Living faithful, fruitful and fulfilled on the mission field
For years we served in missions before anyone from my husband’s family visited us. We longed for them to come to Nepal and India. Finally, they did. How fun it was to have them meet those we’d discipled and invested in! It’s a joy to …
Was this the writing on the wall? God’s final no? Were we too stubborn and deaf to hear what He was saying? I tried to steady myself as I reread the email in my inbox. “Your application for a residence permit has been denied. You …
Finances are often tight for missionaries. With COVID-19 taking its toll on the global economy, it is likely our financial challenges will grow. The struggle is often more acute for national missionaries, those working in their own countries. There can be a struggle to keep food on the table, children’s school fees paid, and other basic necessities. With this comes a great temptation to use inappropriate means to raise funds.
What might work for a quick “win,” is very appealing when our struggle is great. One strategy I’ve seen people use, is to befriend strangers on Facebook, then send them financial requests. This article will help you understand why you should not do this.
In the long-term, this tactic proves disastrous. One of the most ineffective methods of fund-raising I know of is using social media as a source of new foreign donors.
You should not do this because it is unethical (dishonorable). It is not a good long-term approach to being sustained in your ministry. The kind of pity and guilt donors you might find using this approach will be short-term. They are unlikely to support you in the way you want and need to be supported. Doing this, you will lose the respect of others who are potentially the right kind of people to become long-term ministry partners. It’s not worth the trade-off.
I felt violated. I’d befriended a young Indian pastor who seemed interested to multiply disciples in his area. He was a pushy type, but sometimes these people make good movement leaders if mentored closely. I wanted to help and believe in him. I’ve made it a practice to believe the best of people. Often I see their potential before they do. Perhaps he would be a leader of hundreds of churches one day!
At first, things went well. He seemed keen to receive my help and mentoring. I saw him show initiative, and he seemed to have a large circle of young people he was training.
There were overtones of financial motivation, but I was careful. I didn’t agree to pay for anything. If he wanted me to come train, he would need to raise most of the money for the training event. I would not pay for transportation, nor cover the participant’s expenses. The training went well, and I was encouraged.
Until a few months later, when trust was violated.
My husband’s cousin sent me a Facebook message. “Do you know so and so? They have been messaging me, asking me for money.“
I was shocked! How in the world did this person get my husband’s cousin’s contact? I’d never given it to him. This cousin lived in the USA and had no reason to be interacting with this man.
Anger and frustration rose in my heart. I felt as if someone had come into my home, snuck around, and stolen something from me. This was wrong and dishonorable. I immediately wrote to him and shared my concerns.
“I became Facebook friends with you because I trusted you. I’ve invested in you. Now you are going into my Facebook account and contacting my other friends without my knowledge, then asking them for money! This is wrong”, I told him. “If you continue to do this, or I hear of it again, I will unfriend you,” I wrote.
The man sent me a half-hearted apology, but trust had been damaged. I would not help him further, nor invest in his ministry, neither as a mentor nor financially. In fact, if asked, I would tell others not to trust him, that he was not a good person to work with. What he lost was far more valuable than what he gained.
I said, “Plow new ground for yourselves, plant righteousness, and reap the blessings that your devotion to me will produce. It is time for you to turn to me, your Lord, and I will come and pour out blessings upon you.”
Hosea 10:12 GNT.
Once you get a bad reputation, as someone who uses foreigners to get money, it is very hard to get rid of. It follows you. Your national colleagues will not want to work with you. Foreigners who may be interested to partner, but check you out with others, will hear of it. This is a very high price to pay in the long-term.
Trust takes much time to develop, but can quickly broken. When you use your friends (on Facebook or elsewhere) to find people to approach for money, it violates trust. Unless you ask them first, and they make the introduction, you must always be cautious in approaching your friend’s friends. Like I did, if they find out about it, they will feel violated and angry.
