The

GOD ASK
On the day I called,
You answered me;
You made me bold with
strength in my soul.

Psalm 138:3
 Table of
CONTENTS

FOREWORD

SECTION I: UNLEASHED!
1. The Button
2. Greatest Obstacles
3. 100% in 100 Days
4. Fresh Paradigms
5. Go “All In”

SECTION II: BIG FAITH, BIG ASKS

6. God’s Old Testament Ministers
7. Nehemiah’s Vision
8. Jesus and Support
9. Paul the Mobilizer
10. A Supporting Cast

SECTION III: THE SECRET PRIVILEGE

11. You Can’t. God Can.
12. Choosing Passion
13. Worthy of the Wage
14. Treasure Transplanting
15. Vision-Driven Fund-raising
16. Power of Asking

SECTION IV: PREPARE FOR IMPACT

17. Maximizing Your Fruitfulness
18. Namestorming
19. Dollars and Sense
20. Outfitting Your Tool Belt
21. Crafting Your Schedule

SECTION V: IT’S GO TIME

22. Entering the Zone
23. Building Bridges
24. Sharing Your Vision
25. Finishing Strong
26. You Need the Church
SECTION VI: NURTURE YOUR FLOCK
27. Three Laws of Giving
28. The Love Bank
29. Communication Lines
30. Thrive!
31. D-Day

APPENDIX
1. A Fourteen-Point Checklist for Your First Thirty Days
2. 100 Days of Support-Raising Quiet Times
3. Support-Raising Bible Studies
4. Support-Raising Worksheets
5. Raising Support in U.S. Communities of Color
6. Raising Support in Other Countries
7. Five Keys to Raising Organizational Funds from Major Donors
8. Tapping into the “Business as Mission” Network
9. Support Raising and Your Emotions
10. Social Media: Know Its Limits or It Will Limit You!
11. Current Resources for Raising Personal Support

Endnotes
About the Author
Acknowledgments
 FOREWORD

Steve Shadrach has hit a home run with The God Ask!
As I read The God Ask, I realized this book is more than a book—it is a life message of a
dedicated gospel practitioner! The more I read, the more intrigued I became. Without realizing it, I
began thinking of people to ask for support this year—this week! And I was inspired to minister more
deeply to my giving partners.
That is a mark of a good book—it stimulates readers not merely to think something or feel
something, but it promotes doing something!
Steve is a gifted “inspirer.” But The God Ask will do more than inspire. Whether you are
launching out in raising ministry support or whether you are a veteran, this book gives you practical
tools to succeed. Even the appendix will help you with worksheets on name storming, action plans, a
bible summary-study, and a resource list if you hit a snag. Steve is not merely a theorist who thinks
this stuff might work! He has simply written what he has practiced for years.
But one more thing—the biblical basis. Strong biblical roots undergird the tactics Steve suggests.
Steve’s approaches are directly connected to biblical principles and examples from Jesus, Paul,
Nehemiah, and others. Be prepared to encounter bible leaders who struggled with the same
challenges you have.
Thank you, Steve, for The God Ask. And God bless you, my Christian worker friend, as you
pursue the ministry of fund-raising—it is a gospel issue.

Scott Morton
International Funding Coach
The Navigators
 Section I
UNLEASHED!

Jesus has paved the way and opened the door. Let’s walk through it
together.
 1

The
BUTTON

Growing up as the son of a businessman in Dallas, Texas had advantages and disadvantages.
Because Dad had lived through the Great Depression years, he instilled his “pull-yourself-up-by-
your-bootstraps” perspective into his three sons—of whom I was the middle. Work hard, provide for
your family, and retire early were the values he modeled to us. My two industrious brothers majored
in business with the goal of becoming millionaires by age thirty. We all assumed I, too, would follow
suit into the work world to obtain the “American Dream” and the accompanying financial security.
But I came to Christ and felt called into full-time service. After four years as a college minister at a
local church, I launched out to start a new campus ministry organization and, of course, raise my
support.
Early on, my dad and I both had to overcome the societal norm that asking for support was a
disguised form of begging. It didn’t help that we had often observed underfunded Christian workers
who appeared to us as impoverished nomads. I would have definitely benefited from a book like this
to help shape my support-raising philosophy in those early days. So, with only a calling from the Lord
and a vision for ministry, I took stock of my “possessions”: enough money to last us six weeks, a
pregnant wife, three young children, plenty of monthly bills, and to put it mildly—a deep,
overwhelming sense of urgency.
I wasn’t in a panic, but I was definitely a highly-motivated man on a mission. I concocted a four-
part strategy consisting of:
• Going to every person I knew to meet face-to-face
• Sharing my ministry vision
• Asking them to join our monthly support team
• Closing my mouth and letting them answer

Those four simple steps, in a nutshell, sum up the grand and glorious “secret” to raising your
support. If you feel strongly enough about anything, and are prepared to trust God completely, you will
find a way to accomplish it. Exactly six weeks later we were at full support, ready to launch our
ministry—and pay all our bills!
√ Did I pray like crazy? Absolutely.
√ Did I trust God every step of the way? Yes.
√ Did I totally rely on His strength and not my own? As far as I know.
√ Did I give Him honor and glory for the results? No question.

Since 1986, our family has lived and ministered because of the generous, ongoing investments of
others who believe in God—and us. And, looking back, we would not want to live any other way!
And now I’m excited for you. You are about to enter one of the most stretching periods of your life.
Support raising will not limit you or hold you back. It will unleash you! Your life and ministry may
never be the same. Whether you’re a rookie in support raising, or a veteran coming back for some
“refresher training,” I hope we can be of help. If you study this material closely, and diligently apply
it, there is no reason you can’t get to your ministry assignment quickly—and fully funded!

HARD WORK REQUIRED

I was the only male in my family who was not a pole-vaulter or a sprinter—each one in
incredible physical shape. I spent my summers during college working at a camp, counseling
alongside huge varsity athletes. Yes, I tried to keep up with these guys, but the size and speed genes
must have bypassed me. Later, as I began seminary, I dropped any semblance of exercise, desperately
attempting to somehow pass my Greek courses. Come late February, I remembered I had promised my
camp friend, Spencer, that I would run a marathon with him in Fort Worth.
When 4,000 of us “runners” showed up on that cold and rainy Saturday morning in Texas, I had
failed to include one minor detail in my schedule the previous eight months. I had not trained one
single day! No need, because I believed myself to be an indestructible twenty-four-year-old warrior,
and I certainly wasn’t going to break a sweat over a puny little 26.2 mile marathon! With no
knowledge of long-distance running, or the concept of “carbing up,” I figured keeping a light stomach
before the race would be best, so I limited myself to a donut and a cup of coffee!
As the starter’s gun went off, I foolishly sprinted out in front of everyone, fantasizing that I was
going to be one of the top finishers. I turned to see the crowd of runners behind me and thought,
“Come on, if you’re going to run a marathon, let’s do it!” I didn’t last five minutes before reality set
in, I slowed way down, and hordes of runners began passing me. I miraculously survived until the
twenty-two mile mark when I hit the proverbial “wall.” Medics, assigned to spot runners in dire
need, three times waded through the crowd, grabbed me by the shoulders, looked me in the eyes, and
asked if I could finish the race!
I had many hours of “race time” that day to contemplate my life. With my lungs about to burst and
every bone and muscle screaming out in pain, the only thought I had was, “How could I be so foolish,
so arrogant, to think that I could complete a marathon without training?” I may have finished the
marathon that day… but in reality, it finished me! For weeks I could barely walk, every bone felt
disjointed, every muscle ripped to shreds. I was like a little old man hobbling around campus.

FOR THE LONG HAUL: GET TRAINING NOW

Support raising is like a marathon. If you’re thinking the Lord may have you in full-time ministry
for years to come, you must get training. Be teachable, put together a plan, and seek counsel from
those who have raised their full support. Do all this before you begin your race! The next three, six,
or nine months may feel more like a sprint because your days will be packed with prayers, calls, and
appointments morning, noon, and night. But embrace the fact that you’re on the front end of a marathon
—the tedious and steady building and maintaining of a healthy, long-term support team of ministry
partners.

“The will to win is nothing unless you have the will to prepare.”
 A Boston Marathon winner

If you are going to be successful in support raising, in ministry, yes, even in life… you must do
what is necessary. How you approach this training process will affect your life, ministry, marriage,
and family. Set the bar high for yourself. There will be tremendous dividends later if you are willing
to fully invest yourself now!

YOUR CURRENT EMOTIONAL IQ

How are you feeling about support raising right now? Get in touch with your emotions to
determine your current sentiments about this oh-so-scary concept of asking others to invest in you and
your ministry. Where on this scale best represents your present attitude?1

RESIST: Do you detest the idea of asking others for money? Or at best, it’s just a “necessary
evil” to you.
OPPRESSIVE BURDEN: You don’t hate it, but it feels like a massive weight on your shoulders.
PART OF JOB : Support raising is not good or bad, it’s neutral. The organization is asking you to
do it, and so you will.
PRIVILEGE: It is a noble and honorable thing to invite and involve others in extending and
expanding the kingdom of God. You have a positive attitude.
EMBRACE: You can’t wait to get started. You are fired up!

Regardless of where you placed yourself on this chart, are you open to moving to the right? I will
feel successful if I was able to move your Emotional IQ just a notch or two!
I have felt each of these emotions just listed. Some days I even have multiple personalities where
resistance and embracing are actually battling one another! But don’t feel alone. The Lord is with you.
Asking God before, during, and after that appointment to work on your behalf will have a profound
effect on you—and the person you are meeting with.

THE GOD ASK

Tom Stickney and I were connecting back and forth about support raising. He was processing it
from his mission station in Kenya. Stickney has been reaching out to East African college students for
years. He began sharing his perspective with me, and I was challenged. He said, “I’m called to be
faithful, but it’s not my job to get the funds. It’s God’s. My calling, my ministry, the person I am
asking, their assets, everything is all His. So, when I walk into a support appointment I remind myself
this is not a ‘Tom ask.’ No. This is a ‘God ask.’” Incredible. I have never been able to shake the
phrase “God Ask.” In every appointment there are three persons present: you, your potential
supporter, and God. Here is how it unfolds.

THE SUPPORT RAISER’S ROLE

 Stickney describes the power of the God Ask. “I am simply a mediator seeking to connect His
people and His resources with His plan. That takes all the pressure off. The Lord calls some of us to
be missionaries in Kenya, and some to be campus workers in America. Others are supposed to wear
coats and ties and spend their days investing funds or buying real estate. Once we realize we’re all in
the game, it’s a fixed result. We all simply play the role God has assigned us, faithfully fulfilling the
Lord’s purpose in our lives.”

We go to Him for our needs, our funds, our fuel for the ministry. We pray and ask Him before we
ask anyone else. We talk to God about His resources before we talk to any man about his. This is
vision-driven support raising in a budget-driven world. This is vertical versus horizontal support
raising. I don’t dare just go to a donor and ask. I always make the God Ask first.

THE POTENTIAL DONOR’S ROLE

1 Chronicles 29:14 confirms where all the resources come from, “But who am I, and who are my
people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we
have given you only what comes from your hand” (NIV). This give and receive relationship is not
between the supporter and the Christian worker. It is between the supporter and God Himself. The
donor doesn’t just respond to our request. No, he, too, better make a God Ask to see where the Lord
wants him to invest. Raymond Harris, Dallas businessman and author of The Heart of Business:
Solomon’s Wisdom for Success in Any Economy , thinks we believers are not stewarding our money.
A steward handles someone else’s money. All of us are simply stewarding His money.
Consequently, it is the Lord who makes the God Ask of each individual you meet with. This
insures the giving is not random or erratic, but out of obedience and stewardship. Harris believes
biblical stewardship requires a twofold responsibility. First, we must regularly and sacrificially
give. This answers the “How much to give?” question everyone seems to focus on. The second
responsibility is just as critical. The steward must be strategic as to where they invest those funds,
seeking to maximize their spiritual return on investment (ROI).

GOD’S ROLE
 My conversation with Tom Stickney moved along those same lines, “It is not me asking a person
to give,” he shared. “It is God asking them. If the Lord chooses to rearrange the portions—and move
some funds from that person’s account over to mine, that is His decision. That is why I need not be
nervous before the appointment nor feel depressed or rejected afterwards if the person chooses not to
give.”2
Trusting in the power of God can have a calming effect on us. It is God who is in control of the
whole process. It’s not just one person asking another person for money. It is about God’s sovereign
will and choices to transfer His funds around any way He chooses. He knows exactly, to the penny,
how much money He has stewarded to mankind as a whole and each person individually. Just like an
investor would, He, too, is looking for the best ROI possible. The Lord is fully capable of putting just
the right amount in our account at just the right time to fund just the right expenses.

THE BUTTON
Sadly, most Christian workers know nothing of these God Ask principles. You would be amazed
what some of these good-hearted believers raising support scheme about. They daydream about a
long-lost great uncle who suddenly dies and leaves them his millions; or maybe discreetly slipping
down to the convenience store to lay down a few bucks hoping to hit the lottery—and presto!—no
need to raise support. I dare not even mention casinos or horse racing!
How about you? What is your best-case scenario? If you could push a magic button and be
guaranteed a full paycheck every single month for the rest of your life, would you push it? That way
you could focus totally on God and the ministry and not have to expend all this time and money on
travel, appointments, newsletters, etc. It seems like a no-brainer; anyone thinking clearly would
surely push the button. Right? I have asked this magic button question to thousands of Christian
workers and about 95% of them immediately smirk and shoot their hands up. But my prayer is that by
the time you finish reading this book, you will actually choose not to push that button and join the
ranks of the “utterly convinced” who would not want to live and minister any other way.
I feel so deeply about it that I don’t want to go anywhere without my support team. In fact, I am
afraid to launch into any ministry endeavor without them! I’m no fool. I need their prayers. I need
their encouragement. I need their accountability. I refuse to exchange the raising of my own personal
support for any amount of money or so-called “security.” If you, too, are able to come to that
conclusion—that conviction—I believe you’re going to be a lifelong, successful, support raiser.
 2

Greatest
OBSTACLES

Ever since my wife and I were married, we’ve had college students living with us. Our strategy has
always been to buy or build a big house next to a major campus, then handpick Christian young men
or women to live with our family. The motive? We want to pour into these students to raise them up
as laborers to help fulfill the Great Commission. When the Son of God visited earth, He cried out
with a broken heart: “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few” (Matthew 9:37).
We sometimes perceive people as spiritually unresponsive, but this verse claims just the
opposite. They are lost and in desperate need of the truth. The solution is more workers: individuals
who will take personal responsibility reaping this vast harvest and complete the task of world
evangelization.

THE GREATEST OBSTACLE

If more laborers are the greatest need, then what is the greatest obstacle to filling that need? In my
experience over the years, the most common barrier to raising up full-time Christian workers is
finances. Dr. Ralph Winter, founder of the U.S. Center for World Mission, estimated that over 20,000
Americans each month inquire about staff opportunities with various agencies across the country, yet
only a trickle (as little as 1%) of those ever make it into a long-term ministry assignment.3 Why? My
observations over the years are that although they may feel led into ministry, and are all excited about
reading the information about that organization, they stop dead in their tracks when they come across a
small sentence tucked away someplace in the fine print: “You must raise your own support.” Stunned
and in shock, they lower their head, turn around, and quietly walk away.
I believe that maybe up to 90% of these 20,000 monthly inquirers respond this way to that short,
but terrifying sentence out of fear or ignorance of how to raise their support. This is tragic. George
Verwer, founder of Operation Mobilization concurs: “I estimate there are over 100,000 young people
who have made a commitment to some kind of missionary service, but 95% of them will not make it
to that work. We’re not able to help them involve their church and parents to raise the necessary
finances.”4 We have to solve this problem. We must find a way to unleash these thousands of world
changers.
Like me, maybe you, too, have been tempted to walk away from your calling when you found out
there was no secret pot of money your organization possessed to pay your salary. Instead, you’ve
taken the road less traveled. You’ve not only made the momentous decision to follow through on the
Lord’s leading in your life to pursue full-time ministry, but now you have taken the second, even more
extraordinary step of faith, committing yourself to raise your personal support. May God be with you.
YOUR TURN
Scott Morton with the Navigators states: “Unless you specifically identify your obstacles (to
reaching 100% of your budget), you’ll shortchange what Christ may want to do in your life, and you’ll
be in danger of developing a shallow financial plan.”5 How about you? Think through some obstacles
you have experienced—or fear you might—in getting to 100% of your support. Here are some
common things people list:

PERSONALITY
“I am a quiet, introverted person. I don’t have a salesman personality, and that’s why I won’t
succeed.”

ATTITUDE
“I’m just not too sure God is big enough or that we are worthy enough to raise all this money. I
feel like a charity case.”

LACK OF CONTACTS
“I’m from a small town and church and don’t know many people. I think I may fail.”

FEAR
“When I ask someone for money, it’s going to totally change my friendship with them. I hate to be
rejected.”

WEAK TRAINING
“The only support training I got was a two-hour session on writing newsletters, and a reporting
form to send in every three months. I’m utterly lost!”

UNSUPPORTIVE FAMILY
“My spouse and parents are embarrassed that I’m asking people for money. They will lose all
respect for me.”

DON’T FEEL ALONE

Victor Hugo, famous French activist and author of Les Miserables, wrote, “The future has many
names: The Lazy call it: The Impossible. The Fearful refer to it as: The Unknown. But The
Courageous embrace it by saying: ‘This is my Challenge.’” There are all kinds of reasons people
conjure up to tell themselves and others why raising support will not work.

For instance, take a moment to read this classified ad:

 Help Wanted: Pastor for a thriving church in the Midwest. Applicant must be a college graduate
and preferably seminary trained. The prospective pastor will be required to solicit salary pledges
(as well as moving expenses) from among our church members. This process will take
approximately eighteen months, during which the pastor and his family must live “by faith.” If
interested in this exciting opportunity, write today for our ten-page application form.

If you saw this ad in a Christian magazine, you would laugh out loud and then turn to the cover to
make sure it was the annual “April Fools” edition. After mocking this “exciting opportunity,” you
would declare that no one in their right mind would ever respond to something as outrageous as this.
But guess what? You did!
You responded to this seemingly insane and deceptive ad. Replace the word “Pastor” with
missionary or campus worker, or whatever your role is, and this describes the path you have chosen.
But don’t feel alone. Thousands of others have gone before you. Just because you happen to be the
first one in your family or church to raise support doesn’t mean you’re weird.
Our culture might try to push us toward a “real” job or ministry that actually pays you a salary, but
this concept of Christian workers receiving a guaranteed monthly paycheck is more of a western,
denominational idea over the last one hundred years. The bulk of the world’s full-time Christian
workers are “faith missionaries.” In other words, they don’t get the golden, guaranteed payroll check
each month. Instead, they live and minister from the ongoing financial gifts of others.

MADE MISTAKES?
If you’ve done some unwise things in your support raising, don’t kick yourself. When a pro golfer
makes a bad shot, he tries not to let it ruin his round. Instead, he reflects and learns from his mistake,
then shifts all his mental energies toward making the next swing the best he can be. I’ve made so
many mistakes. I take comfort in a statement Chuck Swindoll made, “It’s never too late to start doing
what is right.”6 Lamentations 3:23 says that God’s loving kindness is new and fresh every morning. I
am so thankful He gives us a clean slate each day.
So, whatever blunders or “donor neglect” you’ve committed, don’t despair. You may need to go
back to past supporters you did not really appreciate, communicate with, or take the most personal
approach with, and simply say: “I’m sorry for not really caring for you the way I should have. Will
you forgive me? I’ve received some training now, and from this point on I will seek to treat you as
one of my valuable ministry partners. Are you open to giving me a second chance?” You’ll be amazed
how forgiving they can be!

PREPARE FOR SPIRITUAL BATTLE

Our battle is not against flesh and blood. Support raising is a spiritual task. It’s not about
technique, personality, or even experience. The Lord is the only one who can turn a heart and cause it
to give. God does it, but He chooses to work through us to accomplish this. If I’m not following the
Lord and filled with His Spirit, the last thing I can or will do is pick up the phone to make an
appointment. If I’m spiritually empty, there’s no way I can sit across from someone and pretend I am
an ambassador for Christ. If there is any sin or spiritual stronghold in my life, I must confess and
repent.

“The one concern the devil has is to keep Christians from praying. He laughs at our toil, mocks at
our wisdom, but trembles when we pray.”7
Samuel Chadwick, Author and Minister

For me, support raising is stepping into spiritual warfare. It’s one of the greatest challenges of my
life. Sometimes it feels like a daily, even hourly, battle. Satan will intensify his attacks during this
critical and vulnerable period of our lives. “Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls
around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8, NLT, emphasis added).
Understand, you have moved up to the top of his “Most Wanted” list. His goal is not just to distract
you, but to devour you!
Imagine if the devil could get a wedge into your life at this fragile juncture. What if he could keep
you from reaching 100% support and pressing on into ministry? Think of all the lives you would not
touch for Christ because the enemy was able to “sideline” you. This is why you must “watch over
[y]our heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life” (Proverbs 4:23). Unless I keep my
mind and heart fixed on the love and power of Christ, I will be a victim rather than victor. Don’t
deceive yourself. The strength of your public support raising is directly tied to the strength of your
private relationship with God.
Andrew Knight, a support trainer for Campus Outreach, confesses, “We will tell ourselves
whatever it takes to keep from having to raise support—even if it’s a lie. Those lies are from Satan
though. John 8:40 teaches ‘he is a liar and the father of lies.’ Let’s thwart that thinking by replacing
false information with correct content. Embrace a Romans 12:2 mindset: ‘Do not be conformed to this
world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God
is, that which is good, pleasing, and perfect.’”8 In the final analysis, we will either let lies or truth
control us and determine our destiny.
You will probably be a spiritual and support-raising “casualty” if you choose to attempt to make
this voyage alone. In 1792, as William Carey, the famous missionary from England, was about to sail
to spend a lifetime in India, he recruited his closest friends in Christ to support him. He shared, “I
will descend into the pit, if you will hold tightly to the ropes.” Carey was willing to give his life
away to reach the lost if his support team would pray, give, and keep him encouraged through
correspondence. He did just that, and their partnership lasted for forty impactful years.
It’s obvious the need is great. The obstacles are significant. The excuses are everywhere. The
enemy is lurking. You’ll feel alone and want to quit numerous times during this journey. It will boil
down to you… and God, and answering these simple questions: Is He the Lord of your life? Did He
call you into this work? Will you draw upon His strength to rise up, persevere, and take hold of this
full and healthy support team the Lord wants to entrust to you? “Greater is He who is in [us] than he
who is in the world” (1 John 4:4). To pull this off, you’re going to need a God Ask.
 3

100% in
100 DAYS

We’ve conducted an informal survey of the one hundred largest mission agencies. We asked them,
“For your staff who were able to get to 100% of their budget, what was the average amount of time it
took them to raise their full support?”9 The average range: eighteen to twenty-three months.
When I share that surprising figure around the country, I then ask the question, “How about you?
Would you like to spend the next eighteen to twenty-three months of your life raising support?” The
answer is always a resounding “no!” So, who’s responsible for creating this drawn-out, self-
imposed, support-raising affliction? It normally begins when the newly-accepted missionary
innocently asks their supervisor: “How long does it usually take someone to raise their support?” Not
realizing the newcomer is at such a critical and fragile juncture, the seasoned veteran casually
responds: “Oh… about eighteen months.” With that time frame now firmly cemented in his psyche, the
rookie staffer sets out to pace himself, making sure he dare not deviate from the norm!
On the other hand, many of our trainees are shocked when I suggest they could get to 100%
support in one hundred days. When Nehemiah asked King Artaxerxes how long it would take him to
complete his Jerusalem rebuilding project, the trusted servant gave his boss a “definite time”
(Nehemiah 2:6). What if Nehemiah had instead given a more spiritual answer like, “Oh, it will be
finished whenever the Lord leads”? I have a feeling the king would not have been impressed. Note:
Nehemiah pulled it off in just fifty-two days.
But to set a support-raising completion date in as little as one hundred days, I must include five
requirements. The Christian worker should seek to gain:
• The right training
• The right perspective
• The right approach
• The right accountability
• Be willing to work on it full-time10

Mixed with a ton of hard work and the blessings of God, I believe most Christian workers should
be able to raise their support in three to six months, hopefully twelve at the very most.

LEADING THE WAY

I don’t know the “normal” amount of time it takes for staff in your organization to raise their full
support, but can we at least agree to not use eighteen to twenty-three months as our standard? What if
you were to break the mold in your agency? Set a new pace by passionately pursuing the goal of
getting to full support in three, six, or nine months, instead of the twelve to twenty-four that so many
groups seem to settle on? God could use you to revolutionize your entire organization, helping blaze a
new trail for your ministry!
Do you think God desires Christian workers to get to their assignment quickly—and fully funded?
You might be thinking, “Maybe… but 100% in one hundred days?” Don’t be shocked. Pastor Steven
Furtick claims, “If the size of the vision for your life isn’t intimidating to you, there is a good chance
it is insulting to God.”11 So my challenge to you to complete the task in one hundred days is no
gimmick, but it’s no guarantee either! Someone may tell you that 100% in one hundred days is
impossible, but with God, nothing is impossible.
Even so, don’t hear me say you’ve failed if you take longer than one hundred days. I share this
concept to stretch your faith and provide another standard as you’re setting your prayer and support-
raising goals. You may choose to set a 200 (or even 300) day goal of getting to full support. That’s
not necessarily bad, because the point is, like Nehemiah, to have a definite starting date and a definite
ending date—for your and your supporter’s sake.12 Obviously, those who are raising much larger
monthly amounts or doing fund-raising on a part-time basis might take longer. Just don’t let what
others say is the “normal” length of time control you. Break the mold. God will go before you.
Believe it or not, I do know someone who got to 100% in just two weeks! How, you ask? He had
seventy appointments in fourteen days! In fact, no one turned him down! Would you? If you knew of a
person so well organized, so dedicated, burdened, and hard working as this, wouldn’t you be drawn
to invest in him? And don’t be fooled: How a person goes about raising their support is a huge
indicator of how they’re going to conduct their ministry.

THE GREATEST PREPARATION FOR MINISTRY

Do you realize the same basic raw materials it takes to go and start a ministry from scratch are the
exact ones required to begin and complete a support team? Do you have a:
• Deep faith and calling from God?
• Great love for people?
• Drive to prepare thoroughly?
• Willingness to plan and manage your schedule?
• Strong work ethic?
• Faithful follow-through on all commitments?
• Unbending tenacity of never, ever giving up regardless of the obstacle or setback?

These are some of the essential keys to success in support raising—as well as ministry. The final
two are worthy of highlighting. A radical commitment to faithfulness, which is a fruit of the Spirit,
really produces results. There are historical and biblical examples of never giving up, even in the
midst of insurmountable odds. There are numerous passages exhorting us to diligently persevere with
a steady, unwavering faithfulness.
• Proverbs 20:6 (RSV) “Many a man proclaims his own loyalty, but a faithful man who can find?”
• Luke 16:10 “He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much.”
Persevering through this whole fund-raising process is going to provide unbelievable training and
preparation for your entire life and ministry—certainly more than any classroom or curriculum could.
I don’t think the Lord wants us to miss out on the lessons learned. So much so that if a billionaire
were to offer to pay all of our staff salaries, I would graciously decline. Yes, I would be open to
putting those funds toward ministry projects, but I could not deprive our staff of the incredible
spiritual growth they experience when raising personal support. Nor could I rob thousands of our
donors of their eternal rewards as a result of our staff personally approaching them to invest in the
work of the kingdom.

THE GREATEST PREREQUISITE FOR MINISTRY

Years ago, in the early stages of one of our organizations, we made the decision to begin
subsidizing our staff. We rationalized it by saying the economy was so tough, the churches seemed so
tapped out, and the new staff were so young. Consequently, we set up a gradual “phase-in” plan
where they would raise one-third of their support by year one, two-thirds by year two, and full
support by year three. We tried and tweaked here and there, but it never really worked. As soon as
the subsidies ran out, so did the staff person—right out the back door! We painfully realized it’s
simply human nature that a person will only raise what they have to raise. This form of “Christian
welfare” can create an unhealthy dependency.
It all came to a head one day when a board member declared, “If one of our staff isn’t willing or
able to go out and raise their full support from scratch, how could we ever expect them to be willing
and able to go out and start and establish their ministry from scratch? Raising their full support should
be the prerequisite for even coming on our staff!” Wow. We were convicted to the core. Since then,
we purposed not to provide any subsidies. Our experience has been that when organizations require
their personnel to raise all their own support, it has a way of attracting stronger leaders—and
sometimes repelling weaker ones.
How long is it going to take you to get to full support? The answer lies within your own heart. It’s
usually a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you have allowed yourself to believe it’s going to be a one- to
two-year process, guess what? That’s exactly what will happen! Why lock yourself into that thinking?
Get above it, set your sights higher, reach down and challenge yourself like never before. Let the
Lord, your family, friends, coworkers, and potential supporters know that you are going to
aggressively pursue and accomplish this task in a much, much shorter time. Why? Because you are so
burdened to get to your ministry assignment quickly—and fully funded!

