReFrame has been supported over the years by the Christian Reformed Church (CRC) denomination. As the media ministry of the CRC, ReFrame serves about 1,000 congregations within the denomination. Partnering with these churches, together we share the good news of the gospel around the world, in the surrounding church communities, and right within the church.

Since its earliest days, the CRC has encouraged congregations and members to combine their funds in order to provide shared ministry that benefits all congregations. This pledge-based system is called “ministry shares.”

As of the last fiscal year’s data, about 20% of ReFrame’s budget comes through ministry shares. That percentage has been dropping since 2018, when the number was roughly 30% of ReFrame’s budget. This drop is due to two major reasons: (1) The overall amount of giving to ministry shares has dropped, and (2) the CRC has reduced its allocation, or percentage, of the total ministry share funding that is given to ReFrame.

For additional information and resources, visit crcna.org/ministryshares.

Individual church giving is a growing source of funding for ReFrame. Some congregations choose to take on a specific language ministry or ministry leader to support through their missions budget, committing a certain amount of financial support on an annual basis and cultivating a longer-term direct relationship between the congregation and a ministry team in another part of the world. Other churches take periodic special offerings for ReFrame, perhaps when a ReFrame representative or ministry leader is visiting or on the dates that the CRC denomination recommends. If your church is interested in supporting ReFrame directly, we have resources available to help your congregation better understand the ministry and the impact of your giving.