Reaching out to strangers and telling your “sad story” manipulates. It doesn’t build a relationship. God intends us to be compassionate as He is. Pity and compassion are very different things. Sending pictures of starving children, or telling people you don’t have food, makes people feel sorry for you. It doesn’t make them respect you. Ultimately, donors will invest long-term in those they have a relationship with. They will give to those whose ministries they respect. Regular communication, sharing vision and prayer needs, build long-term relationships. This is far more effective in the long run!
As national missionaries and foreign missionaries, we must trust God as our provider. His faithfulness, goodness, and power must be where we put our trust.
Jesus broke bread and fish and fed five thousand! This is the same God we serve. Will you miss out on a miracle? On your true inheritance, by trading it for a short-term, manipulative approach? Will you press into God, work hard to communicate your vision, and pray much until you see a release from within your own relational networks?
Do you believe your own people are also commissioned by God to give to missions? Rise up in faith that God can provide for missionaries through every kind of people. It’s often the rich we look to, but everyone can give! And as they do, God will bless and multiply their resources.
God is able to meet your needs! Stand on His Word.
And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
Phil. 4:19 ESV.
If raising funds through strangers on Facebook or other social media is not a good way to raise the critically needed money, what is the right way? Sign up for a short 5-day email course that will provide some help to you in this.
Seek God for innovative and creative ways to generate income locally, or develop ministry partnerships. Rise up in faith my friend. He is with you and will never leave nor forsake you!
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Indigenous missionaries and national colleagues seem to believe God for miracles easily. I’ve watched them cast out demons and heal the sick. It doesn’t seem as difficult for them to believe God for these things, as for some of my Western missionary friends. When it comes to finances though, I’ve watched these same friend’s struggle. They find it hard to believe God for a financial miracle, with the same faith they have for healing miracles.
God who heals and delivers is also our Great Provider. He is more than able to meet our financial needs!
The same Jesus who healed the blind man, and raised the dead, also looked in a fish’s mouth, found a coin, and paid His tax. He multiplied bread and fish to feed the multitude. Jesus’ miracles were not limited to only healing and deliverance. They included astounding instances of supernatural provision.
God is a God of miracles. We must learn to look to Him for His supernatural work in our lives. This is true of healing and deliverance. It’s also true with finances.
That is not to say we don’t do our due diligence when it comes to fund-raising. This is necessary. As we do our part, we look to God with faith and expectation that He will do His part. (Sign up for my FREE e-mail course on this below).
Not long ago, I visited a friend in Nepal. She is someone I’ve known for a long time. Many years ago, this friend lived with our family. She served on my team as we worked in the slums.
Talking with her, I heard an incredible story of God’s provision. (Click here to watch her tell it.)
God called her to start a children’s home for needy kids. She had very little financial support but knew this was an assignment from the Lord. He began to send needy kids for her to care for.
One day, she was out of food and money. She didn’t know what to do. Her parents were not wealthy, but they often helped. Their finances were also tight though. A recent earthquake had destroyed their village home. She didn’t want to ask them to help. What would she do?
Praying, she felt confident that God Himself would take care of this need. It was God who had called her to do this ministry. He must provide!
Looking in her wallet, she went through it carefully. It was full of bills and papers, but no money. She put it in her cupboard and locked the drawer. She put the key in her pocket. With a word of prayer, she released the need to Father God.
The next day, she awoke with an impression to go look in her wallet in the locked drawer. This seemed strange, but she obeyed. Again, she went through her purse. All she found there were bills and papers. “Hmmm,” she thought, locking it in the drawer again.
The next day after waking up and having her quiet time, she again had a strong sense she should go look in the wallet once more. A miracle awaited.
She opened the drawer and took out her purse. Going through it, this time, she found money there! It was enough to buy food and provisions for the kids and herself.
This was impossible. How could money have gotten in there? The key had been with her the entire time. There was no one else who had access to the drawer!
God Himself provided for her needs.