“Feelings aren’t facts. You don’t have to believe everything you tell yourself!”13
Rick Warren, Pastor and Author

Some Christians go into support raising unsure if this is really what God wants, so they begin
with, “If God wants me to do this, the money will come.” Seldom do these people make it to the field
because there will be a moment in almost everyone’s support-raising journey that will discourage
them, when things aren’t working, and they ponder giving up. In those vulnerable moments, never try
to decide if God has truly called you. Instead, keep anchored in the sure calling you already have.
One worker made it his goal to raise at least 1% of his total support each day for one hundred
days. This so motivated him and his daily appointments that people were sacrificially jumping on his
team to help him meet that day’s quota. He made it to full support in less than one hundred days! But
to have these kinds of results, you are going to need some fresh paradigms. Here’s one.
A REAL LIFE STORY: 100% IN 92 DAYS
Kristin is a single woman accepted on to the staff of the Every Ethne collegiate mobilization
ministry. She fully prepared for and attended a two-day support-training session. She secured ten
friends to faithfully pray for her during her support raising, recruiting one of them to be her weekly
accountability partner. Here are the quick facts:
• After thorough planning, Kristin launched her support raising on June 29th.
• She sent out 180 letters or e-mails in advance of a phone call.
• She spent 39 hours on the phone asking for and setting up appointments.
• There were 29 people who said no to an appointment. Another 101 said yes and met
individually with Kristin.
• Out of 101 appointments, 60 people committed monthly, 22 gave single gifts, and 19 said no.
• She reached 100% budget on October 1st (not just pledges, but with gifts in hand!)

Why can’t this be your story too?

 4

Fresh
PARADIGMS

No wonder Kate couldn’t get to full support. Every time she picked up the phone to call someone
for an appointment, a rush of doubts flooded her mind. She was sure the person would reject her
request to meet, and she had an extensive list of reasons why. She was too young, too inexperienced,
and too shy. She was an administrator instead of a field worker. She had not graduated from college
or attended seminary. People knew her parents were wealthy and could pay her way. Her reputation
before she came to Christ would surely haunt her at every turn. She had serious questions whether it
was even biblical to raise support, and no one had ever taken the time to show her how to do it. She
felt totally inadequate.
Like Kate, all of us have some debilitating “support-raising blues” songs playing in the back of
our minds. They desperately need to be replaced by newer, healthier ones. Whether you are a
support-raising veteran or you’re at that oh-so-tender stage of just considering going into full-time
ministry, you might be tempted to click on and listen to the wrong songs. I understand. The decision to
launch out and raise support is a huge one. Sometimes it helps to get a fresh paradigm. It’s a new
pattern, model, or standard to operate from. Commit now to allow the truths of Scripture to form this
new paradigm in your mind, rather than other’s opinions, your own perceptions, or past experiences.
Let’s make sure we are humming the right tune.

TAKE THE LEAP OF FAITH

Author and sociologist Tony Campolo surveyed a large group 14 of people aged ninety-five or
older and asked them: If you could do life over again, what would you do differently? Almost always
one of the top three answers is that they would have taken more risks in life. Reflecting on that, I
determined I didn’t want to look back on my life someday and regret that I had played it too safe, that
I had stayed in the stands watching others give their all—but not me.
Stepping out in faith to raise your support could transform your life forever and will certainly set
a precedent from this point forward. John Eldredge in his excellent book Dare to Desire shares:
“God has rigged the world so that it only works when we embrace risk as the theme of our lives,
when we live by faith. All attempts to find a safer life, to live by the expectations of others, just kill
the soul in the end.”15 He then asks a penetrating question, “If you had permission to do what you
really want to do, what would you do? Don’t ask how—that will cut your desire off at the knees.
How is never the right question. How is a faithless question; it means ‘unless I can see my way
clearly I won’t venture forth.’”16
Remember how Hebrews 11:1 defines faith? “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the
conviction of things not seen.” The dictionary definition of the word “hope” means “a cherished
desire with an expectation of fulfillment.” No, you cannot literally see a full and healthy monthly
support team yet. Yes, it seems like a long way off where you would have forty, sixty, or eighty plus
individuals and two, four, or six plus churches partnering with you and regularly investing. But this is
where faith and hope come in. Don’t let someone douse your determination to quickly raise your
entire support by saying something negative like, “Don’t get your hopes up.” As you and I believe
God for what we cannot see or experience now, He develops, in us, the assurance, conviction, and
“expectation of fulfillment” that He will do it.
Therefore, we never utter the weak phrase, “if I raise my support,” but only the strong and faith-
filled, “when I raise it.” I try to never allow my mind to entertain failure. I don’t even go there. I have
burned all my bridges, all my escape routes, and excuses, and my only option is full speed ahead! So,
for instance, it’s never that I can’t or didn’t raise my full support, it’s just that I’m at 71% and
pressing forward with great vigor! It may feel like you are in the middle of a frenzied one hundred-
yard dash right now, but in reality, you are on the front end of a marathon. It is my prayer that you will
devote the next ten, twenty, thirty, or forty plus years inviting others to partner with you in ministry
through the investing of their finances and prayer.
I am asking God that you would change the way you view yourself. That you would perceive
yourself as a “Holy Spirit-Filled Recruiter,” committing yourself to spend the rest of your life inviting
others to give their time, talent, and treasure to fulfill the Great Commission across the planet. I
believe the Holy Spirit is a recruiter. He is spending all His time convicting, challenging, and wooing
people to pledge their lives and resources to the person and purposes of Jesus Christ. If we are filled
with the Spirit, we will join Him in this eternal, God-honoring, people-involving pursuit.

FOCUS ON JESUS
Hebrews 12 calls us to “[fix] our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of faith” (Hebrews
12:2). This helps get me up in the mornings. It helps me work through challenges and setbacks. Every
morning I reflect on a painting in my office that depicts the scene in Revelation 7:9. Christ as the
Lamb of God is sitting on the throne in heaven and believers from every tribe, tongue, nation, and
people are worshipping Him for all eternity. This is the culmination of all of history, the finish line,
the final exam to show what we exchanged our lives for. My goal is not only to be there worshipping
the Lamb myself, but to spend my life bringing as many with me as I can!
I’m sure your heart is the same; you have no intention of showing up at the Revelation 7:9 throne
all by your lonesome. Those you have led to Christ or discipled will be with you—along with those
they have led to Christ and discipled. In addition, all those believers who have prayed for you or
invested financially in you and your ministry will accompany you. They will be with you around the
throne too. They faithfully provided the means by which you could reach others. As it relates to the
eternal rewards we receive, don’t they get a “fraction of the action” too? They have every right to be
there alongside us, eternally basking in the love of Jesus and the incredible fruit He bore in and
through all of us. It is truly a team effort—a ministry partnership.
We can’t accomplish this work alone. That’s why the Lord has designed it such that there are
three essential persons involved in this kingdom-building endeavor He’s called us to. You might be
feeling all alone, but the Lord of heaven is by your side, clearing the path for you at every turn. The
next person is you. You must be faithful to team up with God and do your part. Then be sure to
remember the third teammate—your supporters. You may feel like they’re not that interested, but they
are. They invest prayer and finances in you and your ministry because they care.
King Solomon stated in Ecclesiastes 4:9 that two are better than one. But then he goes on to say in
verse 12 that if two are good, three are even better. “A cord of three strands is not easily broken”
(HCSB). I visualize a long, thick rope securely and tightly wound, such that it will never break or fail.
In my mind, one of those strong cords represents God Himself. A second cord is you. And the third
one? Your remarkable ministry partners. If you choose to forever entwine those three essential
persons, that rope will be so strong and so lasting, it will take you clear to eternity! Decide now to
focus on the Revelation 7:9 finish line and work backward from there. Join God by spending a
lifetime personally inviting others to throw their lot and resources in with you, and you will get to the
finish line with a multitude of ministry partners who will forever thank you for including them.
This is where the “God Ask” enters. There may be appointments where it would be appropriate to
humbly and respectfully draw this diagram out for a prospective supporter and show them what the
roles are for the three persons involved in this process. I have friends who like to do that and then
transition to the ask by sharing, “I know you pray about where the Lord wants you to give. If investing
in us and our ministry fits into your giving goals, we would be honored to have you partner with us
somewhere between $100 to $250 a month.”

ROOKIE OR VETERAN?
If you are a rookie, and just getting started, you may be struggling with faith… and fear—mainly
fear of the unknown. There is a definite newness and excitement to all this, but it’s also probably
interspersed with bouts of sheer terror!
If you are a ministry veteran and have been out there for a while hacking away, your fear is
probably not with the unknown, but with the known! In other words, you know exactly what the
challenges are to get to and stay at 100% support, and it has taken its toll on you. Maybe the long-term
lack of funds has constricted your ministry or hampered the joy of your marriage. Maybe it has tainted
your children’s view of ministry and/or support raising. Don’t give up!
Years ago, I had a sixty-year-old man start weeping during one of our training sessions. At a
break, I asked him if he was okay and if I had said something that upset him. He glanced down, then
whispered, “No, I just wish I had received this training thirty years ago. It would have saved our
marriage and family so much stress and pain!” One of my primary motives over the years in equipping
Christian workers to get to full support is to help strengthen their marriages and families.
Howard Hendricks believes up to 90% of divorces are partly or mainly due to financial
pressures.17 That’s sobering, but I believe God wants you to live and minister on support and not
have to experience the overwhelming financial stress so many couples do. Don’t you think the
marriages of those in full-time ministry have enough pressures on them without piling on extra
financial burdens?

FULL-TIME OR PART-TIME SUPPORT RAISING?

One decision you might need to bring before the Lord is whether to concentrate totally on putting
your support team together or do it on a part-time basis along with school or work. Newly-accepted
Christian workers who deliberately walk away from their safe and secure regular paychecks in order
to raise support full-time, without any visible means to pay the bills, are viewed as foolish, even
fanatical, by many coworkers, family, and spiritual leaders. Such workers feel called to ministry, but
they are torn between two worlds, not wanting to let go of one source of funds before they see the
other definitely coming. As a result, the support efforts of many new staff recruits consist of trying to
squeeze in a few appointments each week around their work schedule. This plan may appear to be the
most “sensible,” but it has tremendous drawbacks. A few are:

TIME TO GET TO FULL SUPPORT CAN BE DOUBLED OR

TRIPLED
A full-time support-raiser can schedule ten to thirty appointments weekly. But someone who
continues to devote the best thirty to fifty hours of their week to schoolwork or a secular job will not
have the time or energy to make and keep even one-third that many face-to-face appeals. A six-month
full-time effort can easily drag out to eighteen or even twenty-four months of part-time focus. I’ve
observed that the rate of “drop outs”—those who give up on their support raising—is considerably
higher among the part-timers.

SENSE OF URGENCY IS LOST FOR YOU AND YOUR

SUPPORTERS
Donors hesitate to come on a team until they perceive the newcomer really needs their support.
Why? Givers want to invest in ministry, not just in support-raising efforts or swelling someone’s
organizational/savings account for some unknown ministry-launching date in the future. Few feel
passionately compelled to join a team unless they sense they’re supporting a man or woman “on a
mission,” fully focused and working diligently toward a goal.
One bold concept I’ve seen some support raisers embrace is to gather a few of your close friends
and potential major stakeholders around you and share with them the huge step of faith you are
considering taking. Inform them of your desire to leave your job and salary and do support raising
full-time so you can get to your assignment quickly and with 100% funding. As they see your courage
and sacrifice, you will have gained the credibility to ask them to consider partnering with you to
provide some significant up-front money. This is to cover all of your ongoing living expenses, thus
buying you a three-, six-, or nine-month window of time to focus exclusively on support raising.
I know this may be a terrifying notion because it can appear irrational to let go of a “sure thing” to
reach out for something still unseen. If God leads you to do this, it may set you on a course of making
or taking bigger and bigger steps of faith in your life and ministry in the years to come. Anthropologist
Ralph Blum challenges us: “In each life there comes at least one moment which, if recognized and
seized, transforms the course of that life forever. The moment may call you to leap, empty handed,
into the void.”18 The times I have taken that kind of exhilarating step of faith, I have seen God come
through each and every time.

PROS AND CONS OF A WORKING SPOUSE

Should you raise your full support if you have a spouse who is working and earning an income?
Your organization may have a policy or the decision may be left to you and your spouse. I fully
believe the husband and wife are “worthy of their wages,” but be aware there might be potential
donors who are hesitant to give if you have a spouse with a good job and salary. They may question if
there is a legitimate need to raise another full salary when the couple already has a significant
income.
Another factor is you, as the support raiser, might not be as motivated to get to full support,
knowing there is a second salary to fall back on. Some donors prefer to give to a couple where both
husband and wife spend the best hours of their day working together in ministry. This might be the
ideal and may aid you in the support-raising process, but it’s not necessarily the norm.19
Remember, in all of this, the freshest and most powerful paradigm you and I can embrace is found
in Psalm 138:3: “On the day I called, You answered me; You made me bold with strength in my
soul.” It is daily, even moment by moment, going to the Lord of the universe and making “The God
Ask.” He will go before us. He will deliver us. He will show Himself powerful. He will give us all
we need.
 5

Go
“ALL IN”

The year was 1517, and Hernando Cortez and his three ships of soldiers sailed from Spain to
conquer and claim Mexico for his country. When they finally arrived in the Mexican bay, small boats
ferried all the soldiers to the shore to prepare for an inland march to the capital city of the Aztec
Indian empire to defeat King Montezuma and his forces. Once all the soldiers were on shore, Cortez
then motioned for a few men to row back out to the ships. As the soldiers watched, their curiosity
turned into horror as the men lit torches and threw them onto the decks of the three ships. The soldiers
stood speechless with eyes and mouths wide open as they realized they would never again see their
home country or families. They had no choice now but to turn, follow Cortez into the heat of the
battle, crush the enemy, and win the war. There was no turning back. They either had to go “all in” or
not at all.
It’s the same for you and me. Satan, the world, even your own flesh will tell you that you can’t
raise your support—or that you shouldn’t raise your support. Don’t believe the lies. They are
deceiving you. The word “impossible” is used as an excuse for people to give up or hide out. Now is
the time to do away with any escape routes. Set your face like a flint toward the task, and go “all in.”
Consider these two crucial questions:
• How long are you planning to be in full-time ministry?
• How healthy and effective do you want your ministry to be?

Question one is legit. You may be thinking a year or two… or the rest of your life! Regardless of
your tenure we all want our ministries to be healthy and effective. Why do so few rise to that
standard? Because the early decisions we make in the planning stages of our work end up forming the
long-term DNA of our ministry. Here are your choices as to which of these two legacies you will
leave behind.

A SHORT-TERM, LOW-IMPACT MINISTRY

Picture people carving out towers and moats on the beach, creating a small homemade
masterpiece that others stop for a moment to smile, point at… and walk on. Proud of their
accomplishment, the castle-builders take a picture, then head back to the hotel, not comprehending
that all their efforts will completely vanish when the tide rolls in. Easy come, easy go. But hey, it was
fun while it lasted.

A LONG-TERM, HIGH-IMPACT MINISTRY

Now picture a company building a huge skyscraper. I remember one being constructed in
downtown Dallas that was to be over eighty stories high. For twelve months, I heard all kinds of
heavy earth-moving equipment busy working, but saw no sign of a skyscraper. Finally, my curiosity
got the best of me, and I pulled over to look through a hole in the tall wooden fence around the site. I
could tell they had been digging a very deep hole; in fact, it looked eighty stories down! They also
had sunk and installed a maze of huge iron columns and poured massive amounts of concrete.
I questioned the need to do all this preliminary work. My rationale? It’s underground, invisible to
anyone inhabiting or viewing the building. No one is ever going to see it or even know it’s there. Why
spend more time and effort just digging down and preparing the foundation than you even do building
up the actual structure? If I had been the contractor, and having no knowledge of construction, I would
have scratched my head, looked around to see if the ground was level, turned to the work crew, and
said, “Okay boys, let’s get started on the first floor!” Proudly completing my edifice of steel and
glass, I’m sure the employees working on that eighty-seventh floor wouldn’t be too appreciative of
my plan the first time a good gust of wind toppled it over!

“When God wants to make a mushroom, he takes 6 hours. If He wants to make an oak tree, He
takes 60 years. Which do you want to be?”20

Rick Warren, Pastor and Author

START WITH THE END IN MIND

Do you want your ministry to be a skyscraper for Christ that will still be standing tall generations
from now, or a tiny, short-lived sand castle easily swept aside and forgotten? Thirty years from now,
what do you want to look back and observe about your life, your ministry, and your support team?
What measures of success will you use? Will there be any regrets? Any wishing you had done
something differently? Wisdom would tell us to start with the end in mind.
I believe the Lord gives us tremendous freedom as to what kind of man or woman of God we will
become and what the depth and breadth of our ministry impact will someday be. Much of that is
inseparably tied to the long-term health and stability of our support team. If this is true, then you
should begin on your personal, ministry, and support team excavation project at once! There will
never be a better time and opportunity to dig deep, lay that hidden groundwork, and undergird a
lifetime of service unto God than right now.
However, in regard to developing strong biblical convictions and fund-raising stability, if you
become impatient and more inclined to the “build now, dig later” approach, unwilling to invest in the
costly and time-consuming foundation-laying I am describing, I think you will be sorry. Mark
Stephens, FCA state director in Maryland, puts it like this: “Everyone wants to have the exciting
‘Friday night lights’ ministry experiences and impact. We came on staff to see the Lord use us in
powerful ways. It’s exhilarating. But, first things first. Before we can go out and publicly minister
full-time, we have to first submit ourselves to the behind the scenes hard work, sweat, and tears of
‘two-a-days.’ We always have to prepare before we play.” 21 My main goal here is to take your pulse
of preparedness. I implore you not to commence tomorrow in setting up appointments. Stop, take
stock, and spend the next several days or even weeks to do all the necessary praying, planning,
preparation, and practicing.
A friend of mine would say, “If you will take care of the depth of your life and ministry, God will
take care of the breadth. If you will stay focused on the root, He will produce the fruit.” Our lives,
ministries, and support raising begin and end with the Lord. We have nowhere else to go, no one else
to go to, but Him… and Him alone. We start by consecrating ourselves to God. Why not plan to slip
away for a day or two to pray and express total dependence upon the Father? Like Jesus, this can be
like your forty days in the wilderness preparing to do battle with the enemy, or your night at
Gethsemane to give up all your rights, abandoning yourself to His agenda in your life. The strength of
my public support raising is directly tied to the strength of my private intercession with God.

“How deep a foundation you create will determine how strong and high your structure will be in
the years to come.”22

Mick Ukleja, American Author

PRAYER IS WHERE TO BEGIN

“For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven… ‘Lord, let your ear
be attentive to the prayer of this your servant and to the prayer of your servants who delight in
revering your name. Give your servant success today by granting him favor in the presence of this
man.’” (Nehemiah 1:4,11, NIV) Like Nehemiah, the amount of time I spend in prayer can indicate
whether I am trusting in God or myself. Sometimes I foolishly think my presence with someone is
more powerful and life-changing than God’s presence. The proof? I can spend two hours with
someone in a support appointment and thoroughly enjoy myself. However, if you ask me to spend just
two minutes praying for them, it seems like an eternity! That fact alone tells me where the real battle
is won or lost. Whatever else we do when support raising, we can’t neglect prayer.
Psalm 62:11 tells us, “power belongs to God.” As much as I’d like to reach into someone’s chest
and turn their heart toward God, or toward our ministry, only the Lord can. Whether it’s witnessing or
raising support, our persuasiveness and eloquence only goes so far. This is why businessman Tim
Howington, who supports many Christian workers, suggests we spend one minute in prayer for every
ten minutes we spend with a supporter. 23 “Talk to God about men before you talk to men about God”
was author and evangelist Bill Bright’s practice.24
Isn’t it unimaginable that the Father has chosen to do His work in response to our prayers? For us
to have the privilege of partnering with God to accomplish His plan is the mother of all mismatches.
Just remember who the managing partner is! Recently, I finished making a list of people I want to
approach this month. I’m asking some to join our monthly team for the first time, others to restart, and
a few regular givers to consider increasing. My plan is all in place, except for one minor detail. I
haven’t “made my requests known to God” as commanded in Philippians 4:5-6. The Lord will go
before us and open doors and hearts—but He wants us to make the God Ask first. If you will
earnestly and specifically beseech the Lord, you’ll end up with a truckload of answered prayers…
and a full support team.

CALLING, TESTIMONY, AND VISION

I worked through a spiritual-life timeline with a mentor. It was wonderful to review how God
drew me to Himself. I recalled when and how I made the decision to fully follow Jesus Christ. I
reflected on the radical changes He has wrought in me over the years. You, too, should do this before
you dive headlong into your support activities. To make sure you have accurate marching orders from
God you should:

CONFIRM YOUR CALLING

Think back over the weeks and months when the Lord was shaping you and speaking to you about
your life, career, pursuits, and passions. Recall the different people, ministries, and experiences used
to influence you during those formative times. Were there specific passages or promises in the Word
that the Holy Spirit used to lead you or confirm to you He was calling you into ministry? Review,
meditate, and pray those back to the Lord. Finally, make a list of the various job or ministry options
you were considering and why it was you felt so strongly about this particular route.

THINK THROUGH YOUR TESTIMONY

Look closely at your personal testimony of how you came to Christ and the process of responding
to an invitation from God to engage in this work full-time. Do you see any correlation between the
two? For instance, if you were led to the Lord or impacted during your college years, is that part of
the reason why you now want to go on staff with a ministry that reaches out to students? If there is any
parallel between when and how you were touched for Christ and the ministry you are about to embark
upon, document it. Then, when it comes time to share your story in support appointments, your
prospective donors will be able to clearly grasp how your calling and vision is the natural
progression and outgrowth of your own experience. Simply and visually help them connect those dots.
The lights will click on for them as to why you feel so passionate about this work.

MAP OUT YOUR VISION

In Nehemiah chapter 2, King Artaxerxes had various questions for Nehemiah about when and how
he proposed to start and finish his task. From his responses, it was obvious his cupbearer had logged
in the necessary prayer and planning time to give the king solid answers. He had thought deeply about
every aspect of his work, then transitioned to the even harder work of bathing all the particulars in
prayer. What a model for us to work from. Find a private setting, bringing your organization’s
vision/mission statements and core values, along with your own specific ministry goals, strategy, and
job description. Spend a few hours examining, thinking, and praying over every detail. You must fully
comprehend and embrace the overall vision as well as each smaller component. Do you agree with
all of it? Is there a full “buy-in” from your heart and mind?
You will never convince someone else of the rightness and strategicness of something you still
have nagging doubts about! Understanding your own vision is the key to sharing it with others. Maybe
you ought to create a FAQ page which lists all the possible questions people might ask of you during
your appointments and how to best answer each. Prepare for the basic and simple “softball”
inquiries, but also the tougher curveballs thrown at you too.

“Life begins where your comfort zone ends.”25

 Todd Ahrend, International Director of The Traveling Team

As you put the time and effort into doing these foundation-building exercises, you will walk away
with a newfound sense of authority, confidence, and sense of destiny. Artaxerxes observed in his
servant a man who was committed to privately paying the price in thoroughness, excellence, and
integrity. Likewise, your supporters must sense your ministry calling and vision is not some impulsive
whim, but a deeply held, thought-out, and prayed-through set of specific marching orders from on
high!
And if you are a support-raising husband, don’t forget this important component of what it means
to go “all in.” 1 Timothy 5:8 teaches if a man does not provide for his own family he has “denied the
faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” In light of that, Ellis Goldstein, National Director for MPD
with Cru, has a personal challenge, “Husbands, I want to ask you to make an irrevocable commitment
to your wife. Promise her, ‘On our wedding day I vowed to take care of you and provide for you. God
has called us to serve Him and to raise our support. I renew my resolve to trust the Lord as I lead our
family in building a healthy, lifelong support team. I will work morning, noon, and night so our family
can serve Him and have all the funds necessary to do so. I will not allow anything to interfere with
that. I will not make excuses. I will give it my all.’” Perhaps, you have already made this promise to
your wife. If you haven’t—do it. God and your wife will be honored.
As you discern God’s calling and vision for you, these principles and issues may be helpful, but
there will be a host of other questions, fears, struggles, and obstacles you will bring before the Lord
for extended, uninterrupted times of intercession. If you are married, this prayer retreat should include
both husband and wife. Both need to be on the same page with one mind and one heart, unified before
the Father. Do this before you jump into the whirlwind of full-time support raising, so you can have
solid bearings and handles to hold onto during the challenging, but exciting, journey that awaits you.
Launching out with God-given and fully galvanized bedrock convictions regarding His will for
your life and ministry will make a tremendous difference in your support raising. What will give you
the freedom and confidence to do the work of God? Only the Word of God. It alone has the power to
unleash you. Let’s saturate ourselves with the Scriptures to find out what the Lord says about support
raising. You’ll be glad you did.
 Section II
BIG FAITH, BIG ASKS

We’re called to acquire biblical wisdom. Let God, not the world,
shape your perspective.
 6

God’s
OLD TESTAMENT MINISTERS

During one of your support-raising appointments, you’ll experience one of the most painful and
humbling encounters of your life. Maybe it will be with a business executive you are “lucky” enough
to snag a meeting with. You spend days preparing for what you think is going to be a warm and
embracing hour sharing your immaculately-prepared ministry vision. You are believing God that this
man will be the sugar daddy you’ve been praying for, who will sink major dollars into your work.
At the appointed time, you arrive at the top floor and are greeted by the personal assistant who
offers you a cold drink and a leather sofa to sit on—and wait. Now, thirty minutes after the meeting
was supposed to start, the assistant dutifully declares, “Mr. Jones will see you now,” and you’re
finally ushered into the inner sanctum and seated in a small chair in front of a huge desk. While this
busy executive finishes his phone call, you glance around the giant office and see his diplomas,
awards, luxurious furnishings, and of course, the enormous windows allowing him to look out upon
his vast corporate kingdom. When at last he turns and peers down on you, here are the rapid-fire
questions he shoots at you during the whole two minutes you are “privileged” to have with him:
1. “How did you get my name?”
2. “Now what group are you with?”
3. “Why are you here?”
4. “And what did you say you wanted?”

You hardly get to blurt out a partial answer to each question before he interrupts with another.
Your 120 seconds are up and he rushes out to his next meeting, but briefly stops to hand you a $50
check marked: “charitable donation,” utters “good luck”—and is gone. Now, sitting alone in your
little chair and cradling your cold drink, you are trying to discern what just happened here. With your
esteem sucked out, you can barely slither out past the apologetic assistant.
Back in the quiet safety of your bedroom, you lick your wounds and attempt to somehow resurrect
your dashed hopes and dreams. Lifting your head to look in the mirror, you’re positive the word
“Loser” must be printed somewhere on your forehead. Everything around you is screaming for you to
quit putting yourself through this misery, to drop out, and just go get a job like every other human
being on the planet. This is when you may be tempted to create an exit ramp in your mind and craft an
oh-so-spiritual tale how the Lord has led you not to go into ministry, but in a different direction.

