From American Idol to Support Raising: Scott MacIntyre’s Story

By on June 29, 2022   /   Basics, Communication and Relationships   /   Leave a comment

As my brother guided me through the dark scaffolding behind the American Idol stage for the last time and my white cane tapped against a metal fixture, I heard Kara DioGuardi’s voice say, “All of this – it doesn’t matter, because you inspire people.”  Randy Jackson, Paula Abdul, and Simon Cowell had all spoken words of encouragement to me that I would never forget, but it was Kara who understood the calling on my life, better than I understood it myself. Over the years that followed, I had the opportunity to share large stages with musicians I grew up listening […]

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A Roadmap to Navigate the Pitfall of Getting Overwhelmed

By on June 10, 2022   /   Biblical Encouragement, Fear and Perspective, Strategy and Planning   /   Leave a comment

We have all been there, haven’t we? We start our support-raising journey full of faith, motivation, momentum, and eager anticipation. And then a couple of prospective partners say “No” and others don’t respond to our calls. Even worse, our closest friends and family express doubt about the Lord’s call to mission in our lives. Suddenly, we find ourselves discouraged and unmotivated, with our faith wavering. We feel stuck, fearful, and overwhelmed. During all this, even the most experienced missionary can lose confidence and may begin to lose hope and feel tempted to despair. But this is normal! Every missionary, in […]

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How to Remain Spiritually Healthy for the Long Haul

By on June 7, 2022   /   Biblical Encouragement, Thriving for a Lifetime   /   Leave a comment

Can you remember the last hard thing that you accomplished?  When we hear this question we often think of finishing things like marathons, a degree or licensure. For some it may mean paying off debt or as my wife reminds me, pregnancy… yeah that’s hard! Several of us have been through surgery recovery or overcoming a disease (many still in process). Maybe it was something a little less serious, but still hard — a house remodel! I wish I was friends with Joanna and Chip.  Here’s the point. You have done really hard things. And you will do hard things […]

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Contextualized Training for Non-Western Audiences

By on May 17, 2022   /   Culture   /   Leave a comment

By God’s grace, I’ve had the privilege of training global missionaries in personal support raising on five continents. It’s truly been a privilege to take what we learned launching SRS in East Asia and applying the concepts to other strategic locations within the Global South where the mission field is quickly becoming the mission force – places like Latin America, East Africa, and Southeast Asia. If I had the space, I could recount thrilling stories of indigenous workers becoming fully funded in record time and completely from within their own culture. By far the most common question I am asked […]

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How to Help Underfunded Staff

By on April 30, 2022   /   Basics, Helpful Tips, Preparation and Tools   /   Leave a comment

For whatever reason, support-raising brings so many emotional extremes to our lives. From the highs of seeing God provide in seemingly impossible ways to the lows of underfunded ministers with few options left, a life of support-raising is susceptible to big mood swings. Why is this? Why is ministry partner development the one area that can cripple an otherwise effective missionary? There are a few good reasons; however, the one I see most often isn’t because of how bad a support-raiser is. Rather it is the good intentions of the minister that are often the beginning of issues. After all, why did we […]

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Passionate Persistence

By on April 19, 2022   /   Biblical Encouragement, Communication and Relationships, Fear and Perspective   /   Leave a comment

The relational world we live in is governed by social norms and etiquette that shape our decisions more than I think we care to admit. Is it too late to call? Did I just cut them off? Were they waiting for that parking spot? Will they be mad if I take the last tortilla chip? We care about, for good reason, what other people think and we want to carry ourselves in a manner that reflects well on us, our family and even our Heavenly Father. (Philippians 1:27) Every once in a while, our lives include circumstances, crises, or problems […]

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Transformational Heart Change Through MPD

By on April 5, 2022   /   Communication and Relationships, Fear and Perspective   /   Leave a comment

Raising up a team of partners is a journey and process, not just a process of connecting with people and sharing about your ministry, but a process of personal growth. MPD (ministry partner development) has a transformational effect on those in ministry. You are put in this place of depending on God for provision and then seeing him provide in ways you weren’t expected and weren’t looking for. Again and again God reshapes what you think should or will happen to what His plan is. In the end, we aren’t raising up a team of people that we like, we […]

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Help! How to Renew Stale Vision

By on March 14, 2022   /   Communication and Relationships, Leaders   /   Leave a comment

Paper, glue, and markers lay scattered around the table as we crafted cards for the Church’s partner ministries. Laughing chatter filled the air as the two girls at my table filled me in on all the latest of the college experience (boy had a lot changed!). Eventually came the question, “So, what do you do?”.  I have the answer down pat. I’ve shared it so many times.  But they were so eager, so interested, so easily excited—I couldn’t stop. I had to tell them why it WAS so exciting and important. I couldn’t help but pull out the pivotal stories […]

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Embrace Your Humanity: What to Write When It’s Not Butterflies and Rainbows

By on March 1, 2022   /   Communication and Relationships, Thriving for a Lifetime   /   Leave a comment

2020 was a hard year for us all. It was an especially hard year for writing newsletters and knowing what to say when we got texts from our partners asking, “Hey, how are you guys holding up?” Our family of 4 (kids at 4 and 2) had just moved to Orlando as part of our organizations relocation, COVID hit a month later, my job as a recruitment coordinator was super stressful as about 30% of our staff had left due to the relocation, I was dealing with diagnosed anxiety and depression for the first time, and my wife and I […]

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Lifetime Service Award – Ellis Goldstein

By on February 22, 2022   /   Leaders   /   Leave a comment

During each Support Raising Leaders Conference, we recognize a life-long champion of personal support raising who has given decades to the service of others in this critical area of ministry.  It was our honor to recognize Ellis Goldstein, Director of Ministry Partnership Development with Cru, with the Lifetime Service Award for Pioneering Biblical MPD Training at the Support Raising Leaders Conference in Orlando, Florida November 9, 2021. Growing up Jewish, Ellis became a Christian at Penn State University through the ministry of Cru. After graduation he went on staff with Cru, investing his early years ministering to students at Boston […]

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  • Lifetime Service Award – Betty Barnett
    During each Support Raising Leaders Conference, we recognize a life-long champion of personal support raising who has given decades to the service of others in...
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