Living faithful, fruitful and fulfilled on the mission field
“Hope is hard sometimes,” I thought, contemplating the impossible situation before me. “I don’t want to set myself up for disappointment. Is it worth hoping things can change?” Semi-hopeless thoughts ran through my mind. It is important not to put our hope in the wrong …
“The police are raiding our offices,” said the Whatsapp message. “I got a phone call yesterday. We are under investigation,” another leader fearfully announced. The same day, a different leader sent me pictures. They were distributing thousands of gospel books at a religious festival in …
“Soon I will be going home. I am excited to see family, but I am dreading the support-raising part of it. I really need God’s help to get into the right mindset.” These words flowed out of my friend’s mouth a month or so ago. The task of gaining financial support for your ministry in the mission field can really be a challenge.
Most missionaries feel like my friend at times. Some people experience such a dislike for raising support they delay going back home. Others go home but return to the field with barely enough to make ends meet. Why is fundraising so difficult?
At the root of this issue is the way we think about raising support.
Missionaries need good financial support. It helps us to be faithful, fruitful and fulfilled on the mission field.
Fundraising doesn’t have to be difficult if we change our mindset.
This missionary task is part of the joyful life God has called us to. We must learn to see it that way! When you share about missions and the ministry you do, God deeply uses you to impact others’ lives. Christians in your home area need to hear about your missions vision. They need to partner with you and give to your missions vision more than you need them to! Helping you gives them a chance to obey Christ’s Great Commission. As we change our way of thinking about this, fundraising becomes easier. We get much better results too.
Last year I taught a group of South Asian national missionaries about developing ministry partners. One of them, an Indian man in his 40s, had been hesitant to come to the training. A few years before he had attended a similar training. Afterward, he had tried to raise support. But he still struggled to buy his food and pay his most basic of bills. My heart went out to him. He truly was suffering in the area of finances. There was never enough.
Curious, I asked him what the previous training had been like. I wanted to understand what he had tried to do in the area of fundraising. Then I could better help him.
“We learned how to make profiles and prayer cards. I created a list of all the possible contacts I could share my ministry vision with. We even practiced doing that. But it didn’t work. I didn’t even get one new supporter!”
That sounded hard. I wondered what had gone wrong. It seemed like he had learned some good skills.
Then he said something that opened my eyes to what the real problem was. “I felt like a well-trained beggar,” he said. Sadness and shame were evident on his face as he said it.
God never asked us to be beggars and it’s not part of our missionary call! We are sons and daughters of the King. How horrible that he felt that way in this aspect of his missionary life. Sadly many, many missionaries feel the same as him.
Over the next few days of training, this man experienced a major shift in his mindset. He wasn’t begging people to help him financially. Instead, he was inviting them to become partners with him in reaching the unreached. He was giving them a chance to give, pray and take part in making disciples as Jesus had commanded.
With this changed mindset, after the training, in only a few weeks, he more than doubled his support.
“And God is able to make all grace abound to you so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.” 2 Corinthians 9:8 NIV
God desires those He calls to the mission field to have enough to live in a financially healthy way. We may not become rich. I am not saying there won’t ever be times where we need to “tighten our belts” and be very careful with our money. But we can’t afford to allow our struggles with finances to cause us to be distracted from the main work God has called us to. We must pursue solutions in this area.
If finances is an area you are having difficulties, don’t stay stuck there. Do something to move forward. Here are some steps that can help.
First, address the issue of feeling like a beggar if that is there. Bill Johnson of Bethel Church says, “You can’t afford to think thoughts about yourself that God doesn’t think about you.” If you have thought of yourself as a beggar, repent. Ask God’s forgiveness.
When we get stuck in a poverty mindset, we see ourselves as helpless. We then look to others to do this part of the job for us. When leaders or rich friends don’t come through in raising support for us, we get discouraged. Sometimes we even get bitter toward them.
Stop blaming others for a problem that God can help you solve. God wants to help you find a solution to your financial issues together with Him!
He will show you the way forward if you determine to do what you can do. Don’t look to people from richer nations or to wealthy relatives alone for help. Often the most faithful supporters and ministry partners are people of little means. They give a small amount but are consistent and faithful in providing financial support for your vision.
If you have never had training in how to raise ministry partners, I recommend you get some. There are many great courses offered by different organizations at various locations. I hope one day soon we will be able to offer an online course on this.
If you’d like to be put on a list of those who will be notified when that is offered, use the form at the bottom of this post. If a lot of people sign up, we will definitely make it a higher priority to get this developed and available soon.
In the meantime, if you fill out the form, I will send some things to help you. You’ll get summaries of good books on this topic and a few other resources too.
Don’t wait and just hope things will get better. That is not faith. Faith almost always demands action on our part. Take a step forward.
What can you do?
-Sign up for info about the future online course we will offer.
-Research options for fundraising training in your area.
-Download a book about how to raise ministry partners (sign up and we will send you a list).
-Find a mentor or coach for this area of your life.
-Pray and ask God what He wants you to do to move forward.