CROSSROADS OF YOUR LIFE

It’s at this critical juncture when your calling into ministry is tested, where the battle for control
of your life and future will be won or lost. Either you will give up and walk away or the Lord will
use an experience like this to forever galvanize your deep, abiding confidence that you will never,
ever give up this passion to fulfill God’s destiny for your life. What will make the difference in these
excruciating times? The thing that will make you or break you will be whether or not you have really
studied the Scriptures and gained a rock-solid conviction that continuing to personally ask others to
invest in you and your ministry is good, is right, and is biblical!
Have you put in the time to objectively, inductively, and thoroughly study the Scriptures on this
topic prior to forming your beliefs and approaches? If not, you need to decide what is going to control
you before you embark on this adventure. Fear of rejection or failure? Other people’s opinions? Past
experiences? Or the Word of God?
If you’re willing to log in the necessary hours to truly understand the Scriptural principles we’re
about to dive into, they will provide you the hidden “below the surface” foundation that will stand the
tests of time and trials. Most Christian workers have strong personal views for or against support
raising, but Scott Morton, support trainer for The Navigators, exhorts us, “Until you’ve spent at least
twenty hours in personal Bible study on this topic, how do you know you’re not just regurgitating your
parents’ or church’s views, or worse, what the world believes?”26

BIBLICAL CONVICTIONS
I pray you have several nerve-racking appointments like the one I described so you will trust God
to persevere. Missionaries in India in 1885 who wrote back to the States pleaded for more staff,
saying, “Send us more campus workers. Make sure they are trained in success as well as failure, so
that we may know they will endure.” Don’t be afraid of setbacks or so-called “failures.” That may
very well be your springboard to success! What will keep you in the ministry and support-raising
saddle five, ten, twenty, thirty plus years from now? Biblical convictions. Convictions are not just
what you believe, they are what you do! Dr. Adrian Rogers claimed the way you build real, lasting
convictions is to read, study, and meditate on the same passages over and over again until they finally
seep down into your spiritual bloodstream and become part of your DNA.
To create some balance, understand that some of the biblical examples you are about to study are
simply a description of a past support-raising model and not necessarily the prescription for what
we are commanded to do now. So read, evaluate, pray, and utilize what you believe God wants for
you!

GOD’S OLD TESTAMENT MINISTERS

It was the Lord Himself who designed the concept of “full-time ministry workers” and then made
sure there was a good system in place to keep them compensated. Looking at the Levites we can learn
some timeless principles, and then practically apply them today.

SET APART FOR GOD’S SERVICE (NUMBERS 1:1-3, 47-53)

After the Hebrews had come out of Egypt, the Lord spoke to Moses in Numbers 1:1-3 telling him
to assemble every male who was “twenty years old and upward” to prepare them to do battle. This
was a greatly anticipated day for hundreds of thousands of these vigorous young men. No forced draft
was required because they were eager to obey God by clearing the Promised Land of its idolatrous
inhabitants. Strangely enough, there was one particular group left out of this new 600,000 strong
army. Numbers 1:47 says, “The Levites, however, were not numbered among them by their fathers’
tribe.” How could this be? Was this simply an oversight or was it some kind of cruel joke? They
were about to be left out of one of the greatest battle plans in all of history.
The Lord revealed why he was not to line up the Levites for combat. God had a completely
different role for these young men, informing Moses in Numbers 1:50-54 to “appoint the Levites over
the tabernacle of the testimony.” Their assignment to stay behind and do set up/take down didn’t seem
nearly as important as defeating the Philistines. Even though everyone was confused, the Lord was
firmly in control. Little did the Levites know that this was “Day One” in God’s history-long plan to
sanctify and set apart certain individuals to represent Him, to serve and lead His people in worship
and outreach.
In the same way, if you’re going into ministry, don’t feel like a second-class citizen. You, too, are
part of this legacy of being set apart for His service. To help them, and us, to understand their new
ministry assignment, the Lord included a “Support-Raising Manual for Levites” in Numbers 18.

WORTHY TO RECEIVE AN INCOME BECAUSE OF THEIR

WORK (NUMBERS 18:20-21, 31)
There were approximately 50,000 Levites now milling around wondering exactly what this new
ministry role was. Some may have felt this assignment was beneath them. Others probably had doubt
and discouragement flooding their hearts. The most immediate question filling their minds may have
been, “How in the world are we supposed to support ourselves and earn our keep?” That may be the
very question you are asking yourself. But before these Levites could be of any use at all to the whole
nation of Israel, the Lord had to work overtime to instill the kind of perspectives and practices into
these young men that would properly prepare them to fill the role of unselfish servant-priests to the
people.
God had to break them down before He could build them up and thus told Aaron and the Levites,
“You shall have no inheritance in their land nor own any portion among them; I am your portion and
your inheritance” (Numbers 18:20, emphasis added). This declaration must have dealt the Levites
another blow, realizing their lifelong dream of having their own portion of land in the Promised Land
was not to be. Instead, they were to look to God alone for their day-to-day sustenance and long-term
security. I’m sure that was a somber moment of counting the cost of what kind of sacrifices were
required to be one of God’s representatives.
Once that foundation of constant and total reliance upon the Lord was laid, there was no turning
back. Knowing their hearts were set upon God’s purposes, He could now show them how He was
going to fund their lives and ministries. The Lord said, “To the sons of Levi, behold, I have given all
the tithe in Israel for an inheritance, in return for their service which they perform, the service of the
tent of meeting” (Numbers 18:21, emphasis added).
God repeats the concept in Numbers 18:31 when He tells them what to do with the offerings the
Israelites give them, “You may eat it anywhere, you and your households, for it is your compensation
in return for your service in the tent of meeting.” They were worthy to receive an income strictly
because of their work. The tithes and offerings the Lord gave them through the Israelites were simply
because of their dedicated labor in the ministry. They weren’t demanding it, but in God’s eyes, they
were deserving of it.
Maybe you’ve observed an “excuse maker” who says the reason he can’t raise his support is
because he’s not good in front of people, or he doesn’t have a ministry video, or he’s too young or too
old. The way God has set this system up is that you and I deserve to be supported purely “in return for
our service” and for no other reason. Not because we’re sharp, educated, have outgoing personalities,
or slick presentations. The Old and New Testaments teach that we are simply worthy of our wage.

GIVING AND RECEIVING IS VERTICAL, NOT HORIZONTAL

(NUMBERS 18:8, 24)
First semester of Ministry Lessons 101 continued for the Levites as the Lord felt compelled to
teach them the difference between the world’s economy and His. The world is focused exclusively on
buying and selling. Instead, as God’s children, we need to be more into giving and receiving. But
before the Levites could teach and model this essential principle to the whole nation, they had to first
internalize it themselves. Aaron, the chief priest, was to oversee the receiving of the gifts and
offerings from the sons of Israel. God assured him, “I have given them to you as a portion and to your
sons as a perpetual allotment” (Numbers 18:8). Later in verse 24 the Lord adds, “For the tithe of the
sons of Israel, which they offer as an offering to the LORD, I have given to the Levites for an
inheritance.”
Here’s the path of God’s provision: The Lord supplied the Israelites with food, animals, and
money so they could vertically tithe and offer it back up to God. In the same way, the Levites were
not to horizontally depend on their fellow Israelites for sustenance, but to instead, look up and
receive those tithes and offerings—vertically—from God above. Whether they were a “giving
Israelite” or a “receiving Levite” the Lord wanted them all to understand that He is the supplier of all
their needs. For us, the temptation is great to look to others to meet our needs, but if we are going to
raise our support, we, too, must look up, rather than out, for our provision.

THE FIRST AND THE BEST GIFTS BELONGED TO THE

LEVITES (NUMBERS 18:12-13)
God wanted to help them understand they were not being demoted to a life of misery and poverty,
destined to forever scrounge for leftovers. Quite the opposite. The Lord was determined that His
representatives would receive “all the best” fresh oil, wine, and grain along with the “first ripe fruits
of all that is in their land.” And even though it was the Israelites who were making the offerings, the
Lord was clear who the real source was: “I give them to you,” He said. In fact, twelve different times
in this chapter alone He declares that it is He who is doing the giving! Ezekiel 44:30 and other
passages reinforce the Lord’s plan to fully provide for His workers.
I’m grateful God instituted an excellent benefits package for His employees, but something has
gone terribly wrong over the centuries, and the Founder’s wishes are not being carried out! Even
though this concept of giving the first and the best to the Levites was intended to be a core value for
the nation, it quickly waned—just as it has today. And if your experience has been anything like mine,
most religious people expect ministers to be humble—and broke! Consequently, many Christian
workers don’t receive the first and best, but rather the last and the worst.
 If we rightly interpret what was in the mind of God when He designed and implemented this
funding plan, we must admit His heart was to thoroughly and excellently cover all the needs a Levite
and his family had. And just because God’s people may not be giving like He desires, it does not
change His plan or purpose to completely provide for His full-time servants. Paul touches on the
unchanging character of God when he writes: “If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot
deny Himself” (2 Timothy 2:13).
What is the reason many believers don’t give the first and best to Christian workers? It may be
because we support raisers have conditioned them not to! If we don’t even ask for or expect the first
and the best from God, we will never gain the courage to ask for or expect it from others. And could
it be that some donors’ small gifts may very well be just them responding to our own low
expectations and “poor me” attitudes? Instead, let’s set our minds and emotions on our great Provider,
Jehovah-Jirah, and believe He wants to fully furnish all our needs.

TITHE FROM OFFERINGS RECEIVED (NUMBERS 18:25-26)

One of the final-funding lessons God had for these newly-minted worship leaders dealt with their
own responsibility to give. Now that their questions had been answered as to how they personally
would be compensated, the Lord turns to them and basically says, “Your turn now.” If they were to
effectively teach the nation of Israel the why and how to give sacrificially, the Levites must first be
modeling it. The Lord instructed once they received the Israelites’ designated gifts, these priests were
then to go and “present an offering from it to the LORD, a tithe of the tithe” (Numbers 18:26).

“If there be any truer measure of a man than by what he does, it must be what he gives.”27
Robert South, English Churchman

We may get really comfortable always being on the receiving end and forget that God wants us to
also participate in this divinely-inspired, circular-giving method He devised. Before we launch out
and begin to ask others to substantially invest in us, it is wise to first take stock of our own kingdom
giving. I can’t believe the Lord is going to move on someone else’s heart to give sacrificially to my
ministry and me if I’m not even doing that myself. Sometimes we get confused and deceive ourselves
into thinking that the giving of our time to God’s work is all He expects. No, He desires our time,
talent, and treasure, and in fact, wants us to set the pace. Leadership principle number one is always:
Never ask anyone to do anything that you are not modeling yourself.
The example of the Levites provides insight into the mind of God as to how He views His
workers. The Lord set them apart with honor and dignity, making sure they would be fully provided
for. This commandment would be extended through the Old Testament and emerge again when we get
to the New Testament. But first, let’s discover how God provided for Nehemiah. Here was a man
whose big faith produced some big asks.
 7

Nehemiah’s
VISION

In 586 BC, King Nebuchadnezzar conquered Judah. He brought back the best and the brightest
Jews to Babylon to serve in his kingdom. He was profoundly impacted by the faith of Daniel and his
young Hebrew companions. Approximately 142 years later (444 BC) the scepter of authority had
been passed down to King Artaxerxes. He was not only the most powerful man in all of Persia—but
the whole world. It appears he learned from his predecessors, because he, too, brought a capable,
young Jewish man into his inner circle, granting him significant responsibility and freedom. Little did
the king know just what a man of vision his cupbearer was.

PASSIONATE AND BURDENED ABOUT HIS CAUSE

(NEHEMIAH 2:1-3)
The book of Nehemiah records his grief-stricken weeping, praying, and fasting in response to a
report that the people and property of Jerusalem were in great distress. He interceded almost four
months before approaching the king with his ministry vision and request for funding. As each day
passed, he became more weighed down with the overwhelming devastation back in his homeland.
Even though he had never been sad in the presence of the king, this particular day he could no longer
conceal his broken heart. “Why is your face sad though you are not sick?” the king asked (Nehemiah
2:2).
Hearing this question instantly paralyzed the young servant with fear because everyone in the
kingdom knew the rule. Showing anything but a happy face in the presence of the king brought the
death penalty (Esther 4:2). But apparently Nehemiah felt so strongly about his cause, he was willing
to die for it. And so he took the risk of a lifetime to tell the king and queen exactly why he was so
burdened. He began describing the stark realities of desolation back in his beloved Jerusalem. He
was speaking with tremendous emotion, not trying to manipulate the king, but just pouring his heart out
to a man willing to listen.
How deeply do you feel about the ministry the Lord has called you to? If the desperate needs of
those people you are raising support to reach have never caused you to weep, you may want to go
back into your prayer closet. If you and I are genuinely moved at the very core of our being, the Lord
will use that to profoundly connect with the minds and hearts of our givers. Ellis Goldstein, who
directs the support training for all Cru staff, concurs, “God designed us to react and make decisions
intellectually and emotionally. In our vision casting, appeal to both.”28

RECOGNIZE WHO REALLY PROVIDES MONEY AND

COURAGE (NEHEMIAH 2:4)
What a relief it must have been to hear the king respond with, “What would you request?” rather
than “Off with his head!” Wisely, Nehemiah did not launch right into his carefully crafted plan and
proposal, but instead paused to pray to “the God of heaven.” And even though the whole first chapter
details his private intercessions that the king would be open and receptive, he still wanted to briefly
acknowledge the “Great Supplier” with one last God Ask before the moment of truth. Even though the
Scriptures never clearly indicate what tribe Nehemiah was from, he looked up in the spirit of the
Levites and recognized that giving and receiving was a vertical transaction, not a horizontal one!
Just as Nehemiah understood this appointment was God’s sovereign plan, we, too, must openly
admit, “Unless the LORD builds the house, they labor in vain who build it” (Psalm 127:1). This is why
we bathe in prayer every person, every call, and every appointment we make. Even though our
support meetings may not be with rich kings, we still depend wholly on the power of God, rather than
twisting arms, or relying on smooth talk, fancy materials, or latest technology.

A HUMBLE APPROACH EARNS RESPECT (NEHEMIAH 2:5)

“If it pleases the king” is how Nehemiah started his dialogue with Artaxerxes. He was not
demanding of the king or claiming any special rights because of the years of service he had rendered.
He was gentle, kind, and reverent—coming with an attitude of submission. I appreciate that, but why
did the king suspend the death-penalty rule for his sad-faced servant and replace it with an eager
attentiveness to listen and respond? Nehemiah had built up a track record of faithfulness over the
years. The second phrase out of Nehemiah’s mouth was “if your servant has found favor before you.”
Had he acquired the king’s favor? Apparently so, or else he would be dead now!
Artaxerxes knew a good investment when he saw it, realizing that Nehemiah was a man who
planned his work… and then worked his plan. Later, we will see how Nehemiah gathered the
necessary funds and materials, traveled to Jerusalem, mobilized the people, and rebuilt the walls,
gates, and spirits. With obstacles and enemies at every turn, he completed the project in record time
—fifty-two days! I’m sure his credibility with the king paved the way for any future request his hard-
charging servant wanted to make.
What kind of credibility do you have in the places and with the people you intend to contact to
raise support? Are there any kinds of “repairs” that need to be made to reestablish your good name?
Years ago I was counseling a young woman going into ministry. She went back to her hometown to
raise her support, but after four months of hard work she was only at 10%. The reason she got so few
appointments is she and her family had unpaid bills and debts to people all over town. I told her she
might have to go back, get a job, and repay every single dime owed before she could ever restore her
credibility and begin to ask others for support. That’s exactly what she did.
Let’s pray that each of us can develop a strong follow-through with every commitment we make.
Nehemiah had demonstrated such hard work and integrity over the years that he had earned the
enduring respect of the king. His creed was: Promises made. Promises kept! If you don’t have a
history like that, maybe now is the time to start building it.

ASK, THEN WAIT FOR A RESPONSE (NEHEMIAH 2:5-9)

 Cornell University did a study where they scattered researchers across the nation to sit at the back
of classrooms with a stopwatch and notepad. They were trying to determine the average amount of
time teachers provided their students to verbally answer the questions they asked. Once the teacher
was able to finish asking their question, the average amount of time they paused to allow the students
to respond was less than one second! Most of the teachers were so ill-prepared with their question or
so afraid of silence they would immediately jump in and repeat, rephrase, or actually answer their
own question. Wow. How to kill class participation in one easy step!
It appears Nehemiah was tutored a little differently because he not only walked into his
appointment prepared with a series of carefully worded questions, he was fully determined to wait as
long as he needed to allow the king to reply. It might be easy to miss, but here was Nehemiah’s first
ask: “Send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers’ tombs, that I may rebuild it” (Nehemiah 2:5). It was
to the point. Even more importantly, he was able to put a period at the end of his request! He had
prayed and thought exactly what to ask the king, and even though he was nervous, he was able to get it
out and wait for a response. Granted, it may have been intimidating looking directly at the king and
him looking back, but he was determined to make it crystal clear—it was the king’s turn to talk!
He obviously received a “yes” from Artaxerxes, but he did not know to what extent the king was
willing to help. So Nehemiah came with a lineup of specific requests to follow up his initial ask.
Chapter 2 verses 7–8 reveal his level of preparation and boldness:
• Verse 7—He asked the king to write letters to give to foreign officials allowing him to pass
through their territories. The answer was yes.
• Verse 8—He then asked the king for a letter to the nearby lumberyard, asking them to provide all
the materials to rebuild the walls and gates, and even a house for himself. The answer was
again, yes.

To be successful in our support-raising efforts, we must put in the necessary “prep work” to craft
and practice asking several carefully worded questions. When we get face-to-face with our potential
ministry partner, we have to exercise the courage and self-control to ask, then wait for an answer. If
appropriate, make an additional request—then wait again. Ask-wait, ask-wait. Do not be afraid of
silence. That is a tangible way to show honor and extend dignity to the person you are meeting with,
as well as to make it obvious—it is their turn to talk!

OTHER LESSONS FROM NEHEMIAH

SET SPECIFIC START AND FINISH DATES
“How long will your journey be, and when will you return?” asked the king (Nehemiah 2:6).
Nehemiah had prayed and thought out in advance every detail of his plan, so that whatever question
the king threw at him, he was ready to respond quickly—and specifically. We don’t score any points
at all when we step into our contacts’ homes to ask them for support, but then give nebulous, even
mystical responses to their basic, reasonable questions. Nehemiah had a precise start and finish date
to his project that not only relayed a spirit of urgency to Artaxerxes, but also gave the king confidence
that his young cupbearer had organizational capabilities way beyond just food and wine tasting.
BE OPEN TO TAKING GIFTS FROM NON-BELIEVERS
In my studies, I never get the impression Artaxerxes is a follower of the one true God. And just as
Daniel and his friends influenced Nebuchadnezzer, the earlier ruler, Nehemiah impressed this king
through his godly life and deeds. Support raising can be a great witnessing tool if we can understand
we must get close to non-believers if they’re ever going to truly see Jesus in us.
Case in point: Chris was a freshman when he applied to go on one of our mission trips to
Malaysia. His main obstacle to raising the required $3,500 was that he had no home church, and no
Christian family or friends to approach. So, he went to his fraternity and two other chapters, asking
them to adopt him as their philanthropic project. All agreed, he raised his funds, and had a powerful
ministry among Malaysian students that summer. When he returned, he made a presentation to each of
the fraternities showing them picture after picture of young Muslims who had been enslaved to sin,
but were now forgiven and set free by Christ.
Chris used his “need” for funds as an excuse to be an incredible spiritual influence in these
fraternities. Later, he started Bible studies in each and led several guys to Christ. You never know
what the Lord may do, and you might be the only light in their darkness! You might say, “I would
never ask a non-believer to be part of my team.” Well, sometimes it’s not easy to tell who is and isn’t
a true Christian. I refuse to play Holy Spirit and determine in advance how God may or may not want
to use my support-raising efforts in people’s lives. Can I tell you the criteria I use as to which
individuals I include on my “To Contact List”? Every single person I have ever known, or known of,
during my entire life!
They all qualify—no matter their religious background. I refuse to reject anyone from the
opportunity to invest in God’s eternal purposes—and possibly get personally impacted in the process.
Just get them on your team. Begin to befriend and pray for them. Expose them to your life and ministry
through your various communications. Stand back and watch the Lord work. You may want to adopt
the perspective of Billy Sunday, the popular 1920s evangelist. He was willing to accept and utilize
gifts from non-believers and would declare, “I’ll take the devil’s money, I’ll wash it in the blood, and
I’ll spend it on the kingdom!”29 Use discernment, as there might be someone, who by their reputation
or how they earn their income, would tarnish your witness if others knew this person was supporting
you.

ASK FOR APPROPRIATE AMOUNTS

It was obvious Nehemiah thought deeply and planned thoroughly each step of the way—and that
impressed the king greatly. Not only did Nehemiah pray big and plan big, he also asked big! After
spending extensive time on his knees, he got up and began strategizing, knowing full well this was a
God-sized project requiring God-sized resources. He discerned what the king was capable of, and he
wanted to make sure his “ask” was commensurate with the giver’s ability. You don’t ask someone
who can fund your whole project for just $100 a month! And even though his life was hanging in the
balance, the young cupbearer could not help but share the enormous dream brewing within his heart.
Then he took an even greater step of faith and asked for a God-sized gift. Why? He was convinced
that big visions require big dollars.

“Make no small plans. They will not move the hearts of men.”30
 Elton Trueblood, Author and Theologian

Why can’t you and I be modern-day Nehemiahs? Why couldn’t we follow his example in boldly
praying and boldly asking? Is your vision so big, so compelling, so “God-sized,” others will be
drawn to join you in order to not miss out or be left behind? Nehemiah was a man who dared to
dream big dreams and take huge risks, even asking wealthy, influential people to put up the venture
capital to make those dreams a reality. Against all odds, this lowly cupbearer, exiled in a far-away
land, made a “God Ask” and believed Him for the impossible. How about you? Will you be this
generation’s Nehemiah?
 8

Jesus and
SUPPORT

Inconceivable. It’s hard enough to imagine the Son of God, King of kings and Lord of lords
lowering Himself to leave the glories of heaven for thirty-three years to immerse Himself in the
trivial pursuits of us mere mortals. Now, are we to also believe the omnipotent and sovereign God
purposely chose to rely on depraved earthlings for His very sustenance?
He did.

LUKE 8:1-3
“Soon afterwards, He began going around from one city and village to another, proclaiming and
preaching the kingdom of God. The twelve were with Him, and also some women who had been
healed of evil spirits and sicknesses: Mary who was called Magdalene, from whom seven demons
had gone out, and Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod’s steward, and Susanna, and many others who
were contributing to their support out of their private means” (Luke 8:2-3, emphasis added).

OTHERS GAVE TO JESUS AND HIS MINISTRY

The people around Him saw His passion, His mission, and His men—and they wanted to invest.
They wanted to free Him up to do His work all the time, and everywhere He went. Your potential
donors may be the same way, wanting to see what you have accomplished in your life and ministry.
No need to go into any bragging sessions, but humbly sharing about some of the lives the Lord has
allowed you to touch lets them know you will have a good “Return On Investment” (ROI). The best
indicator of what you will accomplish in the future is what you have accomplished in the past.
Jesus and His disciples received ongoing support from individuals. The monetary help they were
receiving was not from foundation grants, local synagogue mission budgets, or even major donors.
No, the list here names three specific givers, but also “many others who were contributing to their
support out of their private means” (Luke 8:3). And these were not one-time gifts, but rather ongoing
support. The word “contributing” here in the original language implies continuous action, repeated
over and over. This is one verse we point to when we recommend you focus the vast majority of your
efforts on asking individuals or couples to invest, and that your request is almost always for monthly
giving.31

THEY CHOSE TO DEPEND ON OTHERS

He could have done it differently and outfitted His followers with moneychangers on each hip
—cha-ching and out pours gold coins everywhere. That would have drawn a crowd! So why would
the supreme Lord of the universe, who could snap His fingers and trillions would be at His feet,
deci de this particular method of funding would be the best? Because Jesus was not into
independence, but interdependence. In other words, He wanted to initiate and experience a
simultaneous reliance upon God and those around Him. He was launching the mysterious,
interconnected network called the “Body of Christ” where God wants to work in and through us to
build up and sustain one another and His work around the world. And even though this concept may
fly in the face of us proud, “I don’t need help from anybody!” Americans, we must admit that Jesus
thought it up, and we had better practice it.
And if Jesus was willing to support His personal and ministry expenses in this manner, but I am
not, what does that say about me? Scott Morton weighs in: “If it were wrong to be supported by the
personal gifts of others, Jesus Christ would not have allowed it in His own ministry. If Jesus became
vulnerable enough to be supported by others, you and I must be willing as well.”32

JESUS MINISTERED TO OTHERS FULL-TIME

The Bible never records Jesus going back into carpentry once He launched into His ministry. He
didn’t attempt to work part-time to support Himself, but instead was 100% focused on His mission,
looking to God and others to cover His personal and ministry expenses. The apostle Paul does not
give us any indication when or where Jesus said this, but sometime during His three-year public
ministry he said, “the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their
living from the gospel” (1 Corinthians 9:14, NIV). Jesus not only taught, but modeled this principle.
Maybe you thought a full-time Christian worker raising support for their ministry was simply an
option or personal choice. No. Jesus actually commanded us to do so.
You may say, “I’m just an administrator back at the home office. I really don’t preach the gospel.”
Yes you do, not only with your friends and neighbors, but also in and through the ministry you are a
part of. Regardless of our particular role, this verse applies to all of us who are part of a ministry
seeking to lift up Christ and expand the kingdom of God on earth.

PRINCIPLES FROM CHRIST’S MINISTRY IN LUKE 10

At the beginning of Luke 8, Jesus modeled to His men how He wanted them to raise their support
and do their ministry. In fact, everything Jesus ever did was at least partly so His disciples could
learn how to do it themselves. Then at the start of Luke 9, He sent the twelve out on their first ministry
excursion, briefing them how to fund themselves. Finally, here in Luke 10, Jesus sends out seventy
more of His troops on their first short-term missions assignment, and with even greater detail, pulls
them together for a mini-support-raising training session. Not only did the Savior personally practice
what He preached by funding His personal and ministry expenses via others giving, but trained and
raised up generations who followed His example.

LUKE 10:1-8
“Now after this the Lord appointed seventy others, and sent them in pairs ahead of Him to every
city and place where He Himself was going to come. And He was saying to them, ‘The harvest is
plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into
His harvest. Go; behold, I send you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. Carry no money belt, no bag,
no shoes; and greet no one on the way. Whatever house you enter, first say, “Peace be to this house.”
If a man of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you. Stay in that
house, eating and drinking what they give you; for the laborer is worthy of his wages. Do not keep
moving from house to house.’”

DON’T DO IT ALONE
Jesus wisely paired them up in twos for encouragement and accountability. Jesus knew they
would need each other and their teamwork would produce far more than what they could each do on
their own. This principle is essential in ministry ventures as well as personal support raising. If
you’re married, get your spouse involved as much as they are willing and able to. They are probably
going to be your greatest asset anyway! Whether it’s making calls, going on appointments, tracking
your gifts, doing the newsletters, or writing thank-you notes, seek to engage your spouse and/or family
as much as possible. If you’re single, pull in some friends or disciples who can team up with you.
Why do anything alone if you could do it with someone else? Keep in mind Solomon’s principle
of “two are better than one, for they have a good return for their labor” (Ecclesiastes 4:9). And if you
find yourself late one night sitting and folding hundreds of newsletters all by your lonesome, you’ll
know you haven’t quite applied this principle yet!

BE PREPARED FOR REJECTION

Jesus warned His disciples about this, saying, “I send you out as lambs in the midst of wolves”
(Luke 10:3). They would go and search for a hospitable person in that city. When the disciples found
that “man of peace” who would provide room and board, then “your peace will rest on him,” Jesus
said. (Luke 10:6). The Master even gave the seventy a curse they should call down on the people of a
city who rejected their request for support (Luke 10:10-16). Though tempted at times, I don’t advise
this today!
Do you remember the first time you shared with your family that you were going into full-time
ministry and you would be raising your financial support? Perhaps you had parents or other family
members who were initially so proud of you for doing “God’s work,” but when they found out you
weren’t going to be paid a traditional salary, but would be forced to “beg” for your income, they did
a 180 and stared at you as if you were an alien from another planet—certainly not part of their self-
respecting family!
Maybe they were skeptical or embarrassed or downright indignant that some sinister group would
take advantage of their sweet, innocent daughter or son like that. Shocked that this ministry, like
corporations, didn’t have a magical pot of profits someplace from which to pay everyone’s salaries,
they launched into their speech about you needing to properly provide for your family, or the ultra-
encouraging “don’t you dare contact any of our friends at the country club!”
Yes, sometimes people you think will be excited and supportive of your decision are the very
ones who oppose you the most. Whether it’s the home-church pastor who’s disappointed you chose
not to work with his particular denomination or the non-believing sister who’s absolutely sure
“personal support raising” must be part of a cult initiation, you will probably experience initial push
back from a few of those closest to you.

