A proven and tested approach
With so many books, resources,
techniques and ideas out there, it can be hard to know where to begin when
raising support to serve on a short-term mission. We can lose balance
with information overload and feel completely overwhelmed or go to the other
extreme and do nothing and hope it works out.
In addition to this lack of balance,
most times raising support is viewed as a necessary evil to get on with the real
ministry. Oftentimes, what most do is simply send out a letter announcing
their plans with a request for support. While prayer is a key component
of this approach, we can miss the heart of discipleship that God intends for
the short-termer and those who will take part as senders.
Is
asking for financial support biblical?
"Until now you have asked for
nothing in My name; ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be made
full.” John 16:24 (NAS)
If you have been charged with the
responsibility of raising support for your short-term mission you can’t do it
without establishing the conviction that asking is biblical. Now, I
didn't say it was necessary for God to provide for your ministry, but it
is clearly one of the methods by which He chooses to provide. Here
are examples from the Old and New Testament:
“Then the
heads of households of the Levites approached Eleazar the priest, and
Joshua the son of Nun, and the heads of households of the tribes of the sons of
Israel.
They spoke to them at Shiloh in the land
of Canaan, saying, “The
LORD commanded through Moses to give us cities to live in, with their pasture
lands for our cattle.” So the sons of Israel gave the Levites from their
inheritance these cities with their pasture lands, according to the command of
the LORD.” Joshua 21:1-3 (NAS, emphasis mine)
Here we see the heads of the Levites
verbally reminding Eleazar, Joshua, and the heads of the other tribes of Israel
of God’s command to provide for their needs. Even though it had
previously been commanded it didn't happen automatically. It took this
verbal reminder for them to respond obediently.
Let’s take a quick look at this New
Testament example:
“And
whatever city or village you enter, inquire who is worthy in it, and stay at
his house until you leave that city.” Matthew 10:11 (NAS)
To inquire or “ask” required
verbal communication with the believers in a particular city for their support
and provision while ministering. While there are other verses we could
examine, these two make it clear that asking for resources has been, and always
will be, a part of growing ourselves and others to be more like Christ and a
biblical way to accomplish ministry.
Go and
Make Disciples of all Nations
If you’ve committed to serve on a
short-term mission, most likely you are aware of the Lord’s mandate to go and
make disciple of all nations provided in Matthew 28:19. In fact, your
participation on a short-term mission may be one of the practical ways you are
carrying out that mandate in your life! Yet, we must remember that the
call to make disciples is not just an overseas call but also one we must live
out in the U.S.
and within our own communities. This is by no means a new concept, but
oftentimes it’s a value we ascribe to as important but never fully live
out. In fact most believers agree with this strategy laid out quite
nicely in Acts 1:8 (to be witnesses in Jerusalem,
Judea, Samaria
and the ends of the earth) but they struggle with truly living a missional
life.
Have you ever thought of “asking”
others for financial support for your short-term mission as a viable part of
making disciples? Have you seriously considered that God might have plans
to challenge and mature others in their faith journey as a result of your
short-term mission? After all, isn’t giving just as much a spiritual
discipline as praying or reading the Bible? Most of us are very
comfortable challenging others to pray, to read the Word or to serve but are
genuinely intimidated at the thought of asking for financial resources.
As a short-termer we have a tremendous opportunity to help others become “more
complete in Christ” (Col
1:28-29) through their giving and an opportunity to be co-laborers in the
short-term mission. We also have a tremendous opportunity to grow as we
step out in faith, ask, and trust the Lord for His provision.
How do
I ask for financial support for my short-term mission?
Without love “it profits me
nothing” (1 Cor 13:3). Authentic loving relationships are the bedrock
of asking for financial support. Our relationship with the Lord is our first
priority followed by our relationships with those we intend to ask for
support. Oftentimes, the support raising process is a good indicator of
the quality of loving relationships we have in our life.
1. Pray – Begin by acknowledging and
adoring God for who He is. Psalm 50: 10-12 states, "the world is
Mine, and all it contains.” These and many other Scriptures make it
clear that everything belongs to God. We can love and worship God by
acknowledging and resting in this truth through prayer. There’s no
single vision or need He can’t provide for.
Share your fears and concerns for
His guidance, and ask for the right words. Also, pray for the
individual(s) you intend to contact. Pray that you will be able to
connect with them, that their hearts would be open and ready for your request,
and for God to lead them in their response. This is not a “pray and pay”
approach. God knows our hearts and our prayers need to be rooted in
love. If we sincerely care about each person, our motivation is that all
would be obedient to the Lord’s leading -- however that may turn out.
