Giving guide
How to Sponsor a Missionary: What $1,200 Covers
Sponsoring a missionary on the Nichols medical team costs $1,200 — $800 airfare and $400 lodging, meals and ground transport. Nobody is paid. Here is exactly what the money does and how to give it.
Every member of the Nichols mission team is an unpaid volunteer who raises about $1,200 to go. Sponsoring one of them is the single largest gift on the budget and the most direct: it puts a physician, a nurse, a pharmacist or an evangelism volunteer in a Belize village for a week.
The breakdown
“Each missionary raises approximately $1,200 to serve on this mission. Every member of our team serves as an unpaid volunteer. No one receives a salary or financial compensation for participating in this ministry.”
- Round-trip airfare — $800
- Lodging, meals, and ground transportation in Belize — $400
Who is on the team
From Don's mission statement: "Each mission team is made up of experienced physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, nurses, pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, and dedicated volunteers who have served on medical mission trips throughout South America, the Caribbean, Africa, and Europe. Alongside our medical professionals, an experienced evangelism team shares the message of Jesus Christ, prays with families, distributes Bibles, and encourages local pastors and churches."
What the sponsorship does not cover
The supplies a missionary hands out are funded separately through the $3,940 supply drive — Bibles at $2.50, hygiene kits at $3, reading glasses at $0.60. Team members raise their own support; the supply drive funds what gets given away.
Ways to give it
Sponsor a missionary in full for $1,200, or in part — a monthly gift of $100 covers a full sponsorship over a year. Every gift goes through PayPal with the item name filled in, so Don's records show exactly what it was for.
Use it
Tools that go with this guide
Questions people ask
- How much does it cost to sponsor a missionary?
- $1,200 on the Nichols team: $800 for round-trip airfare and $400 for lodging, meals and ground transportation in Belize.
- Are the missionaries paid?
- No. In Don's words, every member of the team serves as an unpaid volunteer; no one receives a salary or financial compensation for participating.
- Does the sponsorship include the supplies they hand out?
- No. Supplies are funded through the separate $3,940 supply drive. A sponsorship gets one person to the field and keeps them there for the week.
- Can I give monthly toward a missionary?
- Yes. Every PayPal link offers a monthly option at checkout. About $100 a month covers one full sponsorship over a year.
Everything on this page is given away free in Belize.
Somebody back home pays for it first. If this guide was useful, that is how you stand in it.
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More guides
Packing guide
What to Pack for a Medical Mission Trip: The Trunk System
Hygiene kit guide
How to Make a Hygiene Kit for a Mission Trip (About $3 Each)
Prayer guide
How to Pray for a Mission Team: A Seven-Day Guide
All guides and tools live on the Resources page. Every fact about the mission on them comes from what Don has published at www.donandpatti.com.