BE WILLING TO GO TO PEOPLE YOU DON’T KNOW

Jesus sent them out in pairs going door-to-door to people they did not know to ask for the food
and housing required to carry out their ministry in that city. The Master did not reveal to them which
houses to go to or how many doors they would have to knock on before they found a willing host. But
He did tell them what to say in “whatever house” they entered. “Peace be to this house” (Luke 10:5).
The disciples were instructed to keep walking, knocking, asking, and waiting to discover which
homeowner in that city would be receptive to their request for help. Jesus wanted them to have a big
faith but knew the key was to put them in situations where they needed to make the big asks.
Rick came to Christ late in college and did not have any Christian friends, family, or church. On
top of that, he lacked confidence and was socially awkward. Rick wanted to go on a summer mission
trip to Indonesia with our ministry, but had no contact base at all to raise his $3,500. So, he put on his
geeky glasses and tie and went door-to-door on every floor of almost all the office buildings in town.
He would request to see the owner or director, introduce himself and his ministry, and ask for $75,
$100, or $150 toward his mission of helping Indonesian college students gain a personal relationship
with God. He completely raised it—all from people he did not know!
Rick got so fired up about reaching Indonesian students that he wanted to do it full-time when he
graduated, but now the agency said he must raise $4,600 of support per month to go. He did just that,
and again, almost totally from people he hadn’t known beforehand. When Rick arrived and began his
ministry, he met a young woman who was also a missionary there. They fell in love, got married, and
wanted to spend their lives ministering in Asia together. Now, 20 plus years later, and with four kids,
Rick and his wife are required to raise over $10,000 a month to cover all personal and ministry
expenses. As you might guess, almost all these additional givers were people he had not known
previously to his meeting with them and asking.
I was talking recently to a well-known mission leader who worked with Rick for many years.
Without solicitation, he stated, “Rick does the best job raising and maintaining his support team of
anyone I’ve known in my thirty years of ministry.” I was stunned. I thought to myself, “If Rick, with
all his supposed deficiencies and obstacles, can go out, from scratch, and raise his entire support
team from people he did not know, then anyone ought to be able to do so. No excuses!”
How about you? Are you willing to go anywhere to talk to anyone who will allow you to share
about your ministry and opportunity to invest? Are you prepared to strip yourself of any pride or self-
importance you may be clinging to in order to embrace the kind of passion, urgency, courage,
humility, and plain ol’ hard work that Rick did? I pray so.

BUILD LONGER TERM RELATIONSHIPS

“Stay in that house, eating and drinking what they give you… Do not keep moving from house to
house” (Luke 10:7). Once the disciples found a “man of peace” who would host them, Jesus
commanded them to stay there, accept their hospitality, and to use that home as their base of
operations. This concept reinforces the philosophy of support raising we’re proposing, whereby each
of us should be praying and looking for people who feel strongly enough about us and our ministry
that they will want to start giving and stick with us over the long haul.
The disciples were not taught to raise their funds by going to the local synagogue for a love
offering, or hold bake sales at the bazaar, or pass out pledge cards at council meetings. Instead, they
were to go to people’s homes and ask them face-to-face to partner with them. As the ministry
expanded and the stay in their host home extended, I’m sure the relationship between the owners and
the disciples deepened. I don’t think this method of support raising was just a last-minute idea on the
part of Jesus. It was a carefully planned-out strategy designed to multiply passion for the Lord and
His work in the hearts of key citizens in each city.

LABORERS DESERVE TO BE SUPPORTED

How could Jesus justify this form of “religious freeloading” on the part of His disciples? Wasn’t
it a terrible testimony to the townspeople for them to go house-to-house with their hand out rather than
just look for work and earn their own keep? Apparently, in the mind of God, “spiritual” work is just
as valid and deserving of compensation as any form of physical or mental work. This principle was
true for the Levites and repeated here for us. “Stay in that house, eating and drinking what they give
you; for the laborer is worthy of his wages” (Luke 10:7, emphasis added).
Even though these followers of the Lord may have initially felt timid about living off the support
of others, they were reminded of Jesus’ modeling to them in Luke 8. They were not to stand on street
corners disheveled with a hungry look on their face. No. They were working hard representing the
Savior, and He wanted them to view themselves and their work as noble, essential, eternal, and just
as deserving of full compensation as the farmer, blacksmith, or business owner. They could hold their
heads high knowing their mission and its form of funding was right, holy, and biblical. Other New
Testament verses that teach this include: Matthew 10:10, 1 Timothy 5:18, and 1 Corinthians 9:14.
God in the flesh came to earth and chose to live and minister off the ongoing gifts of individuals.
Let’s, you and I, choose to as well.
 9

Paul
THE MOBILIZER

Paul the apostle did more for the early church than anyone. Three trips across Asia, countless
converts, disciples, and churches planted. All while enduring persecution. All while living off
support. There’s a lot we can learn from how Paul went about funding his life and ministry. It seemed
everywhere he went he was seeking to raise up people and money to take the gospel where it had not
yet gone. Let’s see how he operated.

PAUL THE TENTMAKER?

You might have someone respond to your support request by asking, “Why don’t you go out and
do your ministry the biblical way?” They confidently proclaim, “Paul was a tentmaker and didn’t
raise support. He paid his own way, and you should too!” Before you succumb to that guilt trip, look
at the New Testament and understand there are only three places where Paul made tents, with a
specific ministry objective in mind each time:

THESSALONICA (2 THESSALONIANS 3:8-9)

Even though Paul spent only two to three weeks with this young church, he immediately
recognized them as being lazy and even using their preoccupation with the second coming of Christ as
an excuse not to work. As a result, Paul felt the need to model what it meant to work hard.

EPHESUS (ACTS 20:33-34)

Paul’s ministry there caused his converts to quit buying idols of the goddess Diana. Consequently,
if he had accepted financial gifts from believers there, he might have been accused of putting the
myriad of heathen craftsmen out of business for personal gain. He chose to forego support for a brief
time in order to protect his testimony and win the lost.

CORINTH (ACTS 18:4-5)

Paul was temporarily making tents—and thus only able to preach on Sabbaths—but when Silas
and Timothy arrived with financial support, he immediately transitioned from tent-making to
disciple-making and began devoting all of his time exclusively to preaching. In 1 Corinthians 9, Paul
zealously upheld his right to be supported by the Corinthians, but because of their immaturity,
including accusing Paul of preaching for profit, he briefly chose to support himself to be “above
reproach.” He later questioned his “no-ask” approach in 2 Corinthians 11:7-9, wondering aloud if he
had made a mistake because he had ministered to the Corinthians without asking them to contribute.
Paul did occasionally secure a “regular” job for the sake of the gospel. In the final analysis, it’s
clear the apostle’s preferred mode of operation was always full-time ministry. He had a conviction,
as should we, that he was willing to do anything to get the gospel out—including occasionally
stitching a tent or two! This is in no way meant to disparage bi-vocational pastors, or missionaries in
closed countries who can only stay if they have valid employment. But even many of them have
financial support teams back home.

PAUL BELIEVED HE AND HIS MINISTRY DESERVED

SUPPORT
Seldom have I sensed Paul was angry or defensive, but in 1 Corinthians 9:1-18 we seem to get a
double-barreled shotgun of both! He was tired of all the false accusations the carnal Corinthian
church threw at him. One of the ongoing claims was that the apostle was preaching the gospel in order
to get rich. Paul spends most of this chapter laying out a biblical and logical foundation of why he—
and other Christian workers—deserve to be financially supported. First, he raises a series of
rhetorical questions exposing the Corinthian’s hypocrisy toward him. Then, he sets out to prove his
right to live and minister from their gifts, rather than a secular job. In verses 7-10, Paul uses several
metaphors to demonstrate his rationale:
• The soldier has the right to have his expenses paid.
• The farmer should get to eat some of the fruit he produces.
• The shepherd should get to drink some of his livestock’s milk.

The apostle even pulls out two concepts from the Old Testament to make his point. The ox that is
threshing should not be muzzled (1 Corinthians 9:9), implying he should be fed well to allow him to
continue to work. The priest who is serving in the temple should get his share of the sacrifice (verse
13), implying the Jews certainly care for their spiritual leaders, shouldn’t the Christians take note and
do likewise? Ellis Goldstein teaches biblical support raising from both the Old and New Testaments.
“It may look different, but the principles are the same,” he asserts. For him, the bottom line is, the
Bible consistently teaches “the community gives to those called to full-time ministry.”33
This fascinating mix of questions, illustrations, and verses in 1 Corinthians 9 all lead up to the
real kicker in verse 14 where Paul recites Jesus’ command for Christian workers to live off the
support of others. “In the same way, the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should
receive their living from the gospel” (1 Corinthians 9:14, NIV). It surely seems clear that we are
required to follow the example of Jesus, and now Paul, to form partnerships with givers as we fulfill
our ministry.

PAUL FELT GUILTY FOR NOT ASKING

When Paul was challenging the Corinthians (in 2 Corinthians 11) about his right to be supported
by them, he was debating with himself as well. “Or did I commit a sin in humbling myself so that you
might be exalted, because I preached the gospel of God to you without charge?” (2 Corinthians 11:7).
Paul is wondering aloud whether he did the right thing by ministering to the Corinthians… but not
asking them to invest in his work. Interestingly, this is the model that many of us operate by. We raise
support from family, friends, and churches and then go to a different location to minister to a group of
people who won’t or can’t support us yet.
It seemed that Paul evaluated situations city-by-city as to how he would choose to fund himself
there. In this case, the carnality and confusion of the Corinthians and their false prophets was obvious.
At the same time some of them were railing on Paul because they thought he was preaching to make a
profit, others who knew he wasn’t taking any compensation for his ministry were busy undermining
his credibility because he wasn’t charging them! In that culture, the Greeks attached value to an
orator’s message by how much they charged. Paul was constantly trying to walk a fine line between
these two groups and their constant accusations.34

PAUL USED HIS COMMUNICATION AND TRAVEL TO

RAISE SUPPORT
In AD 57 while he was still in Corinth, Paul wrote a long letter to the church at Rome, a city he
had never visited. He penned this theological masterpiece for several reasons, including his
longstanding pattern of intercession on their behalf (Romans 1:9-10), his desire to give the believers
there a detailed explanation of the gospel (Romans 1:15), but also to raise support from them
(Romans 15:20-29). In Romans chapter 15, he states he had already preached the gospel in all the
regions in his area and now felt led to head west to find new unreached groups, and in verse 24
writes, “whenever I go to Spain—for I hope to see you in passing, and to be helped on my way there
by you, when I have first enjoyed your company for a while.”
My pastor shared this about Romans. “Paul wrote to the believers in Rome, setting forth the
gospel in a clear and compelling manner, in order to prepare them for his visit and gain their support
as they traveled to take the gospel to Spain. I have for years thought of Romans as a support-raising
letter.”35

PAUL ASKED FOR SUPPORT FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE

GIVER
Even though Paul did not appear to own a home or retirement fund, he possessed a supernatural
peace and satisfaction very few of us have, declaring, “not that I speak from want, for I have learned
to be content” (Philippians 4:11). He was thankful to the believers for their financial support, but he
did not ask them to give because he had needs. This is how he put it: “Not that I seek the gift itself, but
I seek for the profit which increases to your account” (Philippians 4:17).
Paul understood the power of making the God Ask to supply him, knowing his Father’s heavenly
bank was full of glorious riches that could fill and refill all that he needed. And, ultimately, Paul
didn’t need anything. His motive in asking was strictly for the Philippians’ benefit. But Paul’s main
burden here was to help the Philippians understand vertical giving. They needed to learn to look up to
make their God Ask, seeking the Lord’s direction as to where they should invest. Whether the
believers understood it or not, Paul was doing them a huge favor by helping them move some of their
earthly treasure to their heavenly bank account. He assured them that as a result of their generosity,
God will surely supply all of their future needs from His heavenly bank (Philippians 4:19).
 For this reason, I love what Cru’s veteran support trainer, Steve Rentz, calls Paul—a “Treasure
Transplanter.”36 One of the major callings Paul had in life was not just to mobilize people, but also to
raise resources for expanding and extending the kingdom. He was willing to risk relationships as well
as his life to ask and challenge people to give—not to him—but to Christ’s work through him. He
sought to build this same brand of selflessness into his key men, evidenced by his parting exhortation
to Titus for him to “help Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their way so that nothing is lacking for
them” (Titus 3:13).
We must commit to spend the rest of our lives being “Treasure Transplanters” in order to help
people move from just the temporal, man-made, horizontal buying and selling, to the eternal, God-
designed, vertical giving and receiving. Let’s aid believers in transferring huge portions of their
earthly gains to their heavenly bank. Let’s allow them to enjoy those rewards and multiplying
dividends forever. Let’s commit to raising up others who have the same sacrificial mindset as you do.

YOU ARE A MOBILIZER

Like the Apostle Paul, you and I should focus on mobilizing people and their resources to the
person and purposes of Jesus Christ. We are not as much support raising as we are supporter raising!
Joe Michie, Creative Director for the Center for Mission Mobilization, views his support raising
efforts primarily as mobilizing people. As he asks others to partner with him and his ministry through
prayer and finances, he seeks to help them:
• See greater meaning in their daily work
• Play a vital role in kingdom work they had not previously envisioned or seen as possible
• Live more strategically by encouraging them to develop goals for their giving
• Partner not only with him, but his ministry
• To pray as well as give

In fact, Joe actually looks for ways to begin discipling his supporters. He prays for opportunities
to expand their vision by growing their knowledge of the work God is doing around the world. He
encourages his supporters to ask their community group and church to adopt an unreached people
group. Joe attempts to help them find practical ways to pray for specific peoples around the world.
He shows them opportunities to serve through short-term mission trips. Joe is just trying to draw them
into deeper levels of the “World Christian” lifestyle.

“You are not raising support, but supporters. Technically, we are ‘supporter raising.’ We are
raising people, not money.”37
Andrew Knight, Support Trainer for Campus Outreach

How about you? What if you were to start viewing yourself as a mobilizer? Not just moving
people’s finances from one bank to another, but moving their hearts from a temporal focus to an
eternal one. Don’t be satisfied with just becoming a treasure transplanter, but stretch out there to
mobilize your supporters for kingdom purposes. Embrace the fact that you and I are nothing less than
front-line mobilizers. Your fund-raising efforts then become getting in the trenches every day, having
one-on-one, face-to-face “mobilization appointments” seeking to align God, God’s people, and your
God-given ministry. You are a spirit-filled supporter raiser! For that kind of perspective, that kind of
power, those kind of results, you are definitely going to need to regularly make the God Ask!
 10

A
SUPPORTING CAST

Sometimes it can feel so un-American to ask. Most of us were brought up where it was considered
a weakness to ask for something. We can be so self-sufficient, not needing anything from anybody.
This may be American—but it is not Christian. We need to get into our heads that it’s not only okay to
ask, it is good to ask. It’s biblical to ask. I include this concept and others in a final arsenal of
passages helping us build our foundation. If you’re still wondering, “Does God think it’s okay to raise
support?” maybe these verses will put those doubts to rest.

GOD REQUIRED THE HEBREWS TO TAKE INITIATIVE

You might be asking the questions: If God is my source, then why do I need to go out and raise
funds? Why doesn’t it just automatically appear? In the wilderness, the Lord was certainly the One
who provided for the Hebrews. But He required the people to go out and gather the manna each day.
This “us and God” partnership is the way He operates in support raising, as well as ministry… and
life!
Through God, Pharoah let Moses and the Hebrews leave the bondage of Egypt behind to go to the
wilderness and worship. Exodus 11:2 and 12:35 describe how the Lord knew the Israelites would
need raw materials to craft and furnish the ark and tabernacle. God commanded Moses to tell the
multitude to ask the Egyptians for clothing and articles of silver and gold as they departed for the
Promised Land. In spite of their fear, they obeyed. These non-believing, idol-worshipping, plague-
demolished Egyptians gave the Israelites whatever they asked for. Amazing!

THE LORD COMMANDED ELIJAH TO ASK

Someone may come to you with 1 Kings 17:1-7 in hand and say, “You shouldn’t be forcing people
to give you money. All Elijah did was sit there and God provided everything he needed by sending
ravens with food and water for him. Quit pestering people and trusting in your own efforts. Let go and
let God!” I’m sure your friend is well intentioned, but he needs to read down the text just further. The
very next section (1 Kings 17:8-16) recounts how God then told Elijah to finish his meal, get up, go to
Sidon, and ask a widow and her son for their last bit of food.
Could you do this? After my big meal, I would feel so guilty about going into town and
approaching a poor, emaciated woman with her young, famished son. I can’t quite picture these words
emerging from my lips, “Excuse me, ma’am. I noticed you and your son are about to eat your last little
bit of bread—and die, but I’m wondering if I could have that bread instead of you?” The point is this.
Even though the Lord had promised the prophet and the widow that He would provide for them, isn’t
it amazing that God still required Elijah to find and approach the woman, and then to ask her to give?
If he obeyed, God had blessings galore in store for all three of them.
What is God’s role, and what is ours? It’s hard to discern sometimes. But Mike Congrove, a
support raiser and worker in Sudan, believes initiative and hard work on our part are essential. “God
does take care of the birds of the air. There are plenty of worms, but they don’t just fly into the bird’s
mouths! The birds are always moving, always looking.” As a result, Congrove describes his support-
raising approach as the “iron triangle”: letters, calls, and appointments. He claims, “There are no
shortcuts. The miraculous is found by going through the process.”38 We know the Bible teaches giving
because we get to hear many sermons about that. But it teaches taking the initiative to ask also. In fact,
147 times in the New Testament alone, the word “ask” or “asking” appears. I would call that a theme!
James 4:2 is true. We have not because we ask not.

ADVOCATING ON BEHALF OF A THIRD PARTY

John’s personal letter to Gaius, a church leader, was to urge him to show hospitality to Demetrius,
a traveling preacher, who was also probably the bearer of 3 John. The apostle was writing a referral
to Gaius on behalf of his Christian coworker stating, “You will do well to send them on their way in a
manner worthy of God” (3 John 6). Thus, John’s endorsement of Demetrius’ character and ministry
was the basis of this appeal: “Therefore we ought to support such men, so that we may be fellow
workers with the truth” (3 John 8). This is a classic example of one believer asking another for funds
on behalf of a third party in order to help them raise their personal and ministry expenses.

TEACHING GENEROUS GIVING MORE THAN TITHING

What was in the mind of God when He told Israel to “bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so
that there may be food in My house”? This Malachi 3:10 verse is the most common passage pastors
rely upon to exhort their congregations to direct their giving toward their church. It is true the Jews
were supposed to take 10% of their grain and put it into the storehouse of the temple, but can we
legitimately fast-forward that practice thousands of years and make it the obligation of all believers
now? I’m sure it was certainly a description of their current situation, but are we really properly
interpreting Scripture to now require it as the prescription for all of our giving today? I am for
recognizing “timeless principles” from the Old Testament, but we must not think that all the
commands and laws for Israel now apply to the church.
2 Corinthians 9:7 (NIV) summarizes God’s heart for our giving today. “Each man should give what
he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful
giver.” Shouldn’t our giving under grace exceed anything we would give under the law? In other
words, the “want to” should be a greater motivation to give than the “ought to.” Consequently, my
pastor says if you’re fixated with just giving 10% to the church, don’t give 10%… give 9% or 11%!
He claims God is more interested in our heart and motives than whether or not we own a calculator!
This is why I have been focused on teaching believers to give generously rather than to tithe.
Tithing can become a legalistic “check it off” kind of obligation rather than the joyful privilege the
Lord intended giving to be. Besides, author Randy Alcorn says 10% should just be the beginning
point for believers. He calls it the “training wheels” just to get us started, and that as time goes on our
generosity ought to grow way beyond 10%. I agree!39
 A mature, well-studied believer shared with me recently he gives the first 10% of his income to
his church and the extra to missionaries. When I asked him where he came up with that formula, he
took a long pause and admitted it was simply a “cultural habit” he had formed over the years rather
than any biblical command he knew of. This is obviously a hotly-contested issue, but my plea is for us
to set aside our “Western Christianity” lens and objectively, honestly, study the Scriptures to see
whether this is truly what God is teaching New Testament believers.

OLD VERSUS NEW

Even today, I have a host of commentaries spread out on my desk trying to once again find any
kind of agreement at all between biblical scholars. The debate rages regarding tithes and offerings in
the Old Testament. Were they required? Optional? 23% total? 24.5%? 33%? Even 50%? One of the
reasons Jesus came and then gave us the New Testament was so we would stop judging one another
based upon rules and regulations.

“We desperately need to explore how much of our understanding of the gospel is American and
how much is biblical.”40
David Platt, Pastor and Author

Even though some surveys show that most evangelicals believe the Bible does not require tithing,
I am committed to teaching others to give much more than just 10%, and to live and give from the
heart. My motive in all this is not to decrease the amount of giving to churches, but to increase it. But
let’s also recognize these “sent ones,” full-time Christian workers who raise support, are part of the
body of Christ too. Giving to them is also giving to the “Church.”
As a former pastor, I would love to tell you the New Testament clearly teaches tithing to your
local church. Peter, Paul, and James are completely silent on the subject, and Jesus Himself only
touches on it twice, in Matthew 23:23/Luke 11:42, and then Luke 18:12. In both instances, He only
brings the subject up in order to condemn the religious leaders for putting such a heavy emphasis on
tithing! My wife and I give much more than 10% to the Lord’s work, and the very first check we write
every month is to our local church—but we don’t do it because the Bible commands it.
Instead of restrictive formulas or percentages, God gives us numerous empowering principles
from the New Testament that we can draw from as we go about our giving. Here are at least four:
• To give sacrificially—like the poor widow did in Luke 21:1-4
• To give consistently—like the Corinthians were told to do in 1 Corinthians 16:2
• To give joyously—like the Ephesians were told to do in Ephesians 5:1-2
• To give discretely—like the disciples were told to do in Matthew 6:1-2

We really do reap what we sow. Matthew 6:33 is true. If we seek God and His kingdom first, “all
these things will be added” unto us. My wife and I have experienced the “you can’t out-give God”
principle over the years. When the economy dipped, we expected a drop in support to us. But as our
personal giving to our church and others increased, so did the amount donated to us. The Lord keeps
showing us that nothing, not even the ups and downs of the U.S. economy, affects Him or the heavenly
bank He presides over. From personal experience, if we are faithful to sacrificially invest in the
kingdom, God takes great joy to multiply those blessings back to us.
I hope you feel like you know more about what the Bible teaches regarding money, giving, and
support raising. This has a way of enlarging your faith, as well as your asks. This firm biblical
groundwork must form the basis for having the right perspective to raise your support—in such a way
that honors the Lord. Opinions, perceptions, and experiences should submit themselves to the truth of
God’s Word. Affixing the right lens to how we view God, ministry, ourselves, supporters, money,
and asking can make us or break us.
 Section III
THE SECRET PRIVILEGE

The highest honor in raising support is partnering with God and your
support team.
 11

You Can’t.
GOD CAN.

In Mel Gibson’s classic movie, Braveheart, young William Wallace saw his father, brother, and
many other Scots massacred by English soldiers. After seeing the bloody and lifeless bodies, William
wanted to immediately rush out and get revenge. But Uncle Argyle, his new caretaker, stopped the
boy and shared some wisdom. “First learn to use this,” his uncle said, tapping William on the head.
“Then I’ll teach you to use this,” Argyle added, pointing to his sword.
I’ve had support-raising trainers tell me I wait too long to begin teaching the mechanics and the
“how to’s” of raising personal financial support. But after training thousands of Christian workers, I
have come to this conclusion: Christian workers abandon their calling, fail at support raising, or limp
along for decades stressed and underfunded due to matters of the heart and mind, much more than
poor technique. Our support-training seminars are two nine-hour days, preceded by a required
twenty-four hours of preparation. Almost all the prep, and well over half of the on-site training, deal
with the head and the heart. In other words, we feel compelled to first help each worker understand
the biblical validity of support raising. Based on that, we then labor to give them a healthy
perspective of God, their ministry, themselves, and their supporters.
If I can help you gain a biblical conviction and proper attitudes through the reading of this book,
the battle is almost won. So please be patient as we hammer away at the basics. Do not skip ahead to
the “how to’s.” Yes, I will get to the tried and tested strategies and best practices. I will share with
you the top mistakes people make in support raising. But trust me, unless you fully grasp the “why?”
behind the “how?” you’ll never understand, nor experience the God Ask.

THE POWER OF PERSPECTIVE

If a previous generation’s most “frozen moment in time” was the bombing of Pearl Harbor, or the
day JFK was assassinated, maybe our most recent “world-altering” snapshot would be 9/11. Even
now, some Christian workers still point to that terrorist attack when discussing the success or failure
of their support-raising efforts. I hear people say, “Ever since 9/11 when the stock market crashed,
people became fearful and started hoarding. They didn’t want to even meet with me, much less give!”
At the same time, I hear another support raiser share, “God has used that tragedy in some amazing
ways. People realize relationships are more important than possessions. They want to give their
money and themselves to something that really matters. They are very excited about joining my team.”
After listening to both sides of the story, I do a double-take, scratch my head, and ask, “Well, which
is it?” It all depends upon your perspective!
Yes, we can have a “woe is me” attitude about things in life. If we do, we will ultimately
determine our own destiny by our constant negativity and the self-fulfilling prophecies we allow to
dominate our thoughts. Are you fixated on any looming challenges or circumstances you perceive as
holding you back from getting to your ministry assignment quickly—and fully funded?

“We cannot change our past or how people will act. We cannot change the inevitable. The only
thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude. Life is 10% what
happens to me and 90% how I react to it.”41
Chuck Swindoll, Pastor and Author

We have a choice. We get to decide each day whether we’re going to view those so-called
“obstacles” as barriers to keep us from our 100% mark or, as an act of our will, choose to use them
as stepping stones to reach the goal. When Paul exhorted us “to bring every thought captive to the
obedience of Christ” he was also referring to all the small-minded, navel-gazing, doomsday attitudes
we’re sometimes tempted to slip into. My prayer is that God would change your heart so that your
view of support raising would move from obligation to opportunity, from a prerequisite to privilege.
That you would find a secret joy in getting to partner with God and others in this unique way.
What lens are you viewing support raising through? We have all affixed certain lenses to
ourselves that we use to view everything through. Consequently, our perspective will, of course, be
colored by the lens we have chosen. All of us have our own dose of “tunnel vision.” We view things
the way we do because we think we are right. I guess if we thought another perspective was a better
one, we would adopt it. Right? Not necessarily so, because sometimes it is very painful to change. In
fact, to change yourself is virtually impossible. You can’t, but God can!
The lens we choose can make us or break us. Years ago, two salesmen were sent to an island to
“sell” shoes and telegraphed back to the home office—one without the right perspective; one with.
Salesman One sent a telegram back that stated: “Ten thousand tribal people. None wear shoes.
Coming home!” In contrast, Salesman Two had a different perspective. His telegram read: “Ten
thousand tribal people. None wear shoes. Send ten thousand pairs!”
When people gain the right perspective on support raising, I have seen them experience such a
radical change, they go back to their family, friends, and coworkers completely different. Everything
has been transformed, and everyone around them senses it.
When you have such a seismic shift like this, you look at life differently. You look at God and the
world differently. You look at your family and friends differently. You look at money and ministry
differently. You look at your donors and support raising differently. Allow God to throw away our
pitiful man-made lens, and instead let Him hold up His perfect lens for us to peer through. The result?
Everything will change!

THE ROAD AHEAD

In the next several chapters, we will address these questions:
• How do you view your God?
• How do you view your ministry?
• How do you view yourself?
• How do you view your supporters?
• How do you view money?
 • How do you view asking?

Affixing a biblical lens to properly answer each of these questions is essential to developing the
right perspective and a healthy support team. The Lord may want to do some surgery on our hearts as
we take stock of our various perspectives. Let Him. Start with prayer: “Oh Lord, please show me if I
am off track someplace. I want to be teachable. Open my mind and heart. Give me courage to look
within and allow You to make any changes You choose to. If there is something I need to repent of,
or recommit to, or study and rethink more deeply, or something that needs to move from beliefs
down into convictions, I beseech You, Holy Spirit, to give me the humility and power to do so. In
Jesus’ name.”

OUR VIEW OF GOD

Where did you get your perception of who God is? From your parents? Sunday school? Maybe
from TV or movies? Some view God as a policeman ready to come down hard on any little slip-up.
Some view Him as a heavenly Santa Claus, who wants us to sit on His lap each morning and, with a
jolly laugh, can’t wait to fulfill our wish list. Others casually view Him as the “big man upstairs.”
The place to always begin when building a healthy perspective is to have the proper view of who this
great and sovereign God is. What lens we affix to our God will profoundly affect our relationship
with Him, and every area of our life—especially our support raising! To better understand the heart
and hand of God, we must believe the following.

HE IS WILLING
“God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1
Timothy 2:3-4). Certainly the Lord wants to bring every “lost sheep” into the fold much more than you
or I do. We talk a good game, but He has staked His life on it! God yearns to see your life and
ministry become fruitful.