“I don’t want to look to outside people to provide for me,” she said. “When I trust God and see Him provide, my faith grows. I get to know Him in a deeper way. Living by faith is such a blessing and a gift.”
“And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.”
Philipians 4:19 NIV.
Tim Keller says, “Anything we put our trust in, other than God, is an idol in our life.” God wants to be our source in all things. When we look at people to take care of our needs, we become dependent on them. Only God deserves that place in our lives.
Trusting God to release finances through miracles, tentmaking, or locally raised support, is not easy. It is, however, a much more effective and fruitful way to live our lives as missionaries.
Are there any ways you’ve trusted in something other than God for provision? Coveted other’s possessions? It’s easy to look at friends or colleagues and think, “I work as hard as they do! Why do they have money and I don’t! It’s not fair.” Maybe you have even felt angry with God for not taking care of you. Talk to Him about this. Judgments and unforgiveness block the release of God’s supernatural work in our lives.
We can think that faith means we do nothing. This is not true! Faith and works go hand in hand. In fact, James tells us that we demonstrate our faith by our works (James 2:14-26).
Have you been doing your part to communicate vision? Meet with potential ministry partners? If not, you need to do your part. When you’ve done what you can and what God has asked, it is time to rest. Choose to stop worrying, and trust in His provision and great love.
Generosity releases God to work on your behalf. We reap what we sow. Have you sown generously? Even sacrificially? Into the lives and ministries of others? Give and you will receive, the Bible says (Luke 6:38). The widow gave all she had. Who could you bless and give to today? Even if it is not a financial gift? Or not a large one? My husband and I have so often given our way out of a financial crisis!
Don’t forget to be grateful! This too unlocks the blessing of God in our lives. Remember the leper story? Only one returned to give thanks. When God provides, be sure to give thanks to Him and testify to others of His goodness.
When we look in the wrong places for money, complain, grumble, or get angry with God, we are not walking the path of a disciple. This is not the life He died to give. We were designed to walk in abundant life and joy. That is not to say we will never struggle, or get sick, or have difficulties. When we do, though, as my friend experienced, God is able to be our great Provider, Healer, and Friend. Nothing is too hard for Him…not even putting money into a locked drawer.
What kind of financial miracle have you experienced? I’d love to hear your testimonies in the comments or on the Missionary Life Facebook Group.
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Shame is a powerful emotion. It easily controls our actions and abilities. Social researcher, Brene Brown, defines shame as “the fear that we’re not good enough.” As missionaries, we battle feelings of shame regularly. This is never truer than when in the long process of learning a language. God desires to meet us here. He wants to set us free.
Shame is rooted in a sense of unworthiness. “I am terrible at language learning!” we may say, berating and belittling ourselves. “Why can’t I speak this language better?”
Frustration mounts as we grapple with a rising sense of shame. The “I shoulds” take over. “If I were a better missionary, I should at least able to hold a decent conversation! I should be able to understand people. How will I ever make a difference here?” we say to ourselves. This kind of self-talk is not helpful. The enemy wants to drive you into a deep hole, a chasm filled with a sense of worthlessness.
A therapist friend once told me, “Don’t should on yourself!” I try to avoid telling myself I should do anything! It’s rarely helpful.
God desires to meet you in this uncomfortable place. It is natural to feel these things as you press through the pain of language learning. When shame rises, He wants to come and remind you once again where your worthiness comes from. The Father longs to reveal afresh that you are His beloved child.
His perfect love drives out every sense of failure and unworthiness. He establishes you in His love, giving the power to press on as you go through the messy middle part of learning to speak another language.
Language learning for the cross-cultural missionary is an unending process. As soon as I get to a point where my language ability is decent, a transition happens. We move. Visa situations change. Suddenly we find ourselves once again in another context that requires us to learn yet another language and culture.
There are a few missionaries who stay in the same country and context for a lifetime. They become fluent and don’t keep facing this. For many of us, however, we are continually in some kind of a language learning state. Feelings of inadequacy in language learning are constant.
