What Your Support Funds and How We Are Accountable

If you are considering giving financially to support our missionary work in Cape Town, South Africa, we want to be as clear and as honest as possible about what your money does, how it is processed, and who makes sure it is handled with integrity.

We know that trust is earned. And we know that the history of financial abuse within religious organizations — especially across Africa — has made people rightly cautious about giving. This post is our attempt to give you a clear picture of everything related to missionary financial support, so you can give with confidence, or decide it is not the right fit for you.

Either way, we want you to have the full picture.

Who Processes Our Missionary Support

All financial gifts to Elliot and Bethany Duenow are processed through the World Initiative Network (WIN), the missionary-sending organization we serve under. WIN is affiliated with the Baptist Bible Fellowship International (BBFI), a longstanding and respected Baptist missionary organization.

Every gift goes through WIN's established financial system — a layer of accountability that exists to protect donors, missionaries, and the integrity of the gospel work.

WIN is a registered nonprofit organization. Contributions to our missionary account through WIN are tax-deductible for U.S.-based donors.

Exactly What Your Support Funds

Here is a transparent breakdown of what missionary support for Elliot and Bethany Duenow in Cape Town, South Africa covers:

1. Housing in Cape Town, South Africa

Cape Town is one of the most expensive cities in Africa. Housing on the Atlantic Seaboard — where our ministry is focused in the Sea Point neighborhood — reflects that cost. Your support covers our rent, utilities, and the basic costs of maintaining a home from which we do ministry.

2. Daily Living Expenses

Living expenses — groceries, transportation, communication, and basic family needs — are covered by supporter contributions. This is what allows us to be fully present in Cape Town for ministry rather than working a separate job. Missionaries are, in a very real sense, funded by the church to do what the church cannot physically be present to do itself.

3. Ministry and Outreach Costs

This category includes the actual costs of doing ministry on the ground in Cape Town, South Africa:

•       Bible study materials and discipleship resources

•       Outreach events and community activities in Sea Point

•       Biblical counseling services offered free to the community

•       Printed materials, hospitality, and meeting space

4. Medical Coverage

Living and serving in South Africa requires adequate health insurance. A portion of our support covers medical coverage for our family.

5. Travel for Ministry

Occasional travel within South Africa for ministry collaboration, team meetings, and outreach opportunities is a necessary part of church planting work. These costs are part of our support budget.

6. Stateside Ministry Travel

Each year we return to the United States to visit our supporting churches, report on our ministry, recruit new partners, and strengthen the relationship between our sending churches and the mission field. These trips are funded through our support — and they are essential. Keeping our supporting churches informed and connected is part of our responsibility to them.

7. Retirement and Long-Term Planning

WIN's missionary support structure includes a provision for retirement savings. We are not just thinking about next month — we are thinking about a lifetime of faithful service and what it looks like to finish well.

How Financial Accountability Works

We want to be clear: no missionary should simply ask for your trust without showing you the structures that earn it. Here is how accountability works for our missionary support:

WIN's Financial Oversight

The World Initiative Network (WIN) maintains full financial oversight of missionary funds. They process every donation, maintain records, issue tax receipts, and ensure that funds are disbursed appropriately to missionaries. WIN operates under the governance of the BBFI, which has decades of institutional accountability in Baptist missionary work.

Reporting to Supporting Churches

We are accountable to every individual and church that partners with us financially. We send a bi-monthly newsletter to all of our partners with updates on how ministry is progressing, how funds are being used, and what we need prayer for. We also visit supporting churches annually to give a live report and maintain that personal relationship.

If a supporting individual or church ever has questions about finances, ministry activity, or our personal conduct, we welcome those conversations. Accountability to our sending and supporting churches is not a burden — it is a protection.

Our Personal Commitment to Integrity

We committed before God and before our supporters that we will handle ministry finances with the same integrity we expect from others. We do not personally control the funds given to us. We operate within the structure WIN has established. And we are committed to the principle that the mission we are on is God's — not ours — which means the resources entrusted to it belong to Him.

How to Give

You can make a one-time or recurring monthly gift to our missionary work in Cape Town, South Africa by visiting:

worldinitiativenetwork.org/missionary/duenow-elliot-and-bethany

All gifts are processed securely through WIN's giving platform. You will receive a tax receipt from WIN for U.S. tax purposes.

If you have questions before giving — about the amounts, the process, or anything else — please use the contact form and we will respond personally. We are happy to walk you through anything.

Why Monthly Partners Matter Most

One-time gifts are a blessing and we are grateful for every one. But monthly partners are what allow us to plan, commit, and build — because we know the support will be there next month and the month after that.

If you are able to give a consistent monthly amount — even $25 or $50 — you are giving us something more valuable than the dollar amount: you are giving us stability. And stability in missionary work means the ability to invest in long-term relationships, rather than spending energy on financial uncertainty.

If you would like to become a monthly financial partner for our missionary work in Cape Town, South Africa, we would love to hear from you. Reach out through our contact page — we want to know who you are.

Thank You

To everyone who has already given to support our work in Cape Town — thank you. You are not simply helping two people live overseas. You are part of a gospel team that is working to see people in South Africa come to know Jesus Christ. That matters eternally, and we do not take it for granted.

— Elliot & Bethany Duenow