HE IS ABLE
“Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to
the power that works within us” (Ephesians 3:20). Not only is this holy and awesome God willing,
He is also able; able to do above and beyond anything we could ever comprehend or even imagine!
This is a key verse you would be wise to memorize during your support-raising journey—in order to
hold onto as an anchor during some of the dark, stormy days!
From our pulpits we preach a limitless God, but when it comes to funding ministries we think He
has a limited budget. Does the Lord have a big money pie in heaven, but it has only so much to go
around? He can only dole out a little here to this church, a little there to that ministry, some to this
person, but then He sheepishly has to admit, “Sorry my child, my bank is depleted for now. I can’t
take away from one of these other people. Maybe you can come back tomorrow?” God is not a penny-
pinching spendthrift trying to save a buck! This “scarcity mentality,” according to Cru’s Ellis
Goldstein, cripples ministries. His belief? “God’s net worth has not changed since the day of
creation!”42
 For those who have learned that God owns everything, He promises to supply all their needs.
How? According to His “riches in heaven” (Philippians 4:19). The Lord has an endless source of
funds, and He is not greedy or stingy. As Andy Stanley says, “You are invited to tap into the
inexhaustible resources of God” and He delights in giving His children what they ask.43

MOUNTAINS OR MOLEHILLS?
A couple of classics that have reinforced the shaping of my biblical view of God over the years
are J. B. Phillips’ Your God is Too Small and A. W. Tozer’s Knowledge of the Holy. Phillips’
premise is if our problems and struggles loom large in our minds, it shows we must have an
embarrassingly tiny view of our great God. In other words, if having to raise $8,000 a month in
ministry support just seems like Mount Everest to you, you may be in desperate need of a “Mindset
Makeover.”
A. W. Tozer was a prominent pastor and author in Chicago during the twentieth century. As a
young man he would go to one of the nearby beaches and, from 4:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m. each morning,
lay facedown in the sand and simply “think about God.” His premise: “What comes to our minds
when we think about God is probably the most important thing about us.”44

“I have found that there are three stages in every work of God; first it is impossible, then it is
difficult, then it is done.”45
Hudson Taylor, Founder of China Inland Mission in 1865

We can either honor or dishonor God, dependent upon whether we believe His promises or not.
For instance, in Jeremiah 33:3 (NKJV) the Lord claims, “Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show
you great and mighty things, which you do not know.” Will we pass over this with a cursory nod and
move on, or will we stop and literally take Him at His Word? We can pay the Lord the greatest
compliment or the greatest insult based upon whether we accept what He declares as truth… and then
act upon it!
One way to test whether we have a healthy perspective of our God is by taking a look at what we
are asking Him. Pull out your prayer list this week and do a little evaluation. Is it filled with dinky
little requests? If so, step back for a moment and look at the situation from God’s perspective. He
appreciates us bringing Him the “small stuff,” but don’t you know He desires an opportunity to really
show Himself strong on our behalf? So prove Him. Test Him. He is waiting. The Lord yearns for us
to ask Him for things commensurate with His ability; the kind of prayers that when He does answer
them, you and others have to stand back and give the only plausible explanation: “God has done this!”
How about you? Are you praying for mountains… or molehills? Truly, the size of our prayers
indicates the size of our God.

HONOR OR DISHONOR
Legend has it that after a particularly long and brutal battle, the great French Emperor Napoleon
and his army finally conquered a highly-prized Mediterranean island and its many inhabitants.
Afterward, while he and his generals were sitting, drinking, and savoring the victory, a young officer
approached Napoleon. When the revered general asked the man what he wanted, he looked straight at
Napoleon and said, “Sir, give me this island.” Instantly, all the other generals began to laugh and
mock the young man, that is until Napoleon turned and asked one of them for a pen and another for
paper. To their amazement, Napoleon wrote out a deed to the island, signed it, and handed it to the
lowly, but bold soldier. “How could you do that?” stammered one of his generals, “What made this
man worthy to receive this great island after we fought so hard to win it?” “I gave him this island,”
Napoleon replied, “because he honored me by the magnitude of his request.”46
As I think about my own relationship with God and the supplications I lay out before Him, I have
to be honest. I do not always honor Him by the magnitude of my requests. I want to have the all-
believing prayer life resembling the impact and “kick” of a twelve-gauge shotgun, but instead it seems
to dribble out more like a BB gun sometimes! My pastor in college, H.D. McCarty, used to say,
“When I get to heaven, I don’t want to be guilty of asking God—or others—for too little.” Me neither.
I don’t want God to look into my eyes and ask, “Why didn’t you ask Me for more? Why didn’t you ask
others for more?” I want to start now to be able to give Him a good answer then!

“The most difficult thing to understand about prayer is why God would place this kind of power in
the hands of people like us.”47
Ron Dunn, Author and Evangelist

My family and I live in Arkansas, home of the Wal-Mart headquarters. Sam Walton, the founder,
was the kind of man who drove an old pick-up truck with his dog in the back. What if one foggy
morning I was driving to work and noticed an old truck miss the turn at the bridge and instead head
down the hill, into the water, and start sinking? I hope I would immediately pull over, race down that
hill, and into the water to make the rescue. What if I found the truck already submerged with an
elderly man slumped behind the wheel, close to drowning? I dive down and pull him out, swim him to
the side, start CPR, and attempt to revive him.
What if the man came to, sat up, and said, “You saved my life! Do you know who I am? I’m Sam
Walton, the world’s richest man. I want to reward you. I have my checkbook right here. I’ll put your
name as the payee, sign it, and make it out for any amount you tell me to.” With pen in hand and
waiting for my response he adds, “How much do you want me to give you?” Well, I think to myself,
am I a lucky guy or what! I look around, then down at my watch, and say, “Well, Mr. Walton, it’s 7:30
a.m. and I am a little hungry. There’s a McDonald’s right down the street and an Egg McMuffin sure
would taste good right now. How ‘bout five bucks?” Astonished and speechless, he finally spits out:
“Five dollars? That’s it? I’ve never even written a check that small! But if you say so.” He fills in the
amount, hands me the check, turns, and walks away.
What do you think your family and friends would say to you when you told them that story? Would
they congratulate you on your good fortune or ask how the McMuffin was? No! They would scream,
“Are you kidding me? The world’s richest billionaire was willing to write you a check for any
amount, and you only asked for five measly bucks. Have you lost your mind?”

THE ULTIMATE PERSPECTIVE

In Mark 10, Jesus was talking with His disciples, and said, “And again He took the twelve aside
and began to tell them what was going to happen to Him” (Mark 10:32). This was at least the second,
third, or fourth time He had pulled them together to cover this same topic.48 He must have felt like
they still didn’t get it and needed to go over with them again exactly what was to take place in His
final days. In chronological order, the Lord reviews once more the Son of Man’s betrayal, trial,
condemnation, mockeries, beatings, crucifixion, topped off with “and three days later He will rise
again” (Mark 10:34). Jesus still didn’t get the response He was looking for.
Instead of sympathy or gratitude, James and John approached Jesus and demanded, “Teacher, we
want You to do for us whatever we ask of You” (Mark 10:35). It’s stunning to me He doesn’t rebuke
them for being ungrateful. Even in the face of repeated selfishness, the Savior graciously responded in
verse 36 with, “What do you want Me to do for you?” This was one of His favorite questions. In
verse 51 of the same chapter, Jesus asks it again of a man in a whole different setting.
I believe He is asking you that question right now. Jesus is inviting us to make the God Ask—
directly to Him. He has written out a check with your name on it, signed His name to it, and is waiting
for you to tell Him how much you want Him to fill it out for. I’m not talking about money here. I am
talking about what it is you are asking God for. Are you going to believe Him for big things—or not?
Will you stretch out your faith and decide you are going to start asking the Lord proportionate to what
He is able to do? You and I have the opportunity of a lifetime at our fingertips: Simply and humbly,
we can choose to honor Him by the magnitude of our requests.
How you view your God will determine your success in support raising. You and I cannot have a
personal relationship with God unless we have proper perspective of who He is. This relationship is
at the core of every single area of life. The only place I find any sustaining vision, passion, or daily
motivation to accomplish anything is from Him. In John 15, Jesus said, “Apart from Me, you can do
nothing.” Zero. I’m a fool for even entertaining the thought of relying on my own intelligence, gifts, or
skills. Full funding, impressive ministry results, all the trappings of a successful life add up to
emptiness without the Lord. Attempting to do our support raising apart from His power is absolute
insanity. Don’t do it.
 12

Choosing
PASSION

My wife and I have had the joy of working with thousands of college students and have engaged in
countless conversations with them about what they’re going to do as they approach graduation. Up to
that point, they had felt safe and secure knowing they were simply coming back to campus for another
year of school. But now that they were being kicked out of the nest, they felt a strong need to pray, get
counsel, pursue options, and make decisions. As I chat with these twenty-one to twenty-five-year
olds, I love to pose an unusual question. “If you could do anything with your life, what would you
want to do? Just for a moment, free your mind from school loans or parents’ wishes or boyfriend
pressure. Put no constraints or parameters on it. Write down what you would love to do with your life
if you got to choose.”
Most have never allowed their mind or heart to think that broadly or freely. They’ve been
conditioned to operate under some set of exterior expectations or self-imposed limitations. A few
have sat there so long staring at that blank sheet, I thought they might pass out! They finally get an
inspirational thought, and begin enthusiastically scribbling something. They finish with a smile, pass
it over to me, and I take a look. Nine out of ten times I pass it back to them, look deep into their eyes
and quietly say, “Go do this.”

There are many things in life that will catch your eye, but only a few will catch your heart. Pursue
those!

There is a reason they feel so excited about the specific direction, cause, or vocation they wrote
down. It’s because God is the One who put it in their heart. “Delight yourself in the LORD; and He
will give you the desires of your heart” (Psalm 37:4). “Are you delighting yourself in the Lord?” I ask
the graduating senior. “I am certainly seeking to,” they reply. “Well then,” I respond, “you’ve just
written down the desires of your heart. So, go for it.” Too simplistic or idealistic? I probably do have
a more “wide-open” view of helping a person discover God’s direction for their life, but I believe
this exercise strikes at the core of understanding what each of us were designed to do.

“STAGE TWO” GREAT COMMISSION LIVING

The place to begin and end is always with the Lord Jesus. Having established this, we can build
on this foundation by gaining a radical but wise view of the work the Lord has called us to. You have
taken huge steps of faith. It is He who is putting all the pieces together, but the Lord is using you to do
it. Filling out your staff application and interviewing for your ministry position was the easy part.
Now comes stage two. When you and I take this enormous second step I’m describing, it will set the
course for the rest of our lives and ministries. What a milestone. A stake driven into the ground. A
breakthrough for our faith and fears for each of us. Walking toward and conquering this challenge will
prepare you for the giants you meet along the way.
What if, in the face of incredible odds, you went out, trusted God, and from scratch, raised your
entire support? Now you get to report to your assignment and begin planning out your ministry.
Someone suggests you put together a weekly meeting where you’ll be teaching biblical leadership
principles to the coaches of all the high schools in your city. Whispering in your other ear, though, are
key people telling you why it won’t work—but all you can think about is how God worked mightily
through you to raise your full support and conquer the fears you encountered. You pray and decide to
take a big step of faith again, and start by going to the biggest high school in the city to have a one-on-
one with the head coach. You ask if he and his staff will be the first to commit.

“Risk more than others think is safe. Care more than others think is wise. Dream more than others
think is practical. Expect more than others think is possible.”
A West Point Cadet

Why not make a decision that this kind of attitude and action will become “the norm” for all of
your future personal, family, financial, and ministry decisions? Choosing to pursue this kind of
passion in support raising has a way of carrying over into all areas of your life and will help your
ministry major on the majors. The Great Commission needs to be central to your passion and the most
significant cause you have. If there was a greater one, I would go after it, and I would be disappointed
if you didn’t do the same! This is why I have committed myself to provide training for Great
Commission ministries only. These are groups involved in one or more of these biblical “kingdom
expanding” activities:
• Evangelism—winning people to Christ
• Establishing—building them up in the faith
• Equipping—training them to win and build up others
• Exporting—sending them out to reproduce the process

This building up of the body of Christ on earth is why God has placed you and me in the ministry.

CALLED BY GOD
When Robbie Knievel, son of the infamous daredevil Evil Knievel, made a 228-foot motorcycle
jump across a portion of the Grand Canyon, he was interviewed by a reporter and asked how he
happened to choose this particular profession. He simply responded, “Everybody has a calling. This
is mine.” Yes, Robbie, everyone has a calling—but it doesn’t have to be a death wish! The calling we
received from the Lord is not a leap into the dark, but into the light. Some believe you aren’t qualified
to enter into full-time ministry unless you first see a light from heaven, with trumpets blowing, tears
flowing, goose bumps popping, topped off with a final act of surrender accompanied by a powerful
middle-of-the-night “liver quiver.”
Whether you had an emotional “Damascus Road” experience or you just made a logical decision
to give all of your time and energies to the Lord’s work, you still must possess a deep, abiding
confidence from God Himself that this ministry is what He wants you to do. It needs to be a package
deal where support raising is as much a part of your calling as the actual ministry. Author and
ministry leader Chuck Colson communicates the seriousness of our task, “We are not engaged in some
vague philanthropic exercise. We are dealing with life and death. And we had better get on with this
business of proclaiming the gospel.”49

SOLD ON THE VISION

Sometime during your life, you might have someone come to you with an investment opportunity,
confidently promising you will double your money if only you’ll put in $50,000 along with ten other
investors into this “can’t lose” deal. Your first question directed to him should be, “How much of
your own money are you putting in?” If it is not a substantial amount, he is not truly sold on the vision.
How naïve of him to think he could ever sincerely convince you or anyone else to put money into this
project if he is not willing to do the same. This concept applies to your ministry as well. Unless
you’re sold on it, you’ll never sell it to others. We must set the pace for the people we are leading or
seeking to influence. In other words, if I want my supporters to feel strongly about my ministry, I’m
going to have to feel super strong about it. Helen Keller shared, “The greatest tragedy to befall a
person is to have sight, but lack vision.”50
If the ministry you are headed into is just something that sounds interesting or fun to you, or a way
to help some needy people for a couple of years before you get into your “real career,” I’m afraid you
will face an uphill battle in soliciting committed financial supporters. Unless you believe, deep in
your soul, that your vision is from God and is the most strategic thing you could do with your life, you
will not experience much receptiveness from the potential donors you meet with. Oh, people may
make a “charitable donation,” but few will be moved to significantly invest and become a ministry
partner with you.

EMBRACE YOUR DESTINY

The Word of God is the will of God and the Lord has given us much more freedom than we
realize to discern and implement His marching orders for us. He places in each of us a special “bent,”
a passion, that if we can uncover and pursue, we will experience fulfillment and blessing in our lives
and ministries. You will have built-in motivation, and the likelihood of being successful shoots
straight up if you are doing what you want to do more than anything else in the world. And if it
requires raising your support to pull it off, you’ll probably see some remarkable receptivity as donors
get a taste of your authentic excitement, purpose, and sense of destiny. When I’m discipling someone
who wants to go into full-time ministry, I sometimes set up a couple of interviews for them with
fabulously well-paying jobs in their majors, with companies run by various friends of mine. I don’t
want them to go into ministry out of “default,” but because they believe deeply God has called them to
do so. Giving them the opportunity to say “no” and walk away from incredible job opportunities and
salaries has a way of solidifying that conviction. I’m not sure I have ever met someone who regretted
choosing passion over prosperity.

GETTING ADMINISTRATORS FUNDED

At this stage, you may be saying, “You don’t understand. In our organization, I’m just an
administrator. How in the world am I going to raise my support? I’m not in a foreign country or on a
college campus. I’m stuck behind a desk here at our headquarters working on projects.” Again, it’s a
matter of perspective. You can meet your goals or destroy your chances of getting to full support
based upon how you view your ministry.
Don’t believe the rumor going around that administrative or IT people can’t raise their support
and must always be paid salaries. We have a thirty-eight-year-old, quiet, reserved techie type we
recently brought on staff. He went through our support-raising training, then went home and asked six
couples to invest some front-end launching funds to allow him to quit his job and focus on support
raising. He jumped right in, traveling to different cities, setting up appointments, humbly asking
people face-to-face to join his team. Eighty days later he surpassed 100% with a huge buffer and was
getting ready to sell his home and move to our headquarters.

“If you cannot do great things, do small things in a great way.”51

Napoleon Hill, American Author

A story is told of the reporter who asked this short question to three bricklayers constructing a
cathedral. “What are you doing?” The first worker smirked, “I’m laying bricks.” The second smiled
at the question and replied, “I’m building a church.” But the third stood up, raised his hands to the sky
and proclaimed, “I am bringing glory to God!” All three men doing the exact same thing, but with
radically different perspectives. Similarly, I have talked to many administrative staff over the years
whose job titles may be the same, but who are worlds apart in how they view their roles. Here’s how
three administrators who have the same exact job description view their role.
Staffer #1: “I just answer e-mails and talk on the phone all day.”
Staffer #2: “I provide administrative support for all our staff.”
Staffer #3: “I’m a vital link between our 200 plus missionaries in Central Asia and our home
office here as we seek to plant 5,000 churches among the lost by the year 2025. As a resource
coordinator, I provide all the tools and information they need to do their very strategic grass-roots
evangelism and disciple-making among unreached people groups where most have never even heard
of Jesus! It would be an honor to have you partnering with us in this critical ministry.”
Three different individuals. All with the exact same title and role. Only one has had her ministry
lens transformed and views her calling through God’s eyes, not her own. Only one viewed support
raising as a secret privilege. Only one is fully funded. Administrative staffers are worth their weight
in gold and essential to the functioning of the ministry. Some ministry leaders don’t value them as they
should. Consequently, these administrators don’t put much stock in themselves. As a result, when they
look a potential donor in the eye, it’s hard for them to truly believe their role is that critical.
Don’t let family, staff, friends, or donors determine the significance of the ministry you fulfill.
Destroy the “poor me” voices that play in the back of your mind. Look up to catch a heavenly vision
for the grand and glorious work the Great Commander has called you to. It may appear you are
“behind-the-lines,” but do not be deceived, you are just as vital as any member of God’s army. You
are working hard to fulfill your heavenly assignment, and biblically, you deserve to be supported.
If you believe you are in the most strategic position you could be and God has called you to do it,
those convictions will be revealed during your support appointments. What your actual job
description happens to be isn’t as important as having a deeply-imbedded vision and passion to fulfill
it. A lot is tied to how you view yourself. A little self-examination may be in order. It may be a little
painful, but oh so helpful.
 13

Worthy of the
WAGE

Matthew was good-looking, well-educated, a strong speaker, gifted leader, and discipler who
wanted to join our staff. As he and his equally impressive wife launched out to raise their support
they got stuck at the halfway mark on their fund-raising. Believing they were a great investment and a
couple we wanted to get behind, I told him my family wanted to come on their monthly team. “No,” he
protested, “there are a lot of other people you’re involved with who are headed into ministry who
need support.” I assured him that was true, but we felt strongly about coming onto their monthly team,
already deciding the amount. Deflecting me again, he added, “There are other great workers you need
to be investing in.” In frustration, I declared, “We have the first check right here. We are coming on
your team!” A third time he repelled our intentions, so I looked at him and asked, “Matthew, are you a
good investment?” He paused and looked away. He took a deep breath. He finally whispered, “I
don’t know if I am or not.” If he didn’t even see himself as a good investment, how could he ever
convince anyone else he was? No wonder my friend Matthew was struggling to get to full support. He
did not truly believe what Jesus said about him in Luke 10:7, “for the laborer is worthy of his
wages.”

HOW DOES GOD VIEW YOU?

• Look up for a moment and imagine looking into the face of God.
• What does He think about YOU… right now?
• How does He perceive and view you at this very moment?
• Does He love you completely and unconditionally… or is it on some kind of a performance
basis?
• Has the Lord paid for and forgiven all of your past, present, and future sins—or not?
• Has He made you His child and a member of His “forever family”—or not?
• Does He have a specific plan for your life that’s full of abundance and blessing—or not?

If I don’t have an assurance God totally loves and forgives me, how can I possibly love or forgive
myself—or others? Neil Anderson has written a number of great books, 52 all geared to help us view
ourselves the way God does. Anderson exhorts us to meditate on and fully comprehend our position
in Christ. He claims, “Understanding your identity in Christ is absolutely essential to your success at
living the victorious Christian life.”53 He points out that the Bible calls us sinners just a handful of
times, while we’re referred to as saints or holy ones hundreds of times! We have a decision to make.
We can choose to view ourselves as defiled, degraded, defeated sinners, or we can look at ourselves
the way God does in Ephesians 1:4: saints who are “holy and blameless.”
 A healthy self-image is not thinking more highly or more lowly of ourselves than we ought. It’s
simply looking at ourselves the way God does. If we can do this, we will possess the healthiest and
most balanced self-image of all—a biblical self-esteem. This has everything to do with your success
or failure in support raising—and every other area of life. One of the greatest questions anyone can
answer about himself is also the simplest—“Who am I?” Before you can present yourself or your
ministry to anyone else, you must have settled exactly who you are in your heart. Jesus believes you
are worthy of your wage. Do you believe that?

HOW DO YOU VIEW YOURSELF?

We project to others what we think of ourselves. If I don’t have confidence or respect for myself,
others pick up on it and will not have much confidence or respect for me either. We definitely teach
others how to treat us, and if you think poorly of your personality, appearance, gifts, skills, or
experience, it becomes painfully obvious to the person you are meeting with. Studies indicate up to
93% of our communication with others is not the actual words we speak, but the nonverbal signals we
send. Our expressions, demeanor, eyes, shoulders, hands, level of enthusiasm, intensity, and
animation reveal what’s really going on inside of us.54 After all, Proverbs 23:7 does teach, “As a man
thinks within himself, so he is.”
One of the great biblical examples of this is in Numbers 13. The twelve spies went into the
Promised Land to look before the Hebrew nation was to enter and claim what God had given. Joshua
and Caleb came back ready to invade. The other ten spies were terrified of the giants in the land.
They later confessed, “we became like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight”
in Numbers 13:33. Why did the giants view the ten spies as little “grasshoppers?” Because those
spies viewed themselves as little “grasshoppers.” Instead of trusting God, believing His promise, and
moving out with courage, fear paralyzed them.
How are you going to handle sitting in the office of a modern-day version of a “giant”—maybe
like that intimidating businessman at the top of the skyscraper who graces you with five minutes of his
precious time? If he senses you possess a “grasshopper mentality” of yourself or your ministry, he
will immediately sense it. He may shoo you out after saying in essence, “out of my office, little
grasshopper!” This is not about becoming cocky or arrogant, walking into people’s homes or offices
with the swagger of a gunslinger. With God’s help, you must kill the negative self-perception that
tends to cripple us.
The key is filling our minds with Scripture and taking what God has said about us and our calling
as truth. After being sentenced to forty years of wandering around the desert as the consequence for
their unbelief, I wonder if the ten spies and the whole nation wished they could go back and face the
giants when the Lord first told them to?55

ARE YOU A GOOD INVESTMENT?

Once Matthew, our new staffer, deflected a third time my attempt to come onto his support team, I
realized we needed to have a talk. Our next two hours were full of heartfelt honesty. Though he had
every reason to feel confident about himself and his ministry, he did not feel worthy. He was letting
the dreaded “grasshopper mentality” control his thinking. This will determine whether we ask people
for $50, $100, $200, $300, or more per month. Christian workers who do not view themselves as
worthy of significant investment will ask for low amounts, or no amounts at all!
Americans certainly understand the concept of investing. Over half of U.S. citizens are investing
in the stock market. If you were to send off for brochures from various mutual funds, you would
quickly get back some slick and colorful booklets touting the fund’s success and above-market
returns. Their earnings chart always points upward—luring you into sending them a monthly check to
invest in one of their risk-free, “growth and income” funds. Their whole goal is to prove to you they
will have a good “ROI”—Return on Investment.

“The moment you alter your perception of yourself and your future, both you and your future
begin to change.”56
Marilee Zdenek, Founder of Right-Brain Resources

Similar to your friends looking for the right stock to invest in to give them a good ROI, they also
are running you through a similar grid as you sit across from them at Starbucks. They are
subconsciously evaluating your appearance, attitude, vision, passion, presentation materials, trying to
discern what comfort level they have in adding you as a new investment in their “giving portfolio.”
As you lay out your ministry mission, goals, and projected impact, you’re trying to assure your friend
if he will direct some strategic giving dollars toward you and your ministry, they will yield some
excellent heavenly returns. Just as in the business world a person would put together a business plan
and go to a bank to secure funding, we are putting together a ministry business plan where we are
starting our ministry from scratch and presenting it to potential investors.
Some may think, “This all sounds so worldly to me. Shouldn’t they just give because God tells
them to, regardless if I was late for our meeting, had typos in my presentation, or was stuttering
badly?” As much as I would like to tell you every appointment you have would be with a committed
believer who has a biblical understanding of vertical giving, this is simply not the case. The majority
of people who come on your team will initially be giving from a horizontal motivation. They were
impressed with how you looked, what you said, how you came across, and want to invest. A large
portion of how they view you will be based on how you view yourself. And how you view yourself
will be based upon how you perceive God views you.

WALK TOWARD YOUR FEARS

We all have fears. Your greatest adversary can be yourself. The Bible says God is for you. Satan
or others have no power over a child of God. The only one who can ruin you is you! Timothy, the
young pastor in Ephesus, was struggling. He then received a letter from Paul, his mentor of seventeen
years.
The apostle Paul was near death. He wanted to encourage his young disciple one last time. He
wrote, “For God has not given us a spirit of timidity [fear], but of power and love and discipline” (2
Timothy 1:7). Timothy was struggling with timidity and being ashamed of the Lord, the gospel, and
even Paul himself. Timothy felt isolated and was letting all the obstacles and opposition from
believers and non-believers cause him to shrink back. In essence, the theme of Paul’s final
exhortation to Timothy was: walk toward your fears.
 Larry Crabb in his book Encouragement writes, “All of us have layers of fear around the ‘real
us.’ They are defense mechanisms.” 57 We gravitate toward what is safe and comfortable, and run
away from or avoid things that are scary or intimidating. Even though that’s human nature, this seems
to be a pitiful way to operate. In support raising, as well as life, we have a decision virtually every
single day. Will I let fear dominate me, or will I walk toward my fears and do what I am afraid to do?
A survey was taken of one hundred men awarded the Medal of Honor, the highest tribute to
bravery a soldier can receive. The interviewer asked each one, “What is courage?” I would expect
these men to answer, “Not being afraid.” No. All of them had been afraid, deathly afraid. They
confessed their hearts were racing as they walked through the jungles of Vietnam, knowing at any
moment they could be attacked and killed. Consequently, their definition of courage was not the
absence of fear. To them, the definition of courage was going ahead and “ doing what you are afraid
to do.” They were purposely making life-threatening decisions to walk toward their fears and not
away from them.
I’ve observed Christian workers can be bold when preaching a sermon, sharing Christ on an
airplane, or passing out tracts on the sidewalk. Yet when it comes to meeting face-to-face with a
prospective donor to present their ministry vision, they shrivel up. I have seen grown men become
paralyzed with fear during support appointments. Why is that? Why does the idea of sitting across a
table from another human being and asking them to invest in us and our ministries send chills up our
spine? My observation is that 99% of Christian workers experience fear of asking for money. The
other 1% are liars!

THE GOLDEN QUESTION

Ministries do personal support raising just like they do their personal witnessing. Consider the
necessary steps in both activities: 1. Creating the need. 2. Sharing the solution. 3. Asking for a
decision. Even though rejection is possible, the bottom line for both endeavors is: Are you willing to
ask the “golden question?” After presenting the gospel to someone, the most difficult sequence of
words is the part where you ask them to make a decision. For some, actually mouthing these words
can be a terrifying experience. “Would you like to receive Jesus Christ into your life as your Lord
and Savior—right now?” Keeping my eyes on theirs, zipping the lip, and waiting for their response is
so difficult. Why? Because they might say “no,” and I hate to be rejected! So I let this fear factor
shape my theology by rationalizing away the need to ask people to receive Christ. I then claim God is
surely big enough to save someone without my little questions.
The fears we face in evangelism are like the ones we experience in support raising. As a result,
many Christian workers will only use group meetings, appeal letters, pledge cards, blogs with
“donate here” buttons to do their asking for them. And even those who actually meet with donors one-
on-one sometimes can’t bring themselves to verbalize the golden question. “Mr. Smith, it would be
such an honor to have you and your family investing in us and our ministry. I am wondering if you
would consider supporting us for $100 or even $150 a month? What do you think?” In support raising,
like evangelism, we need to make the God Ask first, but then have the courage to invite them to
respond—and let them answer!
Why do many Christian workers choose not to directly ask in person? They come up with all
kinds of theological or philosophical reasons, but I believe, deep down, it is a fear of rejection.
Personally, I don’t enjoy making people feel uncomfortable, so I ask my golden questions as casually
and relationally as possible—but I still ask.
Think about it. As a Christian worker, if I can’t even ask the simple golden question in
evangelism, how am I ever going to be able to ask it in support raising? Furthermore, do I even have
the right to? If you are struggling mustering up the courage to ask people face-to-face to join your
personal support teams, you might evaluate how you’re doing in personally asking individuals to
believe and receive Christ. If you can break through the fear and faith barriers in witnessing, it will
shoot adrenaline into your soul and help give you the courage to walk toward your fears in support
raising. Once you’ve asked enough people the golden question in evangelism, asking others the
question in support raising is easy!
Note: Have you noticed there’s a direct correlation between the number of people you ask to
receive Christ into their lives, and the number that actually do so? The more you ask, the more
response you are likely to get! Guess what? The same correlation exists with inviting people to invest
in you and your work.

