My Top 5 Mistakes in Support Raising (Confession Time)

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 […]

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The Top Five Skills Learned in Support Raising

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, […]

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The Top Five Landmines in Support Raising

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 […]

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The Top Five Joys of Support Raising

As a high school quarterback, I led the whole city of Dallas in two impressive stats: number of interceptions and number of times sacked! I was mainly to blame for our bust of a season because I would get so nervous, and my hands would shake so badly, that I developed a ritual of fumbling the first snap of every game! So terrified of messing up, I would literally sweat through my bed sheets the night before each game! The strange thing was after I got pummeled on that opening play, the game day jitters were behind me—and I was […]

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The Top 5 Verses for Support Raising (in 2022)

The Bible. A book by and from God. His mind, His heart. These are the top five scriptures in Support Raising that cover raising money and what the Lord has to say about this idea of living and ministering on support: Nehemiah 2:1-9 The young cupbearer went face-to-face with King Artaxerxes, the world’s most powerful man, to ask him to support his ministry project. Nehemiah carefully planned and prayed; and when the moment of truth came, he risked everything! Not only was he sensitive to God’s leading and the King’s questions, but he had the courage to make his request—then […]

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The Top Five Myths in Support Raising

Definition of a myth: a widely held but mistaken belief 1. It takes everyone 12-24+ months—On one side of the road stand the naïve who unrealistically proclaim they can “knock out” their support in four weeks or less. There’s a much larger crowd, though, stuck in the other ditch, pessimistically “digging in for the long haul,” and predicting it will be a protracted and difficult journey. These folks heeded the horror stories of others who spent 2-3 years raising support. Don’t let those tapes play in your mind. Instead, trust God, work smarter and harder, and set a new “norm” […]

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The Top Five Obstacles in Support Raising

Over the last 25 years, I’ve heard hundreds of reasons why people were not able to get to full support. Whether those reasons were legitimate (or simply conjured up in their mind), they still can be seemingly insurmountable obstacles blocking our path to success. Fear of rejection is, of course, mentioned by many, a lack of contacts is a common excuse, and a few even claim their no-win situation is because they live in a poor rural state where people have no money. But when I mention I live and raise support in Arkansas (a perennial last place in U.S. […]

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The Top Five Fears in Support Raising

Fears. We’ve all got ‘em. Some of us are willing to admit it; some of us aren’t. Author Larry Crabb in When Fear Seems Overwhelming writes that most of us live our lives based upon our fears. We move toward those things that are safe and comfortable and run from and avoid those things that are scary and intimidating. I don’t read his stuff though; it’s mainly for men in denial and that, of course, doesn’t apply to me! As believers, we have an enemy who uses fear to discourage and even destroy us if possible. The question isn’t IF […]

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Back to the Basics: How to Recession-Proof Your Finances

Well, the title is a misnomer. We never totally “recession-proof” anything. I’m sure Job felt very safe and secure until disaster wiped him out. In fact, if I get arrogant about how “recession-proof” my finances are, I might find the God I’m supposedly serving actually opposing me! 1 Peter 5:5b: “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” Hmmm…God vs. my so-called financial “security?” God wins every time! If one ditch is pride, the other one is denial. Some Christian workers don’t attempt to understand or track with the national economy, financial trends, or even personal […]

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Three Ways Support Raising Might Just “Ruin” Your Life

One of my responsibilities is to help oversee the Perspectives on the World Christian Movement Study Program. This 15 week class in 210+ locations around the U.S. (plus 27 countries!) helps lay people, students, and yes, even Christian workers understand God’s heart for the nations and their most strategic role in completing the Great Commission. Over the years as I’ve interacted with a number of our 80,000 alumni, I’ve heard them say, “Perspectives ruined my life!” Normally, I would grieve and console them, but they offered their statement with a smile on their face and joy in their heart! When […]

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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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