Click here to download an AMA flyer (pdf) with more information and an opportunity to give.
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Contribute to Aged Ministers Assistance using our secure connection.
Contribute by check: Mail your check made out to Aged Ministers Assistance to - AMA, 1445 N. Boonville Ave., Springfield, MO 65802.
Click here if you would like information on how to apply for Aged Ministers Assistance.
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Your Contributions demonstrate:
Gratitude for the labor and sacrifice of our retired ministers
Recognition of their important role in building our Fellowship
Compassion for their present need
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Why do people give to AMA?
“I just wanted to let you know giving to the Aged Minister Assistance fund is one of the most enjoyable things I am able to do each month. I actually smile each time I write out that check. It has almost been a year since my pastor husband passed away. I loved him so much and still miss him every day. I am thankful and grateful that God has given me good health and a good job. The fact I can help other ministers and spouses of ministers gives me great joy. Praise God for His blessing.”
Aged Ministers Assistance Fund
Last year, AMA supporters helped 345 retired or disabled ministers and their spouses or widows. Through the AMA fund $845,310 was given to meet their needs through monthly support and emergency responses. Aged Ministers Assistance helps provide the daily needs of food, housing, utilities and medicine for aged or disabled ministers and their spouses who have substandard incomes, as established by the General Council.
AMA is not a pension, but an emergency fund. It is underwritten solely by contributions from concerned churches and individuals.
Contribute to Aged Ministers Assistance using our secure connection.
Thank-You Notes from AMA "Pioneers of Faith"
“Words seem so insufficient to express my appreciation. The difference AMA has made in my life— each month I am able to meet my financial responsibilities. I am 96 years old and do have many medical and extra expenses. My daughter and her retired AG minister husband have brought me to live in their home. They have been my caregivers for the last four years. I couldn’t afford a nursing home after my AG minister husband passed away.”
“My wife and I praise God for your monthly support to us; we would not have food on our table, no way to get our medications, no way to pay our insurance without your check. Thank God for you and the churches for this support.”
“I don’t know what I would have done since my husband died had it not been for AMA. My monthly support has put food on my table many times. I praise God for His blessings!”
“Since my husband passing I have received a check from AMA monthly. This money helps me with my heating bill, and is truly appreciated.”
“AMA is more than a blessing … it is a MUST for me. My husband’s call was to small churches. We would stay and build the attendance to above the past record, resign and go to the next small church.”
“With the help of AMA, I am able to take care of my utilities and the necessities of life. Thank you for helping provide while we’re just passing through this life to our most wonderful home being prepared for us.”
“We do not have enough Social Security every month to carry on our living. The offering we receive from AMA helps us pay our expenses and we are still able to give to others.”
“When I pastored I always made sure we gave to AMA never thinking that someday I would need their assistance. We thank God ...”
“We are really thankful for the monthly check from AMA. Without it, we could not live by ourselves in our small apartment.
“We expected the Rapture before retiring, as it was preached so forcefully in our younger years. So we did not save ahead and used personal money to help build churches. Many months our checking account is ‘scraping the bottom’ and AMA keeps us from going under.”
“I am so eternally grateful for the check you send to me monthly. I couldn’t make it without that monthly check. I live frugally and use my money wisely.”
“Friends, for all your love and care, for all your prayer, grace, and loving kindness, for all your willing giving of finances ... I thank you. It is great to know that in a world of change and economic crisis, somehow there is faithfulness. You are a part of my life.”
“Your monthly AMA checks are a blessing. Living would be bleak without it. God bless all who make it possible for us to live better.”
“When Dad passed away, Mom's Social Security was seriously severed, and she was mortified as to what was going to happen to her. Your gracious gift to Dad and Mom helped them to survive! It has now helped her to know she will always be able to buy groceries, have heat, and not be scared of tomorrow. When you're not healthy and elderly, that's a very scary thing.”
“With a thankful heart I wish to thank all who make those monthly checks possible. In prayer I ask God to bless every church and every person who makes the checks possible. The gift we receive makes the difference between not enough and just enough. Thank God for His many blessings.”
“At this Thanksgiving time we want to tell you what a special blessing you have been to us. You have no idea how wonderful it is to know we have money coming to us each month to pay for our bills and living expenses. We are so thankful to you and to the Lord! God richly bless you as you reach out to others.”
A POEM OF THANKS
“You remembered us—those that have given our lives to His call—wondering sometimes if it was worth it all. Those that have wept beside an empty fridge, in a dark, cold house staring at a table piled with bills.
“And then–you came with love, with joyful compassion—with His grace, in a simple monthly check—from AMA.