What is one thing you will do this week to develop better financial support?
Feel free to ask questions or share your comments on the Missionary Life Facebook page. Or contact me via Twitter.
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My husband stopped counting. Not me. This was the seventh time we’d rebooked our flights. I felt angry and a bit depressed. Would we never get to return home? Living in exile isn’t easy. Whether physical or other, I often find myself not quite where …
Has God called you to bring about change? Likely you responded to God’s call and a need when you decided to go to the mission field. I did! My heart burned with a passion to take the gospel to the places where it had not yet been heard. Wanting to see the unreached reached, and the lost saved, motivated me to leave behind comfort and family. This is not wrong. The problem is this. It often means we end up going to save rather than serve. We (perhaps unintentionally) fall into the role of teacher rather than learner in our new location.
This position of power is upheld by our assumed status in society. As a guest in the culture, (particularly if we are from a wealthier nation), we are treated with great respect. We haven’t necessarily earned this. Don’t misinterpret superficial respect as the equivalent of discipleship influence.
As missionaries, we are put in positions of power simply because of our skin color, education or financial status. How we use this greatly affects those around us. It impacts the discipleship models they will learn through observation. Jesus laid down His power and became dependent on others. In so doing, He taught us how a servant leader leads.
He was a phenomenal businessman. God had given him a natural gift. An entrepreneur, I watched this national leader move from a poor missionary to a man who owned many valuable properties. I never doubted his commitment to the cause of reaching the unreached. It was his approach to leadership that bothered me.
The wealthier he became, the more those who depended on him for finances seemed to come under his leadership and influence. Very “generous”, he didn’t ask them to raise their own finances but supported them out of his growing income. On the surface, this seemed good, but in other ways, I saw those he provided for had no ability to disagree with him. His generosity and patronage had strings attached.
It sounds strange to say that generosity can control, but how do you disagree with someone who has bought you property to build a house? Or paid for your wedding?
I was concerned about the leadership model he practiced and promoted. It seemed to be that of a kind and loving dictator. He made all the decisions that really mattered and held all the power in his hands.
Many cultures we work in practice authoritarian leadership styles. They are hierarchical by nature. There is nothing “wrong” with that. In some ways this is a part of the culture, something we must understand and respect. But is it really the style of leadership Jesus taught and modeled for us?
How do you live out Jesus style leadership in hierarchical and authoritarian cultures? Where must we be extra careful about the power we are given as we disciple the nations?
“He made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.”
Philippians 2:7 NIV
Jesus could have come as a kind and generous King. He could have come to earth, exercising His power, authority, sovereignty, majesty and all He possessed as the Creator of the Universe. He could have come and solved the world’s problems with His great wisdom. The second coming would not have been necessary. Instead of coming as a baby, why not come straight away as a King and establish the new heaven and earth? Why not avoid the cross all together?
Surely God could have forced every knee to bow to Him from the beginning!
Jesus came in humility and dependence. He chose to be born as a baby. He was absolutely without power. He willingly laid down His authority and made Himself needy. He relied on human parents to care for Him, feed Him, bathe Him, and teach Him.
Do we enter new places or cultures with the same humility?
He chose a simple lifestyle as a carpenter. Jesus had few material possessions, no land, and no property. He said to those who wanted to follow him that “the Son of Man has no place to lay His head” (Luke 9:58). There was no promise of financial gain for those who accepted His leadership in their lives. Though He easily could have provided a lavish lifestyle for His disciples, He led differently.
Do we choose to live simply among those we serve?
The Lord shocked His disciples on the night of the Passover. He took a towel and washed their feet. Their Lord, Savior, and King, in such a humble role of service, not of power. This He said was to be a model for them for how they were to serve one another.
“If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you.”
John 13:14-15 ESV.
Jesus disciples saw this. There was always an underlying question. They kept waiting for the physical manifestation of the Kingdom. “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” they asked after His resurrection (Acts 1:6). Instead of political power, Jesus spoke to them about the power of the Holy Spirit who would come upon them.
Simply because of our skin color, education, or financial status, we enter many places with quite a lot of power. Even if we don’t have money, the fact that we have traveled and are aware of the greater world in itself is a kind of power. Often, we do have more than those we are working among. It is so easy to use this to exert influence. We must be extremely careful.
We don’t want to have servants, we want to be servants.
We don’t want people to follow us because we are powerful and can help them. We want them to become powerful to make their own choices.
Our generosity must be with no strings attached. Exercise caution in how and when you give. Be careful not to make people dependent upon you financially, emotionally or spiritually. Your job is to make them powerful, not to gather followers who rely on you and are loyal to you because you’ve taken good care of them. That was not what Jesus did.
How will you use your power?
