Blog / Communication and Relationships

“If only I could take me out of support raising and have someone else do it for me!” Maybe you’ve thought that before, but that’s not what I mean by taking yourself out of the support raising picture. For many support-based missionaries, the subject of “me” and support raising are inextricably linked together. Although most fellow missionaries I have known and met throughout the years are very humble and self-effacing in this area, they have a tendency to fall headlong into the trap of the enemy: feeling and acting, as though support raising is both all about themselves and totally […]

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How clear is your ministry vision? Is it 20:20? Or is it closer to 20:200?! The most important piece of our support raising is the crystal clear sharing of our ministry vision with our prospective donors. Here are five keys that will bring much needed clarity to your primary role in support raising—that of being a vision caster: Results, not strategies, speak to people’s hearts! It is easy to talk about all our grand ministry schemes and ideas, but lose sight of actual results. Changed lives are what really matter to our prospective partners! Yes, vision casting is about painting […]

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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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“Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.” (I Thessalonians 5:18-19, NLT). With Thanksgiving Day at the end of this month, it’s a great reminder about the significance of expressing thanks in our ministry. First of all, we give thanks to the Lord, the One who calls us, comforts us, equips us, provides for us, and propels us into His work…what a privilege! We also give thanks to those people He has brought into our lives to partner with us in the Great Commission, sharing His love, doing His will. In […]

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A missions pastor recently challenged me to consider the perspective of those on the “outside” of our ministries, i.e. those who financially support us. Even though my wife and I have been giving to missionaries our entire married life (as well as living/ministering on support) this pastor exposed issues we had never considered. So, let me remove my support raising hat and put on my ministry partner hat and share four reasons why I would want to support you…and keep on supporting you: 1. You cared enough to step out in faith and ask us.  Just as the #1 reason […]

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Giving appropriate gifts is a wonderful, tangible expression of generosity, love, and the desire to bless others. Proverbs 18:16 says, “Giving a gift can open doors; it gives access to important people!” (NLT) Any time is a right time to send a gift, especially when the Lord gives us a nudge. But it is especially timely at Christmas…’tis the season for giving! Each year, I ask the Lord for guidance about Christmas gifts for my friends who support my ministry. I watch for appropriate items that my mission organization sells and select different gifts each year. I often put together […]

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