REPENTANCE AND FUNDRAISING

By on March 1, 2014   /   Biblical Encouragement   /   6 Comments

The season of Lent begins this month. These forty days before Easter were set aside by the early church as a time of reflection and repentance. It is a period when we as Christ-followers acknowledge our brokenness and journey with Him to the Cross, where we are made whole again. Engaging in the ancient spiritual discipline of repentance over the next six weeks can significantly impact not just our souls, but also our support raising. As I coach folks in fundraising, I’ve become convinced there are two pervasive attitudes from which we as North Americans need to repent if we […]

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LEVERAGE YOUR MINISTRY FOR KINGDOM IMPACT

By on February 1, 2014   /   Preparation and Tools   /   2 Comments

Bryan works for a large mission organization and spends some of his days in a small dark room making copies of DVD’s. Imagine Bryan on a support appointment: Prospective partner: Bryan, tell me what you do in your ministry. Bryan: I sit in a small dark room and make DVD’s for Jesus. Prospective partner: Hmm, I see. Bryan: Would you support my ministry? It is not hard to imagine the outcome of that conversation. The odds of this person joining Bryan’s ministry are pretty slim. However, imagine if Bryan’s conversation went something like this: Prospective partner: Bryan, tell me what […]

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MY TOP FIVE LIST OF “SPECIAL ASKS”

By on January 1, 2014   /   Special Asks   /   7 Comments

Howard owns a successful real estate company buying and managing office buildings. Consequently, he has a steady stream of individuals laying out for him “can’t miss” investment opportunities, attempting to convince him to lay down the big bucks to help finance their ten story condo project. The answer is almost always “no”. But Julia, a 30 year old single girl heading into missions, presented a different kind of project to Howard—and he was fascinated. Julia had met him at church and called for an appointment. When she shared her presentation with Howard, asking for his investment dollars, it had a […]

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THREE THINGS YOUR DONORS WON’T TELL YOU

By on December 1, 2013   /   Communication and Relationships, Preparation and Tools   /   9 Comments

1. I wish you were a better writer (i.e. I don’t read your letters much). When I see your newsletter in the pile on the kitchen counter I cringe. As your giving partner I should be thrilled to read your letter, but I know from experience it’s like wading through wintry slush. Often, I barely browse through them. Sorry. Why? Here’s a list of reasons I wouldn’t tell you either, but since you asked: You use names of people I don’t know or care about. You summarize your schedule rather than telling me about changed lives. Your letters are more […]

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DEVELOPING AN “ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE”

By on November 1, 2013   /   Communication and Relationships   /   Leave a comment

I keep bumping into people and circumstances that remind me of this greatly overlooked and misunderstood critical piece in the support raising “puzzle”. I’m talking about thankfulness. Without growing in our understanding and discipline of expressing thanks to donors, we will not have the support we need, both in prayer and finances. If we handle the little things well, Jesus will entrust to us more (Matthew 25). This applies to how we handle donations to our ministry. If we’re faithful with the little things, like a simple thank you to our donors, more will be given to us. If we […]

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Nehemiah The Support Raiser: 5 Principles Beyond “The God Ask”

By on October 1, 2013   /   Biblical Encouragement, Thriving for a Lifetime   /   5 Comments

Imagine being charged with leading a group of people who are spread far and wide geographically, each is focused on diverse aspects of work and ministry, and yet all must be unified to accomplish a common effort. Does that sound appealing, or simply impossible? In many ways, this is the very scenario in which every missionary who develops a team of ministry partners finds himself or herself.  In his book, The God Ask, Steve Shadrach references Nehemiah in modeling for us the fact that he first turned to God – made the “God Ask” – before he turned to King […]

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FOUR MPD CHALLENGES WE FACE IN OUR LEGACY YEARS

By on September 1, 2013   /   Fear and Perspective, Thriving for a Lifetime   /   6 Comments

Do you remember when you heard God’s call to serve Him full-time? You said, “I will follow and trust You to provide for me as I raise my support.” You gave God your irrevocable commitment to obey Him without any preconditions. Do you realize you are in the minority? Many flirted with serving the Lord, but their “yes” became a quivering “but” when they learned they had to raise their support. Among you is another group. You are in your legacy years, 50’s, 60’s, 70’s and 80’s, and you have been raising support for decades. I want to applaud you […]

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DO FUNDRAISING BEFORE YOU NEED TO!

By on August 1, 2013   /   Strategy and Planning, Thriving for a Lifetime   /   4 Comments

When people find out I have been up to budget for 30 years, they ask, “Do you still do fundraising even though you are up to budget?” The question is similar to, “Why fix the roof if it is not raining?” Yes, I still invite support even though I am fully funded—four reasons: My budget goes up every year. Our Board of Directors insists we have adequate living expenses. I identify special projects each year to advance my ministry even more. I don’t aim for a “low budget” just so I won’t have to raise new support. If I need […]

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PROFILE OF A “GOD-ASKER”

By on July 1, 2013   /   Thriving for a Lifetime   /   Leave a comment

A.   Spiritually Healthy (Big God) Looks to God as owner and supplier of all things Believes they are called of God, worthy of support Understands biblical basis for raising support Thrives in their relationship with Jesus Balances support raising with life and ministry B.   Vision Driven (Big Dreams) Honors God by the magnitude of their requests Pursues their greatest passion Views role as strategic, touching world for Christ Uses money as a tool to advance the Kingdom Embraces a wartime lifestyle C.    Fully Funded (Big Investments) Appreciates supporters as true ministry partners Grasps the power of “the ask” Commits to […]

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FIVE ESSENTIALS TO BE A SPIRITUALLY HEALTHY SUPPORT RAISER

By on June 1, 2013   /   Thriving for a Lifetime   /   2 Comments

One of our great passions is this: We want to flood the nations with spiritually healthy, vision driven, fully funded Great Commission workers. This type of worker is what we like to call a “God Asker”. My new book (entitled The God Ask) gives much more detail, but let’s try to break it down, and give some specifics to this first description—being “spiritually healthy.” 1. Looks to God as owner and supplier of all things To be a spiritually healthy “God Asker” you must have the spirit of Nehemiah. Certainly he was tempted to lean on wealthy King Artaxerxes to […]

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