Missionary adventures can turn into tragedy. Our journey usually starts with tremendous excitement. We are ready to take on great challenges for God’s Kingdom’s sake. Then, as the months and years go by, we often encounter circumstances far different from what we expected. Coup d’etats, …
“I love missionary life and doing ministry, but I hate the fund-raising aspect of it!” These are common feelings for many on the mission field. I’ve definitely had them too! We have to change our mindset. Developing ministry partners can be fun and exciting. It …
True or False: Fundraising is an important priority for a missionary. Do you believe this? Or is it rather an added nuisance to our lives as field workers? If you ask those serving to answer this question honestly. You’ll get a wide variety of answers.
To set aside the adequate time needed to raise up ministry partners, you need to know why you are doing it. It has to be more than that you need money. That is not a strong enough motivation to keep fundraising from drifting to that place in your “to-do” list… along with all those other things that never get done.
Some missions require their missionaries to raise a certain budget before they allow them to go to the field. That is one way to motivate. Threatened with the loss of a missionary appointment, this can be effective. But there has to be a better way!
Other missions won’t allow their staff to be full-time until they have a full budget in place. This may motivate some, but it is an external motivation, not an internal one. Faith missions like YWAM don’t do this and are often criticized for this position. The negative feelings especially stem from times when missionaries struggle severely to make ends meet. Some live below poverty levels.
These criticisms are somewhat valid. If we don’t require our staff to raise a certain budget, we must do our best to educate and train in this area. It’s not God’s will for missionaries to go without food or the ability to pay their kids school fees. Nor does it reflect God’s Kingdom and character to others.
Reconciling these issues is vitally important. Even more so as we look to see a new wave of missionaries being released from the global South.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah…fundraising is ministry,” I told myself. “If I believe that, why do I hate doing it so much?” I asked, inwardly groaning as I tried to force myself to prepare to make one more phone call to a potential donor.
“Do I truly believe it is ministry? Or do see it as a necessary evil? As the sacrifice we make as missionaries to be able to do what we do?” My internal conversation continued. “If I sincerely thought of it as ministry, I would enjoy it more. I dread having these conversations with potential donors.”
Two false ideas came to light as I talked to God about my anxiety.
With these ideas in my head, fundraising activities went to the bottom of my priority list. I’d get to it when I could (or when we were in desperate financial need again).
In the meantime, I’d hope and pray God would somehow provide for us. I hoped it would be without my having to do something as unpleasant as begging people to become our financial partners. (I hope you hear my sarcasm here!)
This was not the right attitude at all. Something needed to change – not just in my circumstances, but inside of me!
For Scripture says, “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain,” and “The worker deserves his wages.”
1 Tim. 5:18 NIV.
The Word of God says those who work hard in the ministry are worthy of their wages. Our mindset has to change.
First and foremost, believe in the compelling cause of global missions. This cause is worthy of our everything, including our money! If we are crystal clear about why we are doing what we do, we will be able to explain to others why they should partner with us by giving.
What is it that made you ready to give up everything to go to the mission field? Your job, security, friends, and many other things were left behind when you said yes to God’s call. Remember the need that was so compelling? That burned in your heart (and still does)?
Communicate that “why” to your potential ministry partners. Reaching the unreached, showing God’s love and compassion, stopping human trafficking, mobilizing for missions, these causes were worth investing in.
We often doubt our own worthiness. While we believe in the cause, we question if what we are doing for the cause is worthy of the contributions of others. Or am I the only one who does this? I don’t think so!
Remember…it was God who chose you. He trusted you with this mission. If God thought you were worth calling that means you are worthy of being supported as well.
You may not have seen tremendous fruit…yet. You may not have had a massive impact in your area. If the dream is burning in your heart, and if you are actively serving and moving toward it…you are a worthy investment.
Not everyone will see it that way. Some people will think they should invest elsewhere. They want to see and hear exciting reports. If you can’t produce those, they may not give. That is okay. Don’t become bitter toward them. What matters though is how you think of yourself. As you see yourself the way God sees you, He will bring others across your path who see it that way too.
Do you view yourself and the work you do as worthy of investment? Would you give to your own ministry if you were a donor? If this is a struggle, ask God to reveal to you His heart once again. You are His beloved chosen one.
Jesus commanded all His followers to go and make disciples of all nations. This mandate is not only for a few…it is for all. Not everyone can go as you have.
By partnering with you, those who give have a chance to fulfill Jesus’ final command. It gives them a chance to obey. It helps them find their part in the bigger picture of God’s incredible ministry on this earth.
Christians need to give. It helps them obey and grow. As we give, God blesses us. Truly it is more blessed to give than to receive.
When you hold your head high and ask people to invest in your ministry, it pleases the Lord. No pressure. No coercion. No begging. Simply invite others to join you in the most important cause on the planet- taking the gospel to those who’ve never heard.
We are not ashamed of the gospel. We need not be ashamed to ask people to give toward this great cause.
What is your biggest fundraising challenge, obstacle or fear? Share in the comments below or on the Missionary Life Facebook page.
Facing trials…again…and again….and again. How do we keep going in the missionary life “race”? The following is a guest post by Rachel A. I am a long-term, hopefully, life-long missionary. The race marked out before us is a marathon, not a sprint. I’ve come to …