Roland Allan, a mission writer from the past century, claimed that a mission subsidy to the congregations and workers causes either apathy or resentment. Is that what we find almost 100 years later? More time and investigation are needed, but here are some early observations.
UPDATE JANUARY XXXX: It's worse than we thought. Just about everybody we talk to, both active and inactive members of the congregations, has a comment or two on this question. All of our informants insist on speaking off the record. There seems to exist a high sense of jealousy and mistrust between the various congregations. People are manipulating and strategizing for positions and salaries. And for many honest souls who work for the mission and are communicant members of a local congregation, it is very difficult to continue as a member of the church after they have been fired by the mission administrium. Apathy is reflected in the lack of initiative among those who are not paid by the mission. It is difficult to document these observations, no one wants to be quoted. Many feel a need for open forum meetings where issues can be discussed and clarified. However, rarely do those in charge call such meetings.
UPDATE OCTOBER XXXX: We heard of one such open meeting during the summer. How representative it was is a matter of opinion. Since the congregations have no official membership lists, and some groups are not organized as congregations, the persons who attended this meeting might or might not have been eligible for voice and vote. However, according to our sources, the issue of mission subsidy was not discussed. Hey, just try to get a copy of the minutes of that meeting!!! Ha!!! The people who ran the meeting were careful to insure the contination of the mission subsidy. Do we observe apathy? Well, attendance in all the congregations is going down, and your observer has observed no reception of new members during these months. Resentment? You would be surprized what we are being told.
One young man who prefers to remain anonymous admits he is a member of a certain mission organization and attends their seminary only because he receives a monthly stipend. Another young man enrolled in a seminary, admitting that he did so for the stipend. After they graduate they plan on finding a "sponsor." They are currently sending email messages to potential "sponsors." They even asked your friendly observer for the names of potential sponsors. Imagine that!
UPDATE A YEAR LATER: A local pastor managed to get a member of his congregation enrolled in a local seminary, and admitted to us that he did it only so the man would receive a stipend. In late breaking news we discovered a seminary receiving funds from donors in the USA of more than USA$30,000 a year, with an enrollment of two students.