A Christian worker carefully crafts an email or newsletter that hints at what they need. They might choose their wording such that it sends a subliminal message to their readers. Some brazen missionaries don’t beat around the bush and come across as outright beggars! And, of course, the innocent victims of these appeals are hard-working income earners who are supposed to have pity on these underpaid and underprovided Christian workers. Their sympathy and guilt causes them to reach into their pocket and make a charitable donation. See if you can match the bold/underlined words above with their proper definition below: […]
Keep Reading →I asked a good friend of mine who has been one of our long-time financial partners, “When we have a financial need, how would you like us to approach you?” His response, “Just ask me.” This is profound. People do not want us to be circumspect when it comes to asking for support. If you have an “inner” resistance to asking people to give, it is critical to be honest with yourself about what is causing that resistance. Is it a fear that you are manipulating people to do something they really don’t want to do? Do you feel you […]
Keep Reading →Think back to the last time you sent a gift for a missionary that you had never supported before. Remember? How did they respond to you? Missionary responses to first-time gifts often fall into these categories. You get: Nothing, did they get the gift? The missionary’s newsletter A warm phone call A handwritten expression of thanks An email, text, or facebook thanks A thank you note handwritten in their next newsletter Which do you prefer? Alma and I have sent lots of first-time gifts to missionaries, and often we hear little in response. The only reason we know they got […]
Keep Reading →Straight from the annals of Diary of a Wimpy Support Raiser come these pitiful excuses: “Shadrach, the reason I am not able to raise a lot of support—but you are—is because… “You are gifted to do so” “You have an outgoing personality” “You have a lot of wealthy friends” “You have a ‘cutting edge’ ministry position” Bull hockey! Thanks for allowing me a moment of crudeness as I debunk those four mythical statements. For the record: 1. There is no spiritual gift of fundraising. Please get that out of your mind. It is a decision of the will. 2. Actually, […]
Keep Reading →Venus—Mars, Oil—Water, Dogs—Cats: What other metaphors can I draw upon to demonstrate there are fundamental differences between men and women? Even though our culture is desperately trying to blur, if not erase, the lines between the two sexes and create a “genderless” society, let’s admit it: GOD MADE US DIFFERENT! It’s a beautiful and harmonizing diversity, though, not to be denied or exploited, but to be understood and appreciated. Consequently, the passages and principles may be the same, but how men and women go about raising their personal support has some wide variances. So, instead of me just “sharing” my […]
Keep Reading →1. Mr. and Mrs. “Out on a Limb” The Randall’s could tell I was impulsive and highly excitable when they met me as a counselor at a boys camp. Later, when I went to this mature, godly couple to explain my new ministry to college students and ask them to give, I’m sure they detected how many holes there were in my half-baked plans, inflated goals, and unrealistic budget. But, in spite of my inexperience and “over the top” salesmanship, they quietly handed me a significant check to help launch my ministry. They went out on a limb and took […]
Keep Reading →Whether it’s a long distance race or the support raising journey, it’s exciting, fun, even glamorous to blast off at the sound of the starting gun, but incredibly challenging to stay focused and endure all the way to the finish line. The kind of grueling perseverance required to complete the task reminds me of Walt Henrichsen, an old Navigator and hero of mine, who would issue us a discipleship challenge: “Men, many aspire…but few attain!” Here are the short stories of five individuals who, though well intentioned, apparently did not truly count the cost: 1. Bart: Being a prominent athlete, […]
Keep Reading →1. I prayed too lightly WHY oh why do I not pray more?! When I pray…I see God work. When I don’t pray…it seems like His blessings dry up. So, why do I not pray more? I guess I am just a fool. To think I can plan my work and work my plan without bathing “the before, during, and after” in prayer is the height of arrogance and pride and shows precisely where my security is—in myself, instead of God. If I choose to sacrifice time in the prayer closet because I am supposedly too busy, I am literally […]
Keep Reading →1. How to humbly pray If you’ve never been on your face before God, crying out in absolute, total dependence upon Him, you probably have never really had the full responsibility to go out and raise 100% of your budget all by your lonesome. There is nothing like staring at unpaid utility bills or into the eyes of your hungry kids that motivates someone to look up to God and shout, “Apart from You, I can do nothing!” Yes, John 15:5 takes on a whole new meaning when you’re pounding the pavement from 6 am to 10 pm each day, […]
Keep Reading →Walking down the narrow and dirty back streets of Phnom Penh, I couldn’t help but notice the many men, women, and children who were missing a foot or leg…or more. Even though it had been 30 years since the brutal Khmer Rouge murdered over 1/5th of Cambodia’s population, the scars from their reign of terror remained. Many of those who had unexpectedly stepped on one of the millions of landmines Pol Pot and his men buried were now full-time beggars, laying there with their bodies (and dreams) forever maimed. You and I, though, will probably not spend much time today […]
Keep Reading →