2. It starts with you (Luke 6:40): If we are not
personally invested in the short-term mission, it can be difficult to encourage
and ask others for financial support. Jesus Christ set the ultimate
example of generosity and challenges each one of us to conform to His image. As
individuals seeking to serve on a short-term mission, we cannot attempt to develop
other spiritual disciplines in our life yet neglect generosity, nor can we take
others on a journey toward generosity or expect others to give if we are not
personally committed ourselves. A model often recommended for short-term
mission fundraising is the 1/3 – 1/3 – 1/3 approach, where the first one-third
comes from the short-termer, the second from the church and the last one-third
from family, friends and others who want to partner financially with your
short-term mission. This is not a hard and fast rule but only a
recommended breakdown. The key here is that you personally invested at
any amount and were generous towards what you are asking others to be generous
towards. Your portion can come from a monthly gift that you set aside
prior to your trip through budgeting, out of your
personal savings,
or by creative ways to generate additional
income such as taking on odd jobs or having a yard sale.
3. Involve your local
church: Acts
6:6 provides an example of the early New Testament church commissioning
and sending missionaries to share God’s Word and make disciples.
Involving the local church is biblical and critical for success. Most
likely your short-term mission is taking place through your local church, but
that is not always the case. Either way, it’s important early in the
process to schedule a time to meet with your church’s mission team/pastor and
to share a bit of your testimony and journey, why you want to participate on
the short-term mission and what you hope God will accomplish. This is
also a great time to determine if there are any scholarships or funds that
would be available to help you along your way. Most churches have a line
item for short-term missions and plan for scholarship opportunities, but if
they don’t have funds set aside, determine if there are any plans for members
of the team to work together to raise additional funds. This could be a
number of things such as a fundraising dinner/dessert, silent auction, food
sales, etc. Be prepared to step in and help with events like this any way
you can.
4. Share the Vision/Need – Consider who you are contacting
and what their passions are before making contact with them. Because you
are in relationship, you will know if what you are going to ask for is in
alignment with their passions.
Seek first to meet face-to-face to
share about your short-term mission and the opportunity to help with financial
support. If you cannot share face-to-face, the next best approach is by
phone. As you share, be clear and concise with your request. Start
with the vision or need of the short-term mission, and then work your way into
the critical details such as the timing, overall budget and how specifically
they can help. Be sure to express how your role on the short-term mission
can help meet the need. After sharing, ask them if they will pray about
supporting you financially. If the answer is “no” or they make it clear
it’s not a possibility, thank them for their consideration and ask if they
would be a part of your prayer team. If the answer is, “yes,” to joining
your financial support team then always follow-up with the question, “When
can I contact you to determine how the Lord leads you?” All too
often, this is where the “disconnect” takes place in the discipleship
process. We ask them to “pray about it,” and fail to identify what the
next step will be. Good discipleship requires good follow-through!
By asking them for a follow-up date, you are essentially getting their
permission for follow-up. This allows them to have ownership of their
decision made between them and the Lord as well as to your follow-up contact
with them.
5. Follow-Through (Obtain
“yes” or “no”) - Once
you identify a date and time, be sure you make that follow-up call or
contact. Your chances of connecting are very favorable because they will
be expecting you to contact them. Once you connect, greet them, and
briefly remind them of the reason you are calling again and that you are
following up on the day/time they had indicated would work for them. You
have an opportunity to demonstrate a genuine sensitivity to their life
situations by asking them if this is a good time to determine what decision
they have made. The goal here is to get a “yes” or “no” answer not
provide a “sales pitch.” If you are unable to determine their decision be sure
to ask them for permission to connect again. Continue this process until
they have responded with a “yes” or “no” answer.
This is most often where the support
raising process breaks down due to a lack of persistence, fear or
forgetfulness. In Luke 18, Jesus shares about a persistent widow who was
finally granted her request from a judge. Verse 5 hilariously states, “because
this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she
won’t eventually wear me out with her coming!’” The context of this
verse is persistent prayer to God, yet I also believe God works and honors
those who are persistent to fulfill their various ministries. We don’t
want to be a pest, but it is biblical to receive a “yes” or “no” answer from
those who said they would pray and get back to us.
6. Thank Supporters – Regardless of how individual(s)
respond to your request always express your gratitude and appreciation for
their time and consideration. Saying “thank you” is another key component
of an authentic loving relationship. Take the opportunity to do this
verbally during the follow-up meeting. This may sound odd, but I have had
the opportunity to thank individuals for saying “no” to a financial
request. I typically do this when I realize later how God intended to
provide for a specific need. Remember that a “no” can be an obedient
answer and that God can use a “no” to reveal His pathway of provision.
When individuals do choose to
support your short-term mission, set a personal goal to thank them a minimum of
five times. These “thank you’s” can come verbally, through written
cards, emails, a final report, or by sending a thank you gift. You can
never say thank you enough.
Article by
Chris McDaniel
Chris McDaniel
is the Chief Business Development Officer for DELTA Ministries International
(DELTA) and author of Igniting
a Life of Generosity. Chris loves to spend time with this wife, bumping the
volleyball with his daughter, playing catch with his son, serving the “least of
these”, pizza, snowboarding, running half marathons, and seeing followers of
Christ become generous givers.