EVERYTHING WITH EXCELLENCE

When stopped along an interstate, it’s usually because highway department workers are repairing
the road. I normally see five or six men standing around, leaning on their shovels, talking—while one
person digs. Then they shift and the next guy in line works some while the others carry on with their
discussion. I get the impression they’re trading jokes and sports stories rather than comparing
engineering solutions to their repair project. I don’t get the sense they consider themselves
“professionals,” doing their work with a high standard of excellence.
I have also observed a few Navy SEALS. They may or may not have had the same kind of family
upbringing or educational background as those construction workers, but SEALS carry themselves in
a completely different manner. They demand of themselves and those around them an incredible level
of professionalism and excellence. As I evaluate my own life and the Christian workers I’ve worked
with over the years, I have to ask, “Are we operating more like the highway department guys or Navy
SEALS?”
Have we set the bar super high in order to bring glory to God, be a testimony to the world, and
accomplish our goals? Do we possess a willingness to do whatever is necessary to complete the task
the Lord assigned us? Or are we just clocking in each day, putting in our hours, and getting by? If we
understand we are children of the King, generals in God’s army, and trained for combat in the
spiritual battle, we must think, speak, and act like it! Why? In everything we do and everywhere we
go, we represent Jesus, our family, our ministry, and ourselves. Pastor Bill Hybels in his book
Honest to God? shares, “Christian workers should epitomize character qualities like self-discipline,
perseverance, and initiative. They should be self-motivated, prompt, organized, and industrious.
Their efforts should result in work of the very highest quality.”58
Author Robert Lewis was speaking to a group of Christian leaders and declared, “Why should we
let the world outdo us in anything?”59 The group was baffled. What did he just say? We reasoned that
certainly the world is going to outdo us in the quality of their materials, technology, and programs.
They have all the money and expertise, and we don’t. Right? Lewis challenged our thinking and
helped us understand believers should have a profoundly higher standard than secular corporations
and we should not make any excuses for inferiority or compromise in what we create and present to a
watching world. Wow, did I need to rearrange my thinking!

TELL ME ABOUT YOUR WORK ETHIC

This kind of pursuit of excellence motivates us to get up each morning and sacrifice the very best
of our time and energies to “work heartily as for the Lord” (Colossians 3:23). It seems Christian
workers have some of the worst reputations and many view us as lazy freeloaders. Where did they get
this impression? We, who are on support, can foster this concept. We tend to view ourselves as
“independent contractors”—setting our own goals, agenda, and schedule—with very little
accountability to others. I’m certainly not advocating becoming workaholics, but should we not be
working as hard or harder than the very people who are knocking out eight-, ten-, twelve-hour
workdays in order to make enough money to send in their $100 or $200 a month to free us up to do
ministry?
If your supporters could look at the hours you keep and the ministry you accomplish on a daily and
weekly basis, would they feel good about their investment in you? Or would they privately wonder if
you are taking advantage of their sacrifice and generosity? Don’t ever give them any reason to think
you are not worthy of your wage. A good exercise for you would be to take your goals, agenda, and
schedule and lay it out before a few of your businessmen/women supporters, asking them to be
brutally honest about what they really think about your work ethic. It may be difficult to hear!

POOR TALK CAN BE TOXIC

Many Christian ministries are infected with people who are constantly complaining about how
much things cost, what they don’t have, or how tight their budget is. They’re drowning in an ocean of
discontent and they don’t realize it. This pity party called “poor talk” usually surfaces in the forms of:
• Sarcastic Jokes—“The next time my husband takes me out to dinner, it will probably be the
Marriage Feast of the Lamb in heaven!”
• Hinting—“We’re hoping to get the air conditioner fixed when our support increases.”
• Comparing—“Sure would be nice to send our kids to a Christian school like the Newtons do.”

I cringe when I hear a poor talker respond to compliments with their brand of disclaimers. They
feel compelled to inform us their new coat was on sale, their new camera was bought with tax
refunds, and their vacation was discounted with a coupon they spent hours on the Internet searching
for. Instead of using their ministry newsletter to communicate vision and changed lives, they subtly
manipulate the sympathies of their donors by sneaking poor talk into the “Prayer Requests” section.
They usually look something like, “Pray that God would provide for our kids’ dental needs.” “Pray
someone would give us a computer.” “Pray our mission funds come in by December 1st .”
Most people want to impress others by how much they spend for things, but Christian workers
seem to boast about how little they pay! Listen in on a conversation at a ministry gathering:
Staff person #1: “That’s a nice shirt.”
Staff person #2: “Yeah, I got it on sale for $9.95 at Wal-Mart.”
Staff person #1: “That’s nothing. I got mine at Goodwill for only $3.00!”
Staff person #3: “You wasteful, ungodly, lazy sloths! I found mine in a dumpster behind our
 house!”
This “poor-me” attitude robs us of the dignity of our position and casts us as beggars in our
supporters’ eyes. Instead of going out and inviting others the opportunity to invest in our ministry and
us, we rationalize, blame our circumstances, and slip into denial. This is usually when the credit
cards come out, and we start down the slippery slope of living off of borrowed money. Other toxic
consequences of poor talk may include the following:

POISONED MINISTRY MORALE

When people are more concerned about their money, their needs, their struggles, they will
gradually lose sight of the vision. And if we (or our families) are more focused on clipping coupons
and saving pennies than winning the world to Christ, we have gotten off track.

TWISTED VIEW OF SPIRITUALITY

This “poverty theology” is why some Christian workers are still driving that broken-down
twenty-year-old van—and bragging about it! Poor talk is a strange strain of the disease called “self-
righteousness.”

WEAKENED STAFF RECRUITMENT

The fastest way to drive off potential staff candidates is for them to get a small but lethal dose of
our poor talk. People want to join a team that is strong spiritually, socially, emotionally, and of
course, financially.
How you view yourself will determine your success in support raising. If, deep down, we believe
raising support is a form of begging, we will view ourselves as beggars. Our attitudes and self-image
will come through loud and clear to everyone around us. No wonder they see us as beggars. We
taught them to! If potential donors don’t see you working hard with excellence, or if they hear or see
any poor talk, or if they perceive you are focused on your needs rather than vision, they will not want
to invest. If they discern you are a man or woman on a mission from God, willing to make any
sacrifice in order to complete the Great Commission, they will want to rise to your expectations and
jump on your team for significant amounts. If they sense you view support raising not as a burden, but
as a secret privilege, they, too, will give out of the “want to” rather than the “ought to.”
I know there are stresses and pressures in living on support, but the solution is to set a healthy
budget and raise at least 100%… and then do away with all poor talk. We’ve been discussing how
our supporters may view us. Now, let’s see how God wants us to view them!
 14

Treasure
TRANSPLANTING

Mother Teresa was often asked what she believed was the greatest source of suffering. Her
answer: loneliness. She was right. Even in the middle of millions of wall-to-wall people, we live in
a lonely world. You might walk into someone’s office who appears to have it all together with a
successful life, but more times than not, they are lonely. Many of them would like to personally
connect with someone who has real meaning and direction in their life, someone with vision and
passion that would include them in their endeavors.
Believe it or not, many of your supporters envy you. At some juncture, they may have realized
making and selling a billion widgets just didn’t give them the kick in life they thought it would.
Success does not always equal significance. Their net worth may be a hundred times yours, but they
may harbor regrets about their life, secretly wishing they possessed the personal and spiritual drive,
zeal, and sense of eternal purpose you do.
Never view yourself as inferior or less valuable than the people you meet with. Just because they
may have prestige or power in the world’s eyes means nothing. You won’t feel nearly as intimidated
by any of your high-powered appointments if you choose to view them as friends, teammates, and
ministry partners. Decide in your heart that this process is not fund-raising, but primarily friend
raising! It is a ministry of relationships. This is what YWAM’s Betty Barnett so effectively
communicates in her book on raising support, Friend Raising. This great truth sparks six thoughts in
my mind:

GETTING OTHERS INVOLVED IN THE GREAT

COMMISSION
It’s a privilege God wants to extend to every believer. If you don’t ask them, they may never get
asked to participate. We learned how Paul viewed himself as a treasure transplanter, asking others to
give, not because he had need, but because their gifts would be “credited to their account” in heaven
(Philippians 4:17 NIV). You and I are asking others to give for their sake, not ours! Praise God, I am
at 100% of my budget, and with a full buffer. So why do I continue to set up support appointments
with others? I don’t want to withhold from anyone the chance to give and participate in the
establishing of His church everywhere. If your supporters are true children of God, they already have
a heavenly account that is open and active. Now you and I get to help them build it up, and experience
the compounding interest for all eternity! In fact, if I know someone—and I have never invited them to
participate in this eternal investment plan—I feel guilty. I haven’t been a true friend to them.

“We must view support raising as such a reward that to withhold it from potential partners is
 doing them a great disservice.”60
Andrew Knight, Support Trainer for Campus Outreach

In Matthew 6:20 Jesus commanded us to “store up for yourselves treasure in heaven.” We each
then have two bank accounts—an earthly one and a heavenly one. Our job as support raisers is to be
their personal, private investment banker showing the potential client the benefits of funneling as
much of their hard-earned income from their local bank to their eternal one. They may not thank you
now for your persistent phone calls pressing them for an appointment or the audacious risk you took
in asking them in person for a giving commitment. But someday I believe they will forever be grateful
for your including them and your “never-give-up” attitude.
I am purely speculating here, but could it be, in heaven, part of your joy and rewards are other
believers who seek you out to thank you because you were the only one who ever met with them and
asked them to invest in the things of God? If so, they might point to their heavenly bank and say, “I
was so foolish and short-sighted on earth. The eternal treasure I have here in heaven would have been
so much smaller if you had not taken the risk to come challenge me to give. Thank you, thank you!”

PEOPLE DON’T GIVE TO NEEDS, THEY GIVE TO DREAMS

The one thing you have those you meet with probably don’t is a ministry vision and strategy. So in
your appointment don’t pull out your budget. Pull out your vision. Wouldn’t you be surprised if you
laid out your budget and they said, “I just happened to have my budget with me too,” and now you are
comparing figures. Whoever has the higher income, that’s who has to support the other. That scenario
would be a classic case of horizontal thinking at best and a form of Christian socialism at worst!
This is also why you will fail if you broadcast some kind of financial crisis to your supporters.
They might respond once to your “We’re going under unless you help!” plea, but not again. If you ever
hint of an emergency appeal again, they’ll privately conclude either you should learn how to manage
your money better or you need to get up off the couch and go raise more funds. Personally, any kind of
immediate “need” I might have I privately take to God, and if appropriate, prayerfully approach a
close supporter or two who know my motives and track record well enough to “bail me out” if
required. If a veteran staffer does have a legitimate crisis, it might be acceptable for their supervisor
to send a one-time appeal to the staffer’s supporters.
Your supporters will be interested in your ministry, but they subconsciously and primarily are
giving to you. I put it this way: people give to people—justified by a cause. As fired up as you are
about your ministry, be careful not to do overkill in the explanation of it. You could spend hours
expanding each and every little aspect of your outreach goals and strategies. Don’t torture your
supporters! They will grant you some time to listen to the visionary highlights of what you’re doing,
but the bottom line is: most of them are giving because of you. They appreciate your dedication to
reaching homeless people for the Lord, but almost all who come on your team would still do so if you
had chosen prison ministry or orphan care instead.
As long as your cause is a biblical one and others can readily see the connection between your
work and lives being changed, you are on fairly safe ground. Be prepared to drill down deeper if
someone has a question during a support appointment, but otherwise keep your ministry presentation
simple, powerful, graphically pleasing, centered on changed lives, and hitting just a few of the
visionary and exciting “mountain-top” facets of your work.

BECOME A “BLESSINGS BROKER”

Many Christian workers spend an inordinate amount of time and energy trying to reduce personal
and ministry expenditures. Consequently, $100 may sound like a lot of money to you. My plea: don’t
project what you make or spend upon others! Most Christian workers have some sort of a poverty
mentality that is different than the normal American. One hundred dollars is what their family spent at
the movies last night. It’s what they spent to fill up their SUV, a month of cable, or a green fee for a
round of golf. Most of the people you approach will not perceive themselves as wealthy, but if you
compare them to the rest of the world, they are very rich.
For you who are raising support in the States, the following statistics should be encouraging. The
USA Giving Foundation produces an annual report on how much Americans give away each year.
The total is now well over $300 billion and approaching $400 billion in coming years. Out of those
hundreds of billions given annually, the largest recipient of those contributions (over 33%) is to
religious causes, far exceeding donations to education, health, and other areas.61
In other words, there is a lot of treasure out there to transplant! We are the wealthiest, most
generous nation in all of history. We Americans designate the lion share of our charity to religious
organizations. That means there’s never been a better time or place to raise financial support than
right now and right here. When I step back and ponder the breadth of that uncomfortable little truth, it
has a way of shutting down my excuses as to why I can’t get to full support.
One of the main themes of the Bible is we have been “blessed to be a blessing.” If there were
ever a blessed nation in all of history it would have to be ours. God has poured out His bountiful
abundance upon us for a reason—not to hoard it for ourselves, but to pass it on to a lost and needy
world. Going to various people here in the States to ask them to give is simply you helping facilitate
them in fulfilling the biblical mandate to pass on their blessings. You’re just the messenger; the
middleman; or what one support raiser calls being a “Blessings Broker.”

DON’T FORGET THE WIVES

In my typically male, laser-focused, one-track mind I’ve been going about my fund-raising for
twenty-five plus years as if the only two people who really mattered were me and the man I was
asking for support. How foolish and small thinking I was to totally neglect the wives!
Many times the wife is more spiritual than the husband with a more receptive heart toward God—
and to you and your work. Regardless of the spiritual level of each spouse, usually the husband at
least shares (or even fully delegates) to the wife decisions regarding where the giving dollars go. She
may very well be the “Treasure Secretary” for that family, not just accounting for their giving, but
actually saying yea or nay to each funding request. In addition, she may be into relationships and
communication more than her husband. In other words, do I really believe that as soon as I e-mail a
newsletter to the husband, he immediately prints it off and rushes home to show his wife and family?
No!
I know you’ll be approaching a number of single people in your fund-raising, but the majority of
people you meet with will probably have a job, a salary, and a spouse. Here are some changes my
wife and I have made to make sure we’re fully including the husband and the wife:
• Carol directly contacts each wife and has her fill out a “Get to Know You” sheet. She puts them
in a notebook with contact info, children’s names, prayer needs, etc. so we can wish them a
happy birthday, anniversary, and pray for them.
• We are now e-mailing a copy of our newsletter to the wife’s e-mail address too.
• Carol calls or texts occasionally to get personal prayer requests from the wives.
• Along with my sending an occasional note or small gift to the husbands, she is doing the same
for the wives.
• Each month, Carol and I take a half-day of prayer, and part of our time is lifting up our
supporters. We then let them know we prayed for them.
• When a supporter has a newborn, Carol embroiders the baby’s name on an outfit and sends it to
the mother.
• She is using various social media to connect with the wives, so that we can be a part of each
other’s lives and families.
• For those wives with young children, Carol sends them mission education resources to aid in
their building world vision into their kid’s lives.

Whether you are single or married, our list may not fit you. Brainstorm with your spouse and/or
others on your staff and come up with fun, creative ways to make sure you’re really connecting with
both the husbands and wives on your team. Remember “where your treasure is, there your heart will
be also” (Luke 12:34). You’re already transplanting some of their earthly treasure to their heavenly
bank. God uses that to open up their heart to you and your ministry. If you then prayerfully and
lovingly touch the heart of that husband (and especially that wife) you may have gained a lifelong
supporter.
Just know how you view your supporters can make or break you. Affix a lens to your perspective
that will help you view your donors as teammates and friends. I love the way Campus Crusade for
Christ and other ministries refer to their donors as “Ministry Partners.” That’s a perfect way to
describe these precious people. You can call them donors, supporters, or givers, just don’t treat them
like an ATM card you swipe each month, expecting them to spit out money on command. That kind of
“gimme, gimme” attitude is a recipe for disaster. Remember, they are our ministry partners. So,
handle with care!
 15

Vision-Driven
FUND-RAISING

Jesus talked about money more than any other topic. More than heaven. More than hell. Not only
do two-thirds of the parables deal with money, but money is discussed over 2,300 times in the Bible.
How we view and handle money is one of the main barometers of our spiritual lives. Two of the
greatest human resources the Lord lends to us during our short stay on earth are time and money. If
someone were to look at your schedule and expenditures, what would they conclude about your
values and priorities?
Whether you’re shopping for groceries, looking for a car, planning a trip, buying a laptop, or just
trying on some new jeans, what is the question that everyone, especially Christian workers, asks
multiple times a day?
“How much does it cost?”
Is that the filter you and your spouse and children have affixed to every family or ministry
opportunity, and all goods and services? Are you tired of having that question dominate every single
decision? It’s a form of slavery and bondage I believe God never intended for us. I’m not preaching a
“wealth = the blessings of God” prosperity gospel. The other extreme is the “poverty spirituality”
ditch where it’s more pious to drive a twenty-year old car with 300,000 miles than a late model
Honda. Let’s stay on the road and find a balanced and biblical way to live and minister.

WHAT’S PULLING YOUR TRAIN?

Money is not good or bad. It is neutral, but it does have the “innate power to attract or deceive,”
according to Scott Morton. Love of it can be the root of all kinds of evil, but it can also be used for
the glory of God and the advancement of the kingdom. I think God wants three things. For us to:
• Be freed from bondage to money;
• Not be bound by any temporal limitation;
• View money simply as a tool to accomplish His purposes.

Over the years, the U.S. has been embroiled in various wars. I can almost imagine our Secretary
of Defense gathered around a table with our top generals strategizing how to fight the battle. I can’t
quite picture one of our military leaders complaining, “Man, these planes are expensive. Over a
million bucks apiece! Are there any cheaper generic brands we can pick up at a local wholesaler?”
Their objective is not to save money; it is to win the war—at any cost. It seems obvious they are
willing to spend whatever they need to in order to achieve victory. In contrast, you and I have been
enlisted in a much bigger battle than any country has ever fought. As good soldiers of Christ Jesus, we
have embraced the great conflict of the ages, the clash between God and Satan, the eternal struggle
over the souls of every man and woman on earth. This invisible, behind-the-scenes spiritual war has
immanently more far-reaching consequences than any man-made one.
How about you? Are you fully engaged and running to the front lines to do battle with the enemy?
Is your goal to be, and do, and spend whatever it takes to win this war? Enrolling in His army means
Jesus Christ is our commanding officer, and “make disciples of all nations” our marching orders. It
means we will let vision pull our train, not budget, and trust God to supply everything we could
possibly need to get the job done.
When Bill Bright, founder of Campus Crusade for Christ, was alive, he would annually gather his
key leaders from around the world. Each one brought their proposed ministry strategy for the
upcoming year so the whole team could discuss, evaluate, and pray over the plans together. The only
rule was no one was allowed to mention anything about money or costs until after the presentations
were finished. Then they would put a price tag next to each part of the plan, total it up, pray, then
matter-of-factly state, “To pull off what we believe God wants to do this next year we need to go out
and raise $289 million dollars. Let’s go!” Can you see why hundreds of people over the years
committed multimillion dollar gifts to Dr. Bright and his ministry? These donors never sensed budgets
were pulling his train. Only vision.
If people you meet with sense the extent of your vision is just to raise your own support, you will
struggle putting your team together. Deep down, if getting to 100% is dominating your thinking instead
of your ministry vision, they won’t want to invest. But, if they sense you getting to full budget is just a
small stepping-stone toward fulfilling your bigger and greater vision, they will jump on your team—
substantially! Check your heart. Is getting to 100% simply a means to the end-or the end itself?

SAVING SOULS OR SAVING PENNIES

Christian workers are notorious for focusing on the molehills instead of the mountains, aren’t we?
We get confused into thinking we need to somehow save God money by spending inordinate amounts
of time and energy clipping coupons, collecting pennies, and scavenging every garage sale and thrift
store within fifty miles! I know many believers who seem to be more interested in saving a buck than
they are saving a soul. They get more excited about finding a bargain than they do making a disciple!
I don’t want to get to the end of my life, meet God face-to-face, only to proudly say to Him: “I
sure saved you a lot of money, Lord!” I have a feeling God would be astonished, shake His head, and
respond, “Save Me money? You gotta be kidding! Why didn’t you just focus on the things I
commanded you to? My heavenly bank was nice and full. Why did you exchange so much of your
valuable and irreplaceable time on earth for something as temporal and replenishable as money?”
Rick Warren puts it like this, “Time is more important than money. You can always get more money
but your time is fixed. Use money to save time.”62
I know it’s hard to fathom, but there is something even more important than thriftiness. It’s
strategicness! Living our lives and doing our ministry for the glory of God is infinitely more
significant than any trivial pursuit we may dabble in. I think we men are especially guilty of pushing
our wives and children into this endless quest and vicious cycle of pinching pennies, cutting corners,
desperately trying to scrape by on bare basics. We even spiritualize this survival mentality by
claiming we are living a strategic “wartime lifestyle” when, in fact, we have blinded ourselves and
family and are missing the real war completely! The solution? Lifting our eyes off our so-called
“needs,” gazing intently upon the Lord, and raising our full support; not just to meet our budget, but
also to fulfill our vision!

“Money can become an idol for us if we become so focused on being frugal that it becomes our
god.”63
Alan Smith, Life Coach

I fully agree with InterVarsity’s Donna Wilson, when she admonishes us not to “buy into a culture
of materialism and consumerism.”64 I respect believers who purposely live below their means so they
can redirect more resources to the kingdom. But many Christian workers think they are committed to
a wartime lifestyle, when in reality they are living a simple lifestyle. I’m sure you have observed
people or magazines heavily emphasizing living simply, sometimes calling themselves “minimalists.”
I admire them for trying to cut out the excess and clutter from their lives, but some believe they are
serving God in some way by doing that.
I would like to ask those people to take it to the next level, move from the temporal to the eternal,
and try to determine the real motive behind their simplicity. Here are some differences between a
support raiser who has embraced a Simple Lifestyle rather than a Wartime Lifestyle.

How you view yourself, money, and support raising will determine how you come across to your
potential supporters. Are you a beggar or a believer, believing God to fund your ministry and meet all
your needs? If you will trust and seek Him first He promises to take care of your needs and “all these
things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:33). Many Christian workers have that turned around,
though.
A PASTOR’S PERCEPTION
Charlie Loften lived and ministered on support for eight years before entering seminary and the
pastorate. Now he and his church are approached for support by a variety of workers. It is so obvious
what perspective and attitude support raisers bring to the appointment. He describes the two ways
you can try to motivate others to join your support team:

THROUGH GUILT AND PRESSURE

You come to your potential supporters desperate, worn down, and discouraged. You talk about
how hard support raising is and how much more you have to do. You tell stories that imply you are
impoverished and barely making it. You think you are communicating to people you are nobly
suffering for the cause and making “sacrifices” others won’t make. In reality, all you are doing is
appealing to people’s guilt. The potential supporter thinks, “These poor missionaries are starving and
getting into debt, and I could do something about it.”
The upside to this strategy is that it’s typically effective. People do respond to guilt, and quickly.
The downside—and it’s a big one—is that it is a very shallow and short-term motivator. People
begin to resent things they have done through guilt. They are also only compelled to give when you
are desperate. If you do get on track financially, they are off the hook. They’re not really investing in
your ministry, but in helping you survive.

THROUGH CASTING VISION

Why do you do what you do? What has God laid on your heart? What do you hope to see the Lord
do in and through you? What real difference will your ministry make in the lives of the people you are
reaching—and ultimately in the big picture of reaching the whole world for Christ? If you have
compelling answers to these questions, you can stir the hearts and imagination of the potential
supporter. People respond to vision. There’s certainly no lack of causes or people they could be
financially supporting. However, what they may lack is feeling that what they are doing is truly
making a difference in the world. Can you supply them with that? This is harder, and takes more time,
but if you can show them what God is doing through you and the difference you and your ministry are
making, their personal (and financial!) investment in you will continually grow.
Some Christian workers are paralyzed with fear and perceive support raising like a ball and
chain attached to their ankles. They have fixed in their minds, “If we just had more money, then we
could really do our ministry the way we need, and properly provide for our families.” I am not
recommending an expensive, luxurious existence with comforts and conveniences everywhere. I am
simply trying to help every Christian worker, every missionary, every person who raises their support
to ask themselves the why question. Why am I living the way I live? Am I trying to save money so I
won’t have to raise more funds, or am I doing it to fulfill God’s purposes on earth? Let’s stay in the
battle and not get sidetracked. Seek to apply Paul’s exhortation to young Timothy, “No soldier in
active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who
enlisted him as a soldier” (2 Timothy 2:4).
So, what is your role in this eternal, worldwide battle in which God has us engaged? Do you
view yourself as a leader in God’s army, seeking to raise whatever amounts of resources required to
triumph over Satan and his ploys? How you perceive yourself and your role will determine whether
you’re satisfied in just living a small, quiet, “simple” lifestyle or whether you choose to lift your
eyes, expand your vision, and move up to embrace an aggressive, all-out, “wartime” lifestyle.

HOW MUCH SHOULD WE RAISE?

This question was posed to Scott Morton during one of our training sessions. His answer was
short, but profound. “Raise enough to maximize the fruitfulness of your family and ministry.” To
maximize fruitfulness will be different for everyone. It may mean sending your children to a private
school, or purchasing a high-powered computer, or taking a week-long family vacation each year to
refresh and recharge. Whatever it means, we should not judge others by our/their personal choices.
Should we drive that old broken-down car or the brand-new SUV? Probably neither, but let God—
not the expectations or standards of others—help you decide.
Most organizations have set amounts or at least ranges their staff is required to raise. Usually
there is some degree of flexibility built in. This gives you the freedom to raise funds for ministry
expenses, travel, number of children, cost-of-living adjustments, and pension.65 Some groups even
allow down payments for a house, future education funds, or adoption expenses to be raised. As you
fill out your budget, don’t start with a figure in mind, then try to unrealistically squeeze all your
expenses into that. Instead, take Bill Bright’s approach and prayerfully write down every single item
you will need to maximize the fruitfulness of your family and ministry. Then attach price tags to
everything, total it up, and that becomes your “holy number”—the 100% figure you will keep praying
for and raising until you get to at least that amount.
We must develop a new mindset whereby our possessions and money merely become tools to
bring glory to God and strategically extend His kingdom. Move from a simple to a wartime lifestyle
in order to raise as much funds as needed to win this battle. Leave behind your budget-driven days
and adopt a vision-driven future!
 16

Power of
ASKING

Making paradigm shifts is hard. Once an unhealthy philosophy of support raising has been cemented
in your mind, it can’t just be remixed. Only a sledgehammer will do. It’s time to pull it out! At the end
of this chapter, we’re going to ask you to make a final, once-and-for-all commitment to plan your
whole support-raising strategy around one central theme: You will focus on:

ASKING INDIVIDUALS FACE-TO-FACE TO JOIN YOUR MONTHLY SUPPORT TEAM AND

WAIT FOR THEM TO RESPOND

MARRIAGE PROPOSALS
Before we get started, let’s take a survey. This one is for engaged or married women—but I think
you all will enjoy it. Ladies, try to remember back as to how your husband proposed to you (in this
culture, I am assuming it is the man who does the proposing). There are several different modes of
communication available to the male that he could utilize in asking a female to be his wife. As you
look over these options please recall the particular method he chose to employ in your situation:

Fax machine—maybe you were married in the 80’s and your man wanted to impress you with his
latest technology and faxed you a proposal, maybe even with a “cover sheet” full of hearts.
Letter—maybe your husband was an English major and wanted to woo you with some passionate
prose and mailed you a letter of proposal—doused with cologne, of course.
E-mail—maybe you got engaged in the 90’s and your partner thought he would wow you with his
new laptop and send you an e-mail proposal, adding some yellow, bouncing smiley-faces at
the end … to seal the deal!
Phone—maybe your spouse was very busy and couldn’t find the time to meet personally, so he
called to “sweet talk” you into marrying him, whispering tender words of affection. Maybe
he wanted to try out the newly-downloaded “Marriage Proposal” App on his smartphone.
Text—maybe your beloved just mastered the art of driving and texting at the same time and
punched out “Want u 2 B my wife. Wil u mry me?” Or you thought it might be cool to write
on your profile “wall” a romantic proposal, so all your friends would see it and go,
“Awwww… how sweet!”
So, which of these five alternatives did your husband or fiancé choose? Oops. Wait a minute, I
left one out. Sorry.
Face-to-face—I know this one is a little outdated, but maybe you have an old-fashioned man who
wanted to propose in person. I doubt it, but I wanted to throw this one in just in case!
Okay, ladies, which one is it? Of course, it’s the last one—face-to-face. In fact, if your husband
had chosen any other method to propose, you probably would have said, “No!”
Women love to describe the proposal—how their boyfriend planned the one-on-one evening. At
just the right moment, he looked lovingly into her eyes, popped the carefully-crafted question, and
then zipped the lip to await her answer. If these exact same guys would apply these exact same
methods in support raising, we would have a stadium full of Christian workers at 100% support!
Whether it’s a marriage proposal, the need to confront a rebellious teenager, or sharing the gospel
—if it’s important—you do it face-to-face. When we choose this more personal and direct approach
with people, it communicates two critical things to them: 1) You are very important to me, and 2)
What I have to say to you is very important.
In support raising, we can most definitely opt for other quicker, easier options. But if we do, it
will send a clear message: The person we supposedly are asking to be a ministry partner does not
mean much to us. Secondly, what we have to say—our message—does not possess much value. Why
is it that we take shortcuts and choose to substitute in a letter, call, banquet, blog, or card to do the
asking for us? It’s no wonder the potential supporter doesn’t feel honored. Shortcuts will always cut
short your support.