"We raised our eyes, and we saw HIM who is our Jehovah-Jireh, our Provider, our Blesser, our GOD -- and we saw HIM, in a simple monthly check from AMA. Thank you!"
Christmas Blessing Thank-you Notes
Each year at Christmas the churches and individuals who support the AMA ministry send a special Christmas Blessing offering for the aged ministers on assistance. Here are a few expressions of appreciation from grateful recipients of the Christmas Blessing:
“When the gift came, we were overjoyed to have money for unexpected bills! But first, since it was Christmas, we decided it would be a treat to go to a nice restaurant for a Christmas lunch – one where they use real tablecloths and no paper plates! We did, and it made us feel so blessed. To our surprise, a couple sat near us who were in our church over 20 years ago. He told my husband that his ministry had been the chief means of his dedication of his life the Lord, and he (my husband) would always be his pastor. I can’t tell you how much that blessed him – now 86 and not well. Your gift made a retired AG pastor a special, wonderful time. Our heart-felt thanks to you and to God!”
“I want to thank you from the very bottom of our hearts for your Christmas gift to our mother. When I explained who the check was from, her face lit up, and I wish the smile on her face could be communicated to you via this e-mail. Although the check was much appreciated, it was not the money that mattered -- it was the smile on her face! I hope this note of thanks will be communicated to all those who so graciously contribute to these funds in order to make these gifts possible. Thank you again.”
“Please accept my immense appreciation for the check I received this past week - what a Christmas blessing it was! It was totally unexpected, and I knew, once again, the strong love of our Heavenly Father through your hand extended. My husband went to be with the Lord last December after our having been married 60 and 1/2 years. We were in ministry for our entire married life and served our last pastorate for 27 consecutive years. It has been a great adjustment without my life partner.”
“This extra check and blessing was yet another reminder of God's faithfulness and the fact that there are still those who follow scriptural principles in reaching out to and taking care of others. May God richly bless you all as you continue to lay up treasures in Heaven through your generosity.”
“God never fails to amaze me. His timing is perfect. As I write with tears in my eyes of gratitude toward many people who support the AMA and never know how much they touch the heart of God to reach out to us. I applied for heat assistance and was told that it would take 8 weeks to see if we were eligible. We have our heat on 65 degrees. Now with this love gift, I can raise it up! Praise the Lord!”
“I certainly appreciate and thank you for the Christmas check. It comes at a much-needed time when I have a major car repair bill. When we pastored we always supported the AMA fund on special days. Now that we can no long be active in the ministry, we appreciate the care and thoughtfulness of this generation.”
“You will never know what a blessing your AMA check meant to me. My car insurance, taxes, car tag, and even my driver’s license were due. God always knows what we need – praise His dear Name. I’m praying for the people that made this possible.”
“I marvel at the way the Lord provides in difficult times. We face Christmas with apprehension knowing that finances were not there to do much when your check came in the mail. It brought our spirits to a new level knowing that God was still providing through unusual sources again.”
Aged Ministers Appreciation Sundays
November 13, 2011 and May 27, 2012
There are two "official" AMA Sundays each year, in May and November. But you can celebrate the Aged Ministers in your church any day of the year. The following are suggested ways to celebrate the senior ministers and evangelists in your church:
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Recognize all ministers and evangelists over the age of 65 in your service.
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Give the senior minister flowers or a gift and recognize them by name with years served and places served.
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For evangelists, note the possible number of states and or countries they have traveled throughout their ministries in your recognition of "years served and places served."
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Give them a card from the church, signed by the church leadership.
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Include a "thank you" in the church program, listing their names.
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Invite a senior minister to speak in the service.
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Invite a senior minister to give his/her testimony.
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Ask someone to testify who was influenced by a senior minister from the church.
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Make a PowerPoint presentation of pictures of churches or countries where the senior minister served.
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Sing their favorite hymns in the worship service.
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Invite them to a special luncheon on Aged Ministers Appreciation Sunday.
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Ensure that their spouses are also recognized for their years of support and ministry.
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Invite the children, grandchildren, and/or great grandchildren of the senior minister to help you celebrate Aged Ministers Appreciation Day.
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Make a contribution to AMA in honor or memory of your favorite Senior Minister or Evangelist, or all Senior Ministers and Evangelists.
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Encourage any senior minister in your congregation who needs help with emergency or monthly expenses (food or housing) to contact AMA if he/she is not already receiving assistance from AMA.
For information, call the AMA office at 417-862-2781, ext 2184.
Visit the website - www.ama.ag.org
Email us - ama@ag.org.