On New Year’s Eve, my husband and I were invited to a friend’s house for dinner. It was wonderful to have been invited. We are so grateful for the good relationships we’ve been able to develop with those in our neighborhood. The dinner didn’t go so well though.
Our language level isn’t where we want it to be. We sat down and tried to talk to people. Using the little language we know, the conversations were short and awkward. When we switched to English, it was the reverse. They couldn’t speak much English either. There was another foreigner there who seemed to do just fine. It was hard not to feel envious of their ability to communicate with ease.
Feelings of shame and awkwardness rose within. I pushed the feelings down.
“Keep trying! These people have no one else in their life to share Jesus with them,” I told myself. It took everything inside of me just to stay, to not run away to a more comfortable environment.
I thought to myself, “Maybe this was a mistake. We should have just hung out with our other missionary friends tonight.” I had to battle shame, unworthiness, and a great sense of discomfort just to stay there. Not leaving was a victory in and of itself.
When we finally got to the end of what we could handle, we politely excused ourselves. We were exhausted. It wasn’t a relaxed and fun New Year’s Eve. Part of the weariness was from trying to function in another language. Much of it was from battling with shame and unworthiness.
Language learning can be tough. It is not a short-lived pain, it’s a marathon that requires great endurance.
“Shame is the most powerful, master emotion. It’s the fear that we’re not good enough.”
Brene Brown
I’m a runner who enjoys the challenge of long-distance races. One thing I’ve noticed with running though is that my mood greatly affects my ability to run. When I am feeling hopeful and happy, running is a lot of fun. When I am discouraged, it feels hard and draining.
Staying emotionally hopeful while you are language learning is critical to success. This means you must regularly go back to God to find hope. He alone gives us the strength we need to battle the natural feelings of shame and unworthiness as we learn a new language.
Recognize that feelings of shame about language ability is extremely common. It’s a very normal part of missionary life. Everyone who works cross-culturally faces this from time to time. You are not a bad missionary because you struggle with language. Don’t suppress what you are feeling. Acknowledge those feelings for what they are. Own them. This is the first step to freedom.
Meditate on the truth that Jesus died on the cross to take away our shame. Our Lord paid for sin and shame on Calvary. He died to set us free. His blood covers all our mistakes, failures, and inadequacies. Not only is our sin removed. That sense of not being good enough to be acceptable…He took that too. You are “good enough” because of what He did on the cross. Our worthiness comes from Him alone.
Take a minute and tell yourself this. Say, “I am worthy because Jesus loved me enough to die for me, not because I speak the language well.”
Be reminded today that God’s love for you is unconditional. Your performance has nothing to do with His love for you. Not in language learning, not in ministry, not in anything. It just doesn’t. You can hold your head high today because you are His beloved. He is well pleased with you. Not because of what you do, or your abilities, but simply because you are His.
Let me repeat this once again. Your worthiness comes not from how well you speak the language. It comes from being His beloved child. Let that truth sink deep. Chew on it.
If you are struggling with a sense of shame and unworthiness as a missionary, be honest about it with someone you trust. It may or may not have to do with language learning. Perhaps you feel shame in another area of sin or failure. Vulnerability is key to overcoming shame. Find a friend you can tell about how you feel. Ask for prayer.
James said to confess your sins one to another and be healed (James 5:16). Confession works not only with sin. It is a powerful way to combat shame as well.
“Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.”
James 5:16
Don’t stay stuck in the shame spiral. It will never lead toward fruitful, faithful living on the mission field.
How do you grapple with feelings of inadequacy in your language ability? What is your “go-to” scripture or action? I’d love to hear about it in the comments or on the Missionary Life Facebook Group!
The holidays are amazing and wonderful! They can also be hard. I find that when I finally get time to relax, suppressed emotions find their way to the surface. When families or churches gather, there is joy. There can also be awkward exchanges with people …