NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE (ANS) -- If you run a ministry in the United States, it is quite likely that Phil South, a quiet, affable and dignified Englishman, looks after your European interests from his home-base in the British Midlands.

South runs a unique organization which is a ministry to help administer other ministries from "across the Pond." He's the man who puts the "WAM!" in missions.

It's called World Action Ministries and he takes care of the European ministry operations of some of the biggest names in American missions.

Dan Wooding with WAM's Phil South.

"We began many years ago looking after a variety of different organizations (and) we decided we had to bring it under one umbrella. We founded World Action Ministries back in 1985 and since then we’ve been serving a whole variety of organizations," South told author and international journalist Dan Wooding at the recent National Religious Broadcasters convention in Nashville, Tennessee.

"We looked after World Vision’s ministry in the UK developing their urban ministry there. We have looked after In Touch for twelve years, many, many different ministries along the way including Dr. Stephen Olford and, Dr. Ron Dunn’s ministries. We currently look after Stuart and Jill and Pete Briscoe’s ministry. (There are) currently fifteen ministries we’re looking after. We’re also looking after Native American Ministry based in Phoenix -- we’ve looked after them for many years, a whole variety of different organizations."

Wooding suggested that a lot of American ministries wouldn’t realize that when they go into Europe it’s a whole different ball game, the law’s different, the whole situation is different.

"So you have to in a way sit them down and educate them that they’re coming into a whole different arena. Is that a problem sometimes?" he asked.

"It can be -- we have to do it very graciously and gently, but it is a different world, it’s a different ball game altogether. The laws are changing all the time and they are totally different to the USA. We have to be very much on the ball as far as that is concerned. We like to think that we know the answers, I can’t say that we know them all, but it does challenge us constantly to be right there so we can do the best we can for any ministry that wants to be served."

Wooding wanted to know what are some of the pitfalls that they’re going to face unless they come to someone like South?

"First of all I’d say don’t do it -- but then after that I would say you do need to come to someone like us who knows how to handle it because to do it just straight from the States you’re going to just fall down a cliff face -- it’s going to be a real, real problem. There are so many technical details being answerable to the Charity Commissioners, the government, etc., and it’s all (quite) different in the UK."

Wooding commented: "You’ve got such a small market compared with America as well, so they’re going into a market that’s been hit up by just about everybody. So again what would you say to them -- do they have to present themselves in a different way then they would in the US?"

"Oh absolutely. I mean there are all sorts of different things that come to our mind. One for example, just if you take mailings in the UK, people don’t like to be battered twice a month, three times a month by letters through the post. Once every two months, three months is about right. Americans find that very hard to understand. Also the constant appealing for money: British people tend to give much more genuinely to a ministry if they understand the ministry, but not if someone keeps asking them for it. You don’t ask for money quite so 'up front' in the UK. You have to be gentle with that. So there’s a whole raft of things like that, that just need to be handled so carefully."

Wooding said that when he moved to the United States the whole concept of giving is wrapped up differently. "It’s like, you know you’re investing in this ministry, and in Britain it’s that your begging. So there was this huge difference in attitude towards that. So you must have to guide people through how you make this presentation?"

"Absolutely; all the time. One of the major things of course is here you have this tax system whereby if you declare your tax and you make a donation then you receive that tax benefit back yourself. In the UK it doesn’t work like that at all. We have a gift aid system that means that you make a donation and the tax that is recouped goes to the organization you’re donating to -- the individual doesn’t benefit, but the ministry does. So it’s a big difference, a big difference."

"You just have had your thirtieth anniversary?" Wooding asked.

"Yes; (although) I’ve been involved in this longer than that. In 1969 I came into ministry and I started of course in 1977 with the Movement for World Evangelization and it was when that began and reach its point of finishing that we developed World Action Ministries. That was in 1985. So we’ve been around quite a while."

Wooding recalled that when he started Assist Ministries, South very kindly jumped on board and began Assist Europe and ran it wonderfully well for several years. "So Phil, if people would like to hire your services or want to know more is there a website that they can go to?"

"They’ll find all the details there about us and the ministries at www.worldactionministries.org.uk ."

** Michael Ireland, Chief Correspondent of ANS, is an international British freelance journalist who was formerly a reporter with a London newspaper and has been a frequent contributor to UCB Europe, a British Christian radio station. Michael's involvement with ASSIST News Service is a sponsored ministry department -- Michael Ireland Media Missionary (MIMM) -- of ACT International at: Artists in Christian Testimony (ACT) International.