THE APPROACH YOU CHOOSE

You may think you are too busy to use this personal approach. You may consider yourself a great
speaker able to convince large groups of people to join your team. Here is a sobering survey Scott
Morton took of one hundred Navigator staffers who made 7,800 financial appeals. Here are the four
different methods they utilized:
• Spoke and asked in a group—The result? Only 9% of those appealed to in a group supported the
staffer.
• Sent letter to individuals—The study showed 14% gave.
• Sent individual letter, then followed with call—27% ended up giving.
• Face-to-face—46% of the people they met with in an individual appointment financially
partnered with them. My experience and that of many we have trained is that about half of the
people you meet with in person will join your team.66

There is a very important caveat this study doesn’t necessarily reveal. The 9%, 14%, and 27%
listed above are normally very weak and shallow commitments, whereas the 46% who came on
board in face-to-face appointment are much stronger and deeper. Here’s the missing factor: How you
go about securing your new donor will say everything about:
• The amount of their gift
• The consistency of their giving
• The longevity of their giving

If we choose a less personal route, they may come on our team, but many times it will end up
being a superficial, short-term commitment, for a smaller amount, on an inconsistent basis. If you
commit to the more loving and customized approach, similar to the marriage proposal, that person
will always remember the respect, sensitivity, courage, and care you showed. Many will not be able
to pull their checkbooks out fast enough in order to commit larger amounts—and for the long haul.
There’s something about a face-to-face encounter that includes a verbal commitment that creates an
“expectations exchange” they will never forget.
Especially with all the technology available to us, it is tempting to use one of the quicker, painless
options. Even the apostle John struggled with this and resolved in his heart that the personal approach
with his disciples was indispensable. He shared, “Though I have many things to write to you, I do not
want to do so with paper and ink; but I hope to come to you and speak face to face, so that your joy
may be made full” (2 John 1:12).
The majority of people I met with face-to-face when I first began are still on my monthly team.
They continue to give like clockwork, and even increasing every few years. I’m not just looking for
supporters. I’m looking for supporters for life! Like proposing, how you ask someone can make all
the difference. Please, honor them by doing it face-to-face.
And if the economy happens to turn downward and your ministry partner is forced to scale back
their overall giving, they may decrease some of their charitable or organizational donations. But the
last commitment they’ll drop is yours. Why? Because they met with you eyeball-to-eyeball and a
crystal-clear expectations exchange took place. Making the ask in person with your ministry partners
is the absolute best way to help recession-proof your support team through the ups and downs our
fragile economy seems to experience.

ASKING IS THE KEY

Why individuals give to a particular person or cause almost always points to one main reason:
they were asked. The simple power of asking was brought home to me as I was talking with a
supporter. He was a successful sales manager, making over $250,000 a year from selling surgical
equipment to doctors and hospitals. That week he was interviewing eighteen individuals for three
open sales positions. We talked on the phone again the next week, and I asked him if he was able to
select which three of the eighteen he wanted to offer a job.
He matter-of-factly stated, “Didn’t offer any of them a job.”
“What?” I said, “Not a single one of them was qualified to be a sales person?”
“Oh no,” he replied. “Some of them were overqualified—like presidents of companies wanting to
come interview with me because of the income.”
Confused, I asked, “Well, if there were a number who were qualified—or even overqualified
—why didn’t you hire them?”
He calmly said, “None of them asked me for the job. Oh, they droned on during the forty-five
minute interview, mentioning job, income, perks, even vacation. Not a single person said, ‘I respect
this company and the products. I can be successful selling them for you. Will you hire me?’”
My friend concluded, “If a person can’t even ask for the job in a simple interview, how could I
ever expect them to meet with doctors and hospital administrators and ask for the order?”
I was stunned.
This applies to support raising too. Do you want the person sitting across from you in an
appointment to become a ministry partner with you? Do you want them to invest in you and your
ministry? If so, you need to ask for their commitment.
A wealthy Catholic woman was gradually dying of cancer. In her final months, her beloved priest
visited every day at the hospital. He did this out of concern for her, but also believing the childless
woman would leave her fortune to the local parish. After her passing and the funeral, the priest
attended the reading of the will and to his utter amazement, this faithful lifelong member did not give
anything to her own Catholic church. Instead she left it all to some local evangelistic association. The
bewildered priest tracked down the leader of the organization and fired questions at him. “Who are
you?” and “How did you know my parishioner?” and “Why did she leave all of her fortune to you
rather than us?” “Well,” the man admitted, “I really didn’t know her at all. I saw an article in the
paper about her and visited her in the hospital one day. I asked if she would consider giving to our
ministry so her life and legacy could live on through touching others for Christ. That’s all I did.”
Speechless, the priest walked away in shock and regret—blindly presuming his daily praying and
caring for the woman would surely result in her leaving her wealth to the parish she loved. He
painfully realized his one big mistake—he had chosen to assume rather than ask.
This story also illustrates our motives, focus, and eyes ought to be “fixed… on Jesus, the author
and perfecter of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2, NIV)… rather than on others. I know of some Christian
workers who have a warped and unbiblical concept of giving and asking. Sometimes the support-
raiser feels the need to barter for, or “earn” the gift, or to somehow pay the supporter back for their
generosity. Paul addresses this horizontal thinking in Galatians 1:10, “For am I now seeking the favor
of men, or of God?” It’s what drives a Christian worker to offer, “We appreciate so much you coming
on our team. Let us know whenever you need a babysitter or someone to mow your yard. That’s the
least we could do!” Please… they are investing so you can give your entire self to impact the world
for Christ—not so you can be their personal pastor or do favors for them.

ASKING FOR TOO LITTLE CAN OFFEND

I don’t come on anyone’s support team unless they are willing to make the time and effort to meet
with me face-to-face and ask me. “Ronnie” came to my home and did a superb job laying out his
vision to reach students and see his campus become a launching pad to touch the world with the
gospel. I was thoroughly impressed and ready to sign on. When it came to the close, he looked me in
the eye, and solemnly asked, “In order to help us impact this campus for Christ and see hundreds of
students sent out as laborers to reach the world, I want to ask you and your wife if you will partner
with us by investing $35 a month.” In textbook fashion, he finished his question, zipped the lip, and
waited for my answer.
I was desperately trying to keep a straight face. My mind was swirling with all kinds of thoughts
and emotions. I was totally embarrassed for Ronnie. I thought, “That’s all you are asking for? That’s
all you think your vision is worth?” Not only was I grappling with those questions, I was feeling a
little offended. He must have thought I was too poor and not able to give more, or too greedy, not
willing to give more. We joined for the exact $35 he requested, but we would have given more. This
good-hearted, but undiscerning, campus worker thought he would offend me. In reality, he did. By
asking too little. If you ask big it lets your supporter know you believe they have resources and are
generous enough to share them.
In contrast, a girl asked me for a support appointment during a mealtime at a conference. The
ministry presentation was okay, nothing profound, certainly not near as much vision or passion as
Ronnie showed. When it came time for the ask, she, too, looked me in the eye, and said, “Steve, it
would be such an honor to have you and your wife on my monthly support team. Would you consider
investing $200 a month in me and my ministry?” She also waited for me to respond, but this time a
whole different set of thoughts and emotions were rambling through my brain. I thought, “That’s
significant. You must really believe you and your ministry are worth $200 per month. Plus, you must
think I possess enough resources and generosity to accommodate your request!”
I will never forget the respect and esteem she showed me by meeting with me personally and
asking for a significant amount. If she does a good job appreciating and communicating with us, and
occasionally asking for an increase, we might someday fulfill her original expectation and make it up
to that $200 a month level!
Are you afraid of asking for too much? If you happened to do so, know that you can always come
down into a more comfortable range for the donor. Think deeply for a moment: Just how much are
you and your ministry worth? $100? $200? $300? $500 or more a month? I pray you will choose to
ask big—of God and others. If you’ll do it in a humble, prayerful, sensitive way—you won’t offend
them. In fact, you’ll probably affirm and honor them by the magnitude of your request.

PERSONAL APPOINTMENT SURVEY

It seems like once a week I hear, “I don’t know about you, but everyone in my town, my church,
my circles are all tapped out. Everyone is asking for money.” I beg to differ. They may be getting a
steady stream of direct-mail appeals, e-mail bombardments, fund-raising banquet invites, and random
phone calls. I would bet, however, the majority of your prospective ministry partners have never
experienced the approach I’m recommending. Introducing Exhibit A:
Think back over the course of your whole life and try to remember if you personally have ever
had this experience:
1. Someone called you up for a support appointment;
2. They met with you individually;
3. They laid out their ministry vision for you;
4. They asked you to come on their monthly team for a specific amount or range;
5. They waited for you to respond.

I have given thousands of adult believers this survey. About 90% admit they have never had this
experience—not even once! Now you may be part of this esteemed 10% who have had a personalized
support appointment and understand the power of it. More than likely, you are part of the “uninitiated”
90% and may very well have negative thoughts playing in your mind creating excuses why people
won’t give or can’t give. It’s a crime a seventy-year-old man or woman who’s been a believer in
Christ for fifty plus years would go through their entire life and never ever have the simple, but potent
experience I describe above. It’s a tragedy to deprive them of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
You inviting them to invest may be the only chance they’ll ever have to be challenged to look up,
make the God Ask, and seek wisdom how they should direct their giving dollars. Do it!

COMMITMENT TIME
Generations ago there was an army preparing for war. Their ranks were full of thousands of able-
bodied men capable of crushing any opponent. Their leaders provided them the very best weapons
and spent years drilling each regiment for hand-to-hand “fight to the death” warfare. The tribe of
Ephraim believed themselves to be especially brave. But when the day finally came that their enemy
appeared on the hill, and it was time to rush forward to engage them, these soldiers’ hearts melted
within them. Instead of boldly moving ahead, and lifting their weapons to shoot, they spun around and
ran away in fear. This is how Psalm 78:9 ( NIV) describes these young Israelites: “The men of
Ephraim, though armed with bows, turned back on the day of battle.”
These men were well trained and equipped, but when the moment of truth arrived, they gave up.
As for us, we dare not go any further in spending all this time praying and planning, budgeting and
organizing, developing and practicing tools, listing and prioritizing myriads of names, unless you are
willing to commit yourself, right now, to approaching individuals face-to-face, asking for monthly
support, and giving them the opportunity to respond.
I don’t want you to deceive yourself like the men of Ephraim did or waste your or anyone else’s
time. This secret privilege of support raising we speak of contains five nonnegotiables you need to
sign off on:
• Will you commit to making the God Ask before you invite others to invest?
• Will you commit to approach individuals or couples for support?
• Will you commit to actually asking these individuals to financially partner with you?
• Will you commit to doing the asking face-to-face?
• Will you commit to being quiet and letting them respond to your ask?
Will you put your “yes” on the table?
 Section IV
PREPARE FOR IMPACT

The will to succeed is nothing without the will to plan.

 17

Maximizing Your
FRUITFULNESS

Our wake-up call came at 10 p.m. on a warm spring night in 1988. My wife and I were riding a
motorbike along a backstreet in a small Mexican town. A car ran a stop sign at an intersection and
broadsided us, throwing Carol off and causing a number of severe injuries. I scooped her up, flagged
a taxi, and carried her to what I thought was a hospital. It turned out to be a filthy, non-equipped
outdoor clinic with a young, inexperienced “doctor” who spoke no English. After he saw two bones
sticking out of my wife’s ankle, he was shocked. When he turned to me, hands out, shrugging his
shoulders, I knew we were in serious trouble. Making several late-night calls to my physician friends
in America, they informed me unless I got Carol to a trauma hospital quickly she would lose her leg
from gangrene. I secured a Miami-based, medically-equipped jet to transport us back to Houston for
surgeries on her ankle, broken collarbone, and collapsed lung.
The operations were successful, but our troubles were just beginning. This tragedy launched an
eye-opening journey of just how fragile, unprepared, and foolish we were regarding our personal
finances. Receiving the $7,300 bill for that uninsured jet ride, along with the growing pile of hospital
and medical bills was a shock. Added to this we had a home where we housed and fed five college
students. We also had four young children ages three, two, one, and three months who were dependent
upon a mommy now laid up in bed, unable to move.
With no savings, investments, or emergency funds, we persuaded the credit-card companies to
give us more time and smaller payments. After maxing out our credit card from getting cash advances
and charging groceries, we decided we had to quit giving. Then things really spiraled downward. We
cried out to God. We bought a Larry Burkett book to help us find and understand from the Scriptures
how the Lord wanted us to handle our finances and get out of this disastrous financial rut. How did
we do it?

STEP BY STEP
WE REESTABLISHED OUR GIVING
We committed at least the first 10% of all of our income to kingdom work. This would be the
very first checks written each month. No questions. No compromise.

WE DETERMINED TO KILL OUR CREDIT-CARD DEBT

We promised the Lord that if He would help us erase our massive bill by Christmas, we would
never again pay a single penny of credit-card interest. God delivered through several unexpected
sources, and by His grace, we’ve never allowed a balance to be carried forward on any card since
then.

WE BEGAN A MONTHLY SAVINGS PLAN

We set aside another 10% of our income for other emergencies and large expenditures.
We launched a small investment strategy, whereby we could prepare for our future, our kid’s
college.

WE CREATED A BUDGET
This was the first time in our marriage to draw up a detailed monthly financial plan. We
determined exactly where, when, and how we would steward our resources.
We are no experts, but if your financial house is not in order you, too, may need a wake-up call. I
just hope it’s not as catastrophic as ours! If you do find yourself in a rut right now, either of your own
digging or “broadsided” like we were, take note of the five steps of faith I listed above. As you begin,
remember:

DANGERS OF DEBT
Some explain their situation by saying, “There are good debts and bad debts.” Yes and no.
Traditionally, buying and financing a house is a wise decision because your investment supposedly
will appreciate. Many Christian workers have secured home loans to be good stewards and build up
long-term equity. Some have been hurt by those mortgages. Maybe their eyes were bigger than their
bank account and sought too lofty a house with too shallow financial resources! To protect yourself
against financial bondage, keep in mind Proverbs 22:7, “The rich rules over the poor, and the
borrower becomes the lender’s slave.”
Another form of debt is school loans. More and more graduates are finishing up their studies with
substantial amounts to pay back. Even though it’s usually a reasonable monthly amount with a small
interest rate it still appears daunting. Some who feel drawn into ministry delay fulfilling their calling
until they can first pay off all their school loans. This may sound noble, but it’s not clear thinking.
You’re choosing not to follow God’s call on your life for the next five years for a measly $429 a
month at 4% interest? My advice to anyone who has school loans is to build it right into your support-
raising total and never look back. If someone happens to ask to see your budget during a support
appointment, and they notice you have a monthly school loan payment included, they won’t criticize
you—they will compliment you. They’ll be impressed you put yourself through college and are now
being faithful to pay it back.
Personally, I clearly distinguish between school loans and consumer debt. If you have college
loans I would counsel you not to let it hold you back one single day from entering into ministry and
raising your support. On the other hand, if you carry a credit-card balance I strongly advise you to not
yet ask others to support you. First kill that consumer debt by getting a second or third job if
necessary. Be willing to go to extreme measures to aggressively destroy it. Pray about making a vow
before the Lord to never pay another penny of credit-card interest again.
CLEAR CONSCIENCE ABOUT YOUR STANDARD OF
LIVING
How much should a Christian worker make, and what should our standard of living be? The
unwritten rules of the game seem to say it’s okay for church staffers, especially of larger churches, to
live at a higher level than missionaries who live on support. Maybe this is the case because, deep
down, many believers view support raising as begging. Of course, beggars should barely get by. I
wish I knew who made up these double standards! Even so, there is something I admire about those
who choose to operate within a thrifty and austere budget.
I love to save a buck as much as the next guy, but again, I believe vision-driven Christians ought
to rise above the man-made “simple” lifestyle to embrace the God-ordained “wartime” lifestyle. In
order to win the worldwide spiritual battle the Lord has drafted us for, we shouldn’t be scrounging
around focused on how little we can spend, but rather lift our eyes toward our Great Commander and
Heavenly Provider, asking “How much do You want me to spend to win this war?” Because time is
always worth more than money.
I remember one conversation I had with a Christian worker who was raising support in Dallas.
He mentioned he was going to meet with a potential supporter in Charlotte. His plan was to take a
Greyhound bus up to see him that would take two days up and two days back. Matter-of-factly I
asked, “Why don’t you just fly? I think it’s only a two-hour flight.” His answer: “I’m going to save
some money.” I was dumbfounded and speechless. I was totally embarrassed for him. I wanted to
scream: “You’re going to trade four whole days of your life as well as delay fulfilling God’s ministry
calling in order to save some money?” Unbelievable!
I want to challenge you to truly prepare for impact. As you begin to create a financial plan, make
sure vision is your North Star, not your budget. One way to help you do this is to use Morton’s
principle as your decision-making grid: Raise enough funds to maximize the fruitfulness of your
family and ministry. Go before the Lord and ask Him what that means for your life, your family, your
ministry. It will look different for every person. Prayerfully finish putting together the final figure that
reflects your honest, heart-felt convictions as to what “maximizing fruitfulness” means for you. Have
a clear conscience about it. Don’t let people shame you or guilt you into adopting their standards.67
Keep in mind you must balance this perspective with the organization you’ve joined. They may
have an exact amount you are required to raise. If so, you may want to humbly and respectfully go to
your supervisor and appeal to them, showing why certain increases are essential if you’re going to
truly steward your family or ministry. Most groups do build in some flexibility, providing their staff
with a “range” whereby they can raise more if they choose or need to. This is true especially if there
is a variance in the cost of living in the different cities or countries staff reside.

RAISE MORE THAN JUST 100%

Don’t use “maximizing fruitfulness” as a smoke screen for luxurious living. At the same time,
don’t set the bare minimum as your goal, where you are crawling to the finish line, collapsing at the
100% mark, and thanking God the torture is finally over! That pitiful approach will be obvious to all
and severely hamper you ever getting fully funded.
In my experience, you would be very wise to raise more than 100%, and keep it in your account
as a buffer. Why?
• You’re going to have attrition where occasionally someone drops off your team.
• You’re going to have supporters who miss months.
• You’re going to have unexpected emergencies or “divine ministry opportunities” that arise.
• You may want to transfer some “excess” funds from your account to another needy staffer or an
organizational project you feel strongly about.
• Your ministry vision is going to grow each year and it will require more “vision dollars.”

PREPARING YOUR BUDGET

Get out your calculator, bills, family and ministry goals and plans. Be aware that husbands and
wives usually approach this financial-planning assignment differently. God has created women with a
nurturing, nesting instinct where they need and desire stability and security. Financial guru Dave
Ramsey asks the husbands, “Has your wife’s ‘financial security gland’ been met?” Have you raised
enough to calm her fears and stresses? We men, on the other hand, seem to gravitate toward the bare
essentials. This contrast is real, so be prepared for some deep discussions and compromises as the
two become one in the budget.
Consequently, include all the essentials, even saving and investing, not downplaying those as
optional or “unspiritual.” The Scriptures are full of verses encouraging us to save for our future, our
children, and emergencies as well as key passages on the importance of investing. Examples:
• Saving: Go to the ant, O sluggard, observe her ways and be wise, which, having no chief,
officer or ruler, prepares her food in the summer and gathers her provision in the harvest.
(Proverbs 6:6-8)
• Investing: A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children, and the wealth of the
sinner is stored up for the righteous. (Proverbs 13:22)

Here’s a sobering example of why we should save and invest. Recently released figures show
what college will likely cost by 2030 based on inflation rates. At that time, the average sticker price
for a private university will be around $130,428 per year and a public university at least $41,228
annually. The implication? If you want to someday send your children to college, you better start
saving now!68
You want to have a clear conscience about your budget and not pad or inflate it beyond what is
wise or necessary. Paul addresses this aspect of financial integrity: “We want to avoid any criticism
of the way we administer this liberal [generous] gift. For we are taking pains to do what is right, not
only in the eyes of the Lord but also in the eyes of men” (2 Corinthians 8:20-21, NIV). We must take
pains as well.
Take a moment to peruse the budget work sheet in the appendix. Why all the exhaustive line items
of expenses? Why include categories like vitamins, pet care, entertainment, and school supplies?
Because that is life! Those are real expenditures you will be making and you better budget for them.
There are a myriad of other essentials you’d do well not to overlook. Here are two:

SUPPORT-RAISING FUND
How much time and money do you think it’s going to take to get you to 100% of your funding? As
you put together your personal and ministry expense budget, don’t forget to create a separate
document listing all the estimated travel, meals, phone, postage, printing expenses, any and all
miscellaneous items that will be required for you to do your full and complete support raising in an
excellent and thorough way. Once you have the breakdown and total figure, pray and approach a few
individuals. Ask them to consider taking all or some of that budget as a way of “frontloading” your
ministry, helping your support team get firmly established for the long haul.

MINISTRY-LAUNCHING FUND
There will also be expenses related to your moving to your new assignment and getting started in
your work. Transporting your household to your new location, office setup, equipment, supplies, first
month’s rent and utilities, business cards, cell phone, ministry materials, the list goes on. Whether
you’re a young single worker who just needs $2,500 to get you started or a family heading overseas
long-term with a $75,000 moving expense, don’t neglect to budget. Some people you approach won’t
commit to you monthly or annually, but are willing to help you launch. A few will choose to become a
regular giver and contribute toward this startup fund—if you ask them.

INDIVIDUAL FUNDING PROJECTS

Understand there are great ways for people to partner with you and your ministry besides just
monthly or annual giving. As you are thinking through your budget, consider breaking out certain items
you think specific supporters might be interested in taking on. Why not prayerfully craft “Ministry
Projects” to present to key donors? In contrast to the one-size-fits-all mentality, here’s how to
creatively help some of your ministry supporters feel more appreciated and affirmed—to have more
ownership and a true feeling of partnership with you and your work:
List One: Think deeply about all of your personal and ministry needs, expenditures, and potential
opportunities. Break out ones that could be logical stand-alone funding projects you could
legitimately present to an individual, couple, church, or company.
List Two: Produce a comprehensive printout of all your past, current, and potential supporters.
Lay it next to List One. Take each project and look through your List Two names, asking God to lead
you and give you wisdom as to who might be interested in funding that particular opportunity. Try to
match up items with people who have a background or connection associated with that project.
Identify a few able to donate “gifts in kind” like medical services, building materials, or computer
equipment as a way of supporting you. Write, call, or better yet, set up an appointment to lay the
proposal in front of them.

MY PROJECT ASKS
I needed a dependable late-model ministry car. I could have borrowed the money or pulled it out
of savings, but why waste a splendid opportunity to involve a supporter or two who might jump at the
chance to meet an important need like this? I prayed, thought, then called a long-time giver who just
happened to have sold some stock that morning, and was wondering what to do with the profit. He not
only sent the entire amount needed to buy me a vehicle, he added more to pay off our other car too!
Years ago, I started on a graduate degree where annually I would fly to Denver, rent a car and
hotel room, pay for meals, tuition, and books; then fly home. It was $3,000 total each trip/class. It hit
me just how expensive this whole program would be. I prayed through my list of regular and periodic
givers, thinking through who might have an interest in me getting this kind of training. Right there in
the airport I selected three names, wrote out and mailed a letter to each detailing the what, why, how
much of my classes/trip and asking each man if he would be my sponsor. I called each one to answer
questions and get a decision. The very first man responded, “Tell me when and where to send each
check.” He paid for every single penny over an eight-year period. I had to contact the other two and
promise them I would think of other projects they could take on soon!
Instead of directly approaching individuals with requests like this, I could have chosen the
quicker, easier, less-risky route of posting in my newsletters: “If anyone wants to help with my
seminary expenses please send money!” or “Join the Shadrach Car Fund Today!” or the “hint-hint”
method of slipping these appeals into the “Prayer Requests” section. I might have received a few
paltry charitable donations as a result, but the bigger damage would have been done. My pleas would
have permanently put me on par with the local beggar in most people’s minds. Also, the three
supporters who did respond to my customized “asks” (car, seminary expenses) would have never
given if they had just seen my appeals in a general newsletter or e-mail form.
If you opt to resort to this broader, impersonal “cattle call” approach to support raising, just know
it makes your friends and donors feel like they are just nameless, faceless people in a huge herd of
others you are uncaringly attempting to corral. You don’t want that, do you?

PARTNER WITH BUSINESS PEOPLE

There is a powerful work of the Spirit sweeping our nation and beyond known as “Business as
Mission” or BAM. The world has become flat as it relates to lay people wanting to directly touch the
nations for Christ. These men and women have become spiritual “revolutionaries.”69 They are no
longer satisfied just sitting in church, giving to the building program, and being a greeter at the door.
They want to do more and recognize they personally have resources, ideas, and experience they can
offer to a lost world. These BAM’ers can have immediate and life-changing impact. They want their
own finger prints to be all over this evangelizing the world assignment Jesus gave all of us—not just
vocational Christian workers.70
Many business owners are looking for a ministry or missionary to partner with. They desire to
bring their expertise and profits to the table and help open doors for the gospel. Think through the
business-related people you know in your contact base and note which ones already have a BAM-
type vision. Go to these, and others you think would be open to the concept, with a proposal on how
they could practically and financially adopt you and your organization as their ministry partner. We
have several individuals who are blessing us as they are being blessed by giving a percentage of their
company’s ongoing profits. One business owner actually approached me recently with a partnership
proposal!
God wants you, your family, and ministry to be fruitful. Let vision determine your budget rather
than allow your budget to limit your vision. A careful, prayerful crafting of your financial strategy,
including identifying projects and people for specialized funding, can be a creative and fun way to
present investment opportunities. Don’t miss out on getting your friends, family, everyone involved.
Start now to stretch your mind to think of the hundreds of people who need to be on your contact list.
It’s time to namestorm!
 18

NAMESTORMING

Jake was the life of the party and seemed to know everyone from everywhere. Yes, he was young,
but networked. As he felt called into ministry, we started discussing support raising. He needed to
begin brainstorming potential contacts—what some call “namestorming.” To my astonishment he
could hardly think of anyone! I sent him to his hometown to drive down every street listing names of
people he remembered. He came back with forty, including his little league coach, the mayor, and the
butcher he once worked for. I took him into his fraternity house, and we perused the photo composites
from his years there. We recorded another forty names. We went through the alumni list of the
particular fraternity chapter he was part of and found another fifty. My prodding helped stimulate his
mind, thus opening a floodgate of concentric circles of friends and contacts he had made over the
years—that he didn’t realize.
I often interact with full-time ministry staff who can think of very few people to put on their
contact list. I would like to say to them, “You’re telling me you’re forty-three years old, been in
Christian work for sixteen years, and can only come up with seventy-six possible support contacts? I
think you love the ministry, it’s just people that you dislike!”
Before we get into the how-to’s, here is a marriage and networking thought: If you’ve been
married in the last three years you’re still on your honeymoon! Right? Regardless of who attended,
that list becomes like solid gold as the invitees like to help the young couple get off on the right foot.
Many will meet with you and come on your team. And a tip for you singles: If possible, have as large
a wedding as possible. You’ll never know when it will come in handy!

RECORD AND RETAIN

Now, it’s your turn. Once you and your supervisor feel good about your budget, it’s time to really
get down to business for extensive namestorming. You have a lot of work to do, so clear the schedule
for a while. Ask the Lord for energy, endurance, creativity, and a strong memory—to retrace every
stage of your entire life. Attempt to remember every single name from your past.
Secure an excellent computer database program to allow you to quickly and efficiently enter and
track all your contact’s pertinent information. Find a software program developed to aid Christian
workers raising support.71 Find one in which you can enter and maintain all your contacts’
information, track all your giving, produce graphs and reports, mail merge, show you when
someone’s missed a month, alert you to send a thank-you note or birthday card, schedules your tasks.
The Current Resources listed in the appendix have several great options.

MAKE OLD FRIENDS NEW SUPPORTERS

Take half a day to create a complete timeline of your life. Go back and think through every year
from childhood up to the present. Reconstruct and write down all the activities, clubs, teams,
churches, jobs, neighborhoods, and school classes you were ever part of. After making an exhaustive
list of all those categories, go back and start writing as many names as you possibly can connect to
each of those groups. Pull out all the annuals and group pictures of you in your growing-up years to
jog your memory. Don’t leave someone out because you weren’t close to them, or they weren’t a
Christian, or you haven’t seen them for a while. Just get their names on the list. Make no excuses or
exceptions for them as to why they wouldn’t want to hear from you.

Brainstorming: No bad ideas

Namestorming: No bad names

You must be thinking, “You gotta be kidding. There’s no way I’m gonna go back to my eighth
grade biology-lab partner to ask her for support. I haven’t talked to her in sixteen years! Even if I
knew how to track her down, as soon as I contact her, she’ll immediately know all I care about is her
money.” I fully understand your concerns. I’ve had Christian workers tell me their solution to this
quandary is to first invite their old friend out for coffee or golf or something and try to rebuild the
rapport before they do the ask. In my opinion, that is the worst thing you could do! Even if it’s a
whole year later with five lunches and golf rounds that you finally broach the funding subject, their
initial skepticism of your motives will be confirmed. They’ll immediately realize, “Ahhh, now I know
why you called me.”
A few of you can’t even come up with seventy-six people to put on your list. My ballpark estimate
of the average number of friends and acquaintances you have is probably around 1,000. Out of those
1,000 people you’ve met or known during your life, I estimate the average number you’ve actually
kept up with is around sixty. I’m sure you included the sixty on your namestorm contact list, but I bet
you left off the majority of the 940 others you don’t keep in touch with. So what if you do go back and
try to reconnect with people from the 940 list, but someone responds, “Sorry, not interested in seeing
you”—what have you lost? Absolutely nothing! Yes, you can get your feelings hurt if you want to and
go home and get depressed, or you can simply put that name right back into the “lost touch” file—
where they had been residing for nineteen years anyway—and move on to the next one!
When I am attempting to reconnect with those from my past, I like to compose a personalized pre-
call letter or e-mail to each. I briefly catch them up on my life, conversion to Christ, family, job, and
how God has now led me into this strategic ministry. Then I would include something like:
I have the responsibility and privilege to raise all my personal and operational expenses
before I can launch my ministry. I’ve been praying and thinking of key individuals who have
had a part in my life over the years. So, at this exciting but scary juncture, I’m going back to
the very roots of my life and asking old friends like you to allow me to share with them the
ministry vision and financial goals the Lord has laid before me. I know it’s been forever since
we have seen each other, but at one time in our lives you meant something to me and I meant
something to you. You may or may not be able to join me and invest in this new venture, but it
would be an honor to share my story with you—and to catch up after all these years! I would
like to give you a call next week and see if there might be a time to meet. I look forward to
reconnecting.
 Is that so frightening? What’s the worst that could happen once you call? And the best? An old
friend just might become a new supporter!72

YOU WILL LOSE A FRIEND

Go ahead and resolve in your heart now, that in all likelihood you will lose a friend during
support raising. Is that okay with you? Just like witnessing, there will be someone upset when you
approach them. Everyone has strong opinions about asking for money, and you are bound to run into a
person or two in your support-raising travels who gets offended by what you’re doing, and doesn’t
want to be your friend any more. Think about it. Were they really your friend in the first place? But I
know people who will devise their entire support-raising philosophy and approach around the remote
possibility that someone might be offended or reject them. Don’t make that mistake.

SOCIAL MEDIA: THE SUPPORT RAISER’S NEW BEST

FRIEND
Another way to generate lots of new names is accessing social networks via the Internet. Whereas
it used to be weird to go back and contact someone who was part of your previous life, it’s now okay,
even cool to track down your fourth grade spelling-bee runner-up, your ninth grade math teacher, your
college friend from the chemistry club, or your former neighbor from three moves ago. Joining
various social-media groups and “friending” people can create a natural crack in the door to
reestablish your relationship, update on life and family, share memories and pics, or alert them when
you’re coming through town. Many times this can easily segue into sharing about your ministry and
support goals.
Right now, my teenage daughter is going through every one of my social media “friends” and
creating a spreadsheet of names, hometowns, and e-mail addresses to send a personalized e-mail to
each. I will see if they might want to receive our periodic e-mail ministry newsletter update.

RECRUIT TEAMMATES TO JOIN YOU

Get your parents, your longtime friends, and your spouse to look at your timeline and help you fill
in gaps. They will remind you of other groups or activities you were part of and be able to add other
names of people you or they were associated with. If married, go through the same extensive timeline,
groupings, and namestorming exercise with your spouse. Pull out all your old school annuals, past and
present church directories, even photo albums to prod your memory, helping you list hundreds of
names from old youth groups, company gatherings, Sunday school retreats, high school graduation,
mission trips, and neighborhood associations. When it comes to namestorming, don’t become an
isolated lone ranger. Figure out creative ways to incorporate others. Here are two other ways to
multiply your efforts beyond just what you can do:

STEERING COMMITTEES
I have a close friend who created a Steering Committee where he and his wife recruited twelve
supporters to meet together once a month during the support-raising period. The purpose was to pray
for them, namestorm for new contacts, set up appointments for them, and encourage and hold them
accountable. Some even set up a second committee in another city where they are concentrating their
efforts, too. Whatever you choose to call it, try starting this group, keep it going to help you every
month until you reach 100%. Give them a good job description and appreciate them, and they’ll stick
with you.

KEY MEN OR WOMEN

As you are preparing for impact you can include other brothers and sisters in Christ to join you.
Look for one or two key men or women who will stand shoulder-to-shoulder with you. Help them to
view and grasp the broad scope of the financial and ministry challenge ahead. They must be willing to
do what is necessary to get you to your assignment—quickly and fully funded. One former staffer of
ours found just the right person to be his “key man” and this person ended up networking and
funneling 180 new contacts to him. You never know if someone might be the key to an incredible
breakthrough for you—until you ask!

TRACK DOWN CONTACT INFO

With the advent of the Internet, it’s scary how much detailed information we can gather on various
potential supporters. All kinds of technology is being developed to help us find and connect with each
other more easily. Discover it, learn it, use it.
An unlikely success story came my way a few years ago when I decided to track down an old
college friend. I had lost touch for over seven years. I did a name search on the web and found him in
a Minneapolis suburb. His specific address or phone wasn’t listed—but his neighbor’s info was. I
called this neighbor, asked if a new couple had moved onto their block recently, confirmed with them
it was my friend, and asked the neighbor to take a note over to my friend. We were able to talk on the
phone the next week. They came on our team for $150 a month and a few years ago bumped up to
$300 a month. Not only that, but our renewed friendship and now partnership is sweeter than ever.

FINAL TIPS
It’s good to invite different local churches to join your personal support team. You may have
someone oppose you enlisting their church or friends to give toward your far-off ministry. They may
say: “How can you raise money from one group of people in order to go to another group in a
different location to do your ministry? Aren’t the people you minister to supposed to support you?”
Yes, ideally that is true. But there are numerous biblical exceptions. Paul received money from other
outside churches to do ministry in Corinth, Thessalonica, and Ephesus (See Acts 18:1, 2 Corinthians
11:7-8, 1 Thessalonians 2:9, 2 Thessalonians 3:8, Acts 20:34).73
People often ask me, “How many names should I have on my contact list?” As many as possible,
but certainly several hundred—at least. I knew one twenty-five-year-old who had been hired by a
stock-brokerage firm. They required him to bring 1,000 names and contact info with him on his first
day of work. This would be the beginning point to build his clientele. These were not names he had
copied from the phone book. No, they were people he had known or met somehow, someway, during
his short twenty-five years of life. Talk about namestorming. This guy paid a price to put the list
together. I hope we are more committed to reaching the world for Christ than others are to selling
stocks and bonds.
It all depends how serious you are about getting to full support. It all depends how much you are
willing to bathe this whole process in prayer, making big God Asks all day, every day. How
dedicated would you say you are to long, laborious hours of timelining, namestorming, and Internet
searching? How much of the prerequisite “do-what-is-necessary” attitude do you possess to build a
broad, extensive contact base from which to draw from?
How about it? Are you still willing to do what is necessary?
 19

Dollars and
SENSE

Bart was a prominent athlete in college. He assumed he could exempt himself from the laborious
process we must all go through in reaching full support. We brought this young leader and his wife on
our staff and provided them with great support training. But Bart had other plans. He determined the
hundreds of hours on the phone, traveling, and meeting face-to-face with supporters was unnecessary.
He believed God was telling him to instead select his top one hundred contacts across the state to
approach. All in one single day he sent off a letter to the entire one hundred, asking for the same
monthly amount, and including a self-addressed envelope to mail back their first check. Confident all
the money would come rolling in in just a matter of a few days, he sat back, prayed, and checked the
mail. I begged him not to follow this plan. He proclaimed, “No, God has told me!” I wanted to say,
“No He hasn’t,” but that would have been unspiritual.
I got a knock on my office door about three months later. Normally supremely self-assured, Bart
entered quiet and eyes downcast. He seemed to be a little more teachable as he revealed to me only
two of the “Top One Hundred” had even responded. Those two were simply “one-time” gifts. He was
shocked and dejected. He was now ready for help. I exhorted him to go back to each of the one
hundred and set up individual face-to-face appointments. He tried but he felt bad in light of the letter
he had previously sent. Consequently he never really put together a solid team. After financially
limping along for three years, he and his disillusioned wife finally departed for a “real” job and
paycheck. I was deeply saddened. If there was anyone who could have easily put his team together, it
was Bart. Instead he chose shortcuts and a one-size-fits-all approach. It doomed him.
We can’t afford to cut any corners in preparation. “Failing to plan is planning to fail” is the wise
old saying. So before you begin, “Commit your works to the LORD and your plans will be
established” (Proverbs 16:3). By this stage of the process, you and your family, friends, and key
supporters should have logged numerous days and weeks scouring over every fragment of your lives,
every sliver of activity you’ve ever participated in, every place you’ve ever lived, worked, studied,
played, and worshipped in your entire life. You can now humbly stand back with a sense of
satisfaction, confident you have done a complete exhaustive—and exhausting—job of namestorming.
If so, you are off to a good start.

PRIORITIZE NAMES
Now that you have this landslide of names gathered, how do you organize them? Who do you
approach first, second, third? How are you supposed to know what to ask? The place to begin is to
segment your huge list into high-, medium-, and low-priority people.
HIGH PRIORITY
People you are fairly confident will want to partner with you. These are probably individuals
with whom you have natural God-given connections. They care about you personally, or have a
passion for your cause, or have been influenced by your organization in the past.

MEDIUM PRIORITY
These contacts are ones you are not sure will give. It’s 50/50. They could go either way. If you
pray, choose the personal route to approach them, do an excellent job presenting and asking, God may
impress them to join your team.

LOW PRIORITY
These contacts are people you’re pretty sure won’t want to give, but you are going to keep their
name on the list anyway. You never know. You may get to 100% without approaching any from this
list. A few of you, though, may be required to work through all three lists—as well as big batches of
referrals before you hit full funding.

DISCERN AMOUNTS TO ASK FOR

Determining a dollar amount or a range to ask for will not be a mystical experience where the
figure appears next to each name as you make the call. Start with your high priority people and pray
over each person. Ask God for wisdom. Consider putting together a list of factors that will come into
play as you evaluate each person. Here are suggestions:

YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH THEM

This is huge. How well do you know them? How well do they know you?

THEIR PASSION FOR YOUR CAUSE

How deeply do they feel about what you do? I knew of one young man who hated to raise support,
but because he was planning to help orphans in Africa, he raised his support in record time. Everyone
wanted to participate!

THEIR PAST GIVING

Has this contact given substantially to you or some other person or group you know of? If so, this
is an indicator of what they can or will give in the future.

THEIR PROFESSIONS
You probably are not going to ask your hairdresser for as much as you do your orthopedic surgeon
friend. For example, never ask an hourly-waged worker for less than $75 a month though. You can
always come down lower, but never start at less than $75.

THEIR LIFESTYLES
This could be the most deceptive of all. They may live in a mansion and drive a Lexus, but they
also may be deeply in debt!

THEIR CHRISTIAN MATURITY AND UNDERSTANDING OF

GIVING
I am more likely to increase the amount I am asking someone to invest if they walk with Christ and
have embraced the biblical concepts of giving. In other words, they view it as a “vertical” privilege
instead of a “horizontal” duty.
There may be other factors you want to include. Remember to repeat this process again with each
of your medium-priority people, and if need be with your low priority. You may get to full support
with your high-and medium-priority contacts. I pray so!

If you need to raise $6,000 in monthly support, and if half of your face-to-face appointments result in
new donors, what amounts will you need to be asking for?

Note: If you want to be working on getting to full support for the rest of your life, just keep asking for
small amounts!

Never ask a professional or a double-income couple for less than $100 a month. You might be
thinking “$100! You must be kidding! That’s a lot of money. No one in my church or town can afford
that!” I beg to differ. You may be living a Spartan existence right now and know fifty-eight ways to fix
hot dogs, but open your eyes to current realities. I know the financial “hand wringers” broadcast their
dire economic forecasts on cable news each night, but let’s admit it: Over the last 200 years
Americans have made more—and given more than any group of people on earth—ever. I study annual
charts of what different professions earn annually and how often they get pay raises. No matter what
part of the U.S. you live in, certainly compared to the rest of the world, you have a lot of wealthy
people all around you. Please don’t attach what $100 may mean to you to the rest of the country.

COMMON PROBLEMS IN ASKING

TELLING YOURSELF CERTAIN PEOPLE CAN’T OR WON’T GIVE
For instance, what about approaching recent college grads? You can’t do that, can you? They just
finished school! That is the exact time to ask them. Not only will they have cash for the first time in
life, you will be helping them to establish their giving patterns. In fact, we have a young staff couple
who approached a number of their friends still in college. I was astounded to learn how sacrificially
these students gave. It made me realize that everyone is a candidate to join your support team.

ASKING EVERYONE FOR THE SAME AMOUNT

“Bart,” in the opening story, naively thought he could quickly raise his support by asking one
hundred people to each give $25. But people like to be treated individually. They appreciate you
thinking and praying for them and customizing your ask. We must bathe this whole process and each
potential ministry partner in prayer, seeking God’s wisdom to ask at just the right level or range.

ASKING TOO LOW

Someone could look at your giving records and tell a lot about how you’ve gone about raising
your support. Your financial printouts contain the facts. When I see numerous small gifts on
someone’s printout, I ask the Christian worker how much monthly support they asked for in each
appointment. They usually bow their head and whisper, “Everyone for $50,” or they might confess, “I
didn’t ask them for an amount at all.” Oops. Bad move! I’ve observed support raisers usually get
what they ask for. If you decide you are going to ask people for $50 a month—your average gift size
for your whole team will be $40 or so. If you ask everyone for $100 a month, the average will be
about $85/$90. If you’re asking $150, the average is $130, and so on.

NOT ASKING AT ALL

Potential donors are not mindreaders. You have to give them some idea of what it is you are
asking them to do! They watch a religious TV program where the speaker asks everyone for $19.95.
They switch the channel and the next speaker wants you to send in a $500 seed gift. Only twice in the
hundreds of support appointments I’ve had over the years did someone stop me before my specific
ask and say, “Don’t suggest an amount. Let us just pray about it and let you know.” The rest greatly
appreciated me giving them guidance on what I was requesting.
I may notice one of our staff has a donor who gives sporadically, seeming to miss a month or two
here and there. I gently ask the staffer, “Did you meet with this person face-to-face?” A little
embarrassed, they usually admit they only called them or sent them a letter/e-mail, or had solicited
them in a group setting. Almost without exception, a face-to-face individual appointment is going to
yield a larger, more consistent, more lasting monthly commitment than choosing any alternatives.
THE OCCASIONAL EXCEPTION
Okay, what if the person you want to ask really does live at a distance—a long distance? You
might be thinking, “Are you telling me I’m supposed to buy a plane ticket, rent a car, get a hotel room
in a city 2,000 miles away in order to take my old high school teammate out for an appointment where
he may or may not come on my team for $75 a month?” No, probably not.
We go into greater detail on this at the end of Chapter 25, but if a friend of yours is so far
removed from where you live, or any of the cities where you are planning support trips, you might be
wise to do your ask via letter or e-mail. Then follow up with a phone or video call to answer
questions, catch up on their life, and to get their decision. But if less than 90% of your total asks are
not done face-to-face, I would guess you are probably cutting corners, taking the easy way out, or
conjuring up excuses why you can’t travel to meet with them in person.
Occasionally there is the individual living at a far distance who, if you will take the time and
money to go see them, will come on your team for a very substantial amount. Years ago, my flying
2,000 miles to see a friend and share about our ministry communicated to him he and my message
were very important. Consequently, he’s become the largest financial stakeholder. I can assure you,
he is not the kind of person who would have made that kind of commitment with just a phone call or
e-mail! Again, when making your support-raising decisions always let vision pull your train, never
the budget.
It’s hard work praying and thinking through every single person on your list as to when, and how,
and what to ask for. Making the God Ask means you are diligently seeking wisdom from Him each
step of the way. Always choose the most personal approach possible when inviting someone to join
your team. The Lord will guide you to ask the right people for the right amount in the right way. I
promise.
 20

Outfitting Your
TOOL BELT

Tonya was one sharp girl. Her people skills were off the charts—and she knew it. Before she
decided to enter full-time ministry, her profession of choice had been telemarketing. She was good at
it. She went through the required support-raising training, but she wasn’t really listening or taking
notes. She assumed with her background and talents, she could skip over a lot of the laborious grunt
work, as she called it, and just begin meeting with people. Who needed scripts, brochures, or
PowerPoint slides when God had given her such a winsome personality, she reasoned? Instead of
taking the days and days of painstaking preparation and the extensive role-playing of the various
support-raising tools she had been asked to develop, she decided to go for it on her own. To her it
was a grand adventure of confidence and faith. To others it was foolish, even arrogant.

If you are preparing today, chances are you won’t be repairing tomorrow.

Once on the trail, in a different city, she ran into obstacles. Confused looks and unanswerable
questions were everywhere. Her rosy predictions of instant success turned into a nightmare. People
were not showing up for appointments because she had not confirmed ahead of time. Some were not
impressed by her rambling, shoot-from-the-hip style of explaining her ministry. Others doubted the
credibility of her organization and plans because she had not prepared any professional-looking
materials.
Now humbled, Tonya went back to the drawing board. She huddled with her supervisor to debrief
and plan, then hid out in her apartment for the next ten days—doing nothing but the four P’s: praying,
planning, preparing, and practicing. Commit to lay the proper groundwork before you make that first
phone call or have your initial appointment. The purpose here is to just give you an initial overview
and rationale for the basic tools you will need to launch. As you prepare for impact, here are the three
major parts to the process.

TOOL #1: YOUR PHONE SCRIPT

Work hard on this. Craft it and recraft it. Practice it with others. Get their feedback. How does it
sound? Too short? Too long? Personal? You can really hurt yourself by preparing improperly. As
elementary as it may seem, have that script in front of you during your first forty to fifty conversations,
until you get so familiar, so comfortable with what you want to communicate you no longer need the
help. As you create your phone script, understand you can say too much about money on the initial
phone call, and you can also say too little about it:
• Too much: “The reason I am calling you is because I want to ask you to meet with me. During
our appointment I am going to be asking you to commit to my personal financial support team for
 $100-$150 a month.”
• Too little: “I, uhhh, just wanted to stop by and have, ummm, some fellowship, and share about
our ministry, and, uhhh, maybe some of our needs, but mainly just to catch up and ask for
prayer.”
• Just right: “I would love to get the chance to sit down with you and share a bit about our
ministry vision and financial goals. I’m going to be downtown later this week. I’m wondering if
there might be a mid-morning or mid-afternoon slot somewhere in your schedule on Thursday or
Friday that I could fit into?”

Beware: The more you say about money the more likely they are to want to answer you right there
on the phone—instead of meeting with you. The total purpose of the phone call is to get the
appointment! At the same time you don’t want to sacrifice integrity. Not mentioning finances can be
deceptive and may come off as a “bait and switch.” This will hurt your credibility.

TOOL #2: YOUR MINISTRY PRESENTATION

You may want to incorporate all of this into a Ministry Portfolio: a small folder, binder, or
notebook with each page slipped into a clear sheet protector. Hire someone with graphic design skills
to craft powerful, visually-pleasing documents. Ideas to include in your Portfolio: cover page,
ministry vision and mission statement, history and overview of organization, needs or problems your
ministry meets, story of a life impacted by ministry, your personal or spiritual story, ministry action
photos, your role and goals, levels of giving chart, commitment/response page, and referrals sheet.
It’s important to have an appendix section to refer to if needed. It should include a statement of faith,
budget, and endorsements.
Using technology in your presentation is good, but don’t overdo it. Some support raisers get so
enamored with their extensive computer-based presentations with all the bells and whistles, it can be
very distracting. Instead of the appointment being a heart-to-heart time of sharing relationship and
vision, it’s reduced to humoring the Christian worker while they proudly click through their mountain
of prize-winning slides. Your goal is not to overwhelm them, but to hit the exciting, visionary
highlights of your ministry. You could go into hours of detailed explanation, but the polite smile on
most people’s faces will give way after twenty to thirty minutes to their eyes starting to glaze over.
Here are different parts of your presentation to work on:

YOUR TESTIMONY AND CALLING

Write out a long version of your personal testimony and your calling into ministry. Condense each
into three succinct sentences. If there is any correlation at all between how or when you came to
Christ and the ministry to which God is calling you, highlight that in your presentation.

YOUR MINISTRY VISION

Whether you’re a front-line missionary or a behind-the-scenes administrator, focus on hitting the
big-picture parts of your overall vision. Lift your ministry partner’s eyes up and give them a bird’s-
eye view of the eternal impact of the ministry God has called you to. Help them see how strategic it
would be if they chose to direct some of their giving dollars toward this world-changing ministry.
Always show how your ministry is part of touching the world for Christ. As biblical as leading
people to the Lord and making disciples is, it’s too small a vision. If your goals are not somehow
related to reaching the whole world for Jesus—expand them! We must embrace His command to
make disciples of all the nations. (Matthew 28:18-20).

STORY OF A TRANSFORMED LIFE

Identify one person who has been impacted by you or your organization. Share their name and
picture with your prospective donor. What is the one thing the friend you are meeting with will
remember as they walk away? The face and story of that one transformed life. What will be the
primary reason they will choose to invest in you? They believe there will be more transformed lives
through you. Return-on-investment to most people means changed lives, not just meeting numerical
ministry goals. One idea is to record on your phone a one-minute video testimony of a person
transformed by you or your ministry. Show it at your appointment. Simple, but very powerful. The
story of a transformed life is a good place to transition to the ask. You’ve powerfully demonstrated
your ministry is all about changing lives and now you want to invite your prospective supporter to
partner with you.

THE ASK
As you set up your appointments, you need to decide in advance whether you are going to ask
each person you meet with to join your team or to just pray about joining your team. There is a big
difference. As you might guess, I recommend you ask them, during the appointment, to come onto your
team. Then let them answer. They’ve been asked many questions in their lives. They can handle
yours! You’ve worked hard to get this appointment. You’ve traded four to five calls, rescheduled
once, and now you get a precious forty minutes sitting across from this busy person. Don’t waste it.
And certainly don’t assume you’ll easily get another opportunity. Use those forty minutes for all they
are worth! Your prospective donors know why you’re there. You haven’t hidden anything from them.
Go ahead—invite them to join your team. Be quiet, and let them answer. You can trust the Lord that
your God Ask has been heard, and that He is fully capable of directing that person’s response. After
you make the invitation to them to invest and become a ministry partner, it is between them and the
Lord.
But let’s admit it. The toughest part of the appointment is that face-to-face ask. Sometimes it can
feel like a bare-knuckled stare down! If there was only a “third party” present it might take a little of
the pressure off. There is—God Himself! But, I am also referring to the Ministry Portfolio you bring
with you. It allows you and your appointment to look back and forth between you and your documents.
When I get to the ask, I point them to the Levels of Giving (or LOG) chart. Here are the different
kinds:

MONTHLY LOG CHART

Almost without exception, my ask is composed of only one thing—a monthly commitment.
Showing this chart and asking for a specific amount or range is not a hard-core ultimatum. No. In a
loving, relational, sensitive way I am just opening up a dialogue with them. It serves as a place to
begin the conversation. The person is able to see from the chart they can give more or less than the
amount I suggested.

ANNUAL LOG CHART

Maybe the person you are meeting with receives their income sporadically and isn’t able to make
a monthly commitment. If so, have an Annual LOG chart available. Suggest a particular annual amount
or two and ask if they would be willing to commit each year. I always ask what time of the year is
best to approach them for this gift. I mark it down on my calendar to contact them every year on that
date.

CHURCH LOG CHART

You should have a few churches you want to approach. They, too, have no idea what it is you are
wanting of them, unless you tell them. Put a LOG chart together to present to the pastor or chairman of
the missions committee. It can be a monthly and/or annual Church LOG Chart.

Work hard on these charts. Think through the various levels and make them challenging, but
realistic. If you’re only raising $3,000 per month, the highest gift level should be $250 a month. If
you’re raising $6,000 per month have one or two $500 a month slots. If you’re raising $10,000 a
month or more, include at least one $1,000 a month opportunity. Depending on the amount you are
raising, I recommend at least thirty giving slots on your LOG Chart, but no more than fifty. People do
appreciate you laying one of these LOG charts in front of them during an appointment. Two reasons:
• They want to join a team
They don’t just want to be Account #29078. They want to be part of a team—your team. They
observe you have thought and prayed and customized your ask for them. You have showed them
specifically what role they can play and how they strategically fit in.
• They want to do their part
The chart helps people gauge what portion of the total they should take. As they look over your
LOG chart they are privately running the percentages in their mind. They will determine what part of
the whole is their responsibility. Regardless of their resources, a $500 a month commitment would
seem too great a portion for someone only raising $3,000 monthly. Maybe they don’t want you to have
an unhealthy dependence upon them. But that same donor might justify a $500 or more monthly
commitment for someone raising $6,000–$10,000 monthly. Why? They want to help you, they want to
be on your team, they want to get you to 100%, but they also are trying to discern what is “their part”
to play. The LOG charts help them do that.

THE CLOSE
The fifth and last part of putting your ministry portfolio together is the close. How will you finish
up your appointment? You must be super specific as to what the exact next steps are for you and them.
Build yourself a flow chart, and script out where you will take the conversation based upon what
their response is. For instance, if they say:

“Yes, we want to join your team.”

• Establish the amount each month or year they want to commit to.
• Establish when they want their giving to start.
• Establish how they are going to begin their giving: Check, Electronic Fund Transfer,74 or Credit
Card. (Ask if you can set that up for them right then or if/when you need to come back.)
• Determine whether you should also ask them to contribute to your Ministry Launching Fund.
• Ask for referrals if needed.
• Give newsletter, get contact information, thank them.

“No, I cannot join your monthly support team.”

• Determine if lowering the monthly commitment ask would be appropriate.
• Ask if they would be open to looking at your Annual LOG Chart and consider a yearly
investment.
• Ask if they would be open to making a single gift to your Ministry Launching Fund.
• Ask