Living faithful, fruitful and fulfilled on the mission field
Every year I ask the Lord a question. “What one thing do you want me to do this year?” I like to get my priorities crystal clear. When I know what God has said to do, I have my marching orders. I know my one …
“I don’t have connections and contacts with people I could raise support from. I don’t know any __________________.” Fill in the blank. Some would say I don’t know pastors. Others would say I don’t know many foreigners. Some would say all my friends are fellow …
“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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I lay awake at night thinking about some big bills, yet unpaid. I didn’t want to admit it, but I was overwhelmed by worry about money. There was a tightening in my stomach and a feeling of stress as I pondered. How would we pay the bills? Where would the money come from?
Some people think it is more spiritual to live in poverty or to live hand-to-mouth. What that phrase means is, I only have in my hand what I need to put in my mouth.
That is a very stressful way to live! If we live this way, and disciple others to live this way, we establish something called community poverty.
God may call some people to this lifestyle for a specific purpose or time. Like when the Israelites wandered in the wilderness. Most of the Biblical account teaches financial management, planning, and increase. This is called wisdom in God’s Word.
There are different seasons in our ministry, and various approaches to support raising. God may speak different things at different times. One thing we can be sure of. He does not want us to live in fear or worry about money. Living in stress is the opposite of trusting our loving heavenly Father.
I have fostered orphans in the past. Often if a child has not had a loving family, they struggle with hoarding. They may hide food in their bed, or take far more than they can eat. They are fixated on food. Because they have experienced a lack, and not having someone faithful to care for them, they save and hide food.
We should not behave like spiritual orphans. We have a loving Heavenly Father who does care for us. A loved child does not worry if he/she will be fed. He/she may need to work with the parents to grow or cook food, but there is no worry about surviving.
Living in a poverty mentality can come from a faulty understanding or application of Jesus’ teaching. In Matthew 7, He said, “Do not worry about food or clothes, because God knows what you need.”
I have regularly seen how God miraculously provides for His children.
For many years, we started churches among people who had no Christian background. Some of these believers wanted to become missionaries. Their unbelieving families did not support them, and their sending church was made up of 4-5 young people. Where would the money come from?
One of these girls, we will call her L.F., was such a witness to me about what it meant to trust God. Although she had no visible means of support, she would ask God what to do, and then follow His instruction. She told me once when she had no money to buy food, she was asking God what to do and was walking along praying. As she walked, she looked down in the gutter and a packet of tissues caught her eye. She felt prompted to pick it up, and as she opened it she found a few 100 notes inside it. She took it to the police station nearby to ask if anyone had lost it. Amazingly the police did not take it for themselves. They told her no one had lost it, and that she should take it. That money was enough for her food and rent for a month!
Maybe you have your own story like that. I have some I could add here. Its important that we remember how God has provided for us in the past when we are struggling with our present. He is the same yesterday, today and forever!
L.F. demonstrated that it is possible to trust God to provide. We trust, pray, and then listen and obey Him in detail to “find” where and how He wants to provide for us.
Turn to God with your financial fear and stress. Listen to Him. Jesus said that God cares for the birds. You are far more precious to Him than swallows or parrots. Your Father cares deeply about you.
Be honest with God and share with Him what you are worrying about. Ask Him for His wisdom about what to do.
Do you have a story of God’s guidance or provision? Share it in the comments below or on the Missionary Life Facebook Group! We’d love to hear and be encouraged by your testimony. We will share more on this topic next week so stay tuned!
*This is a guest blog written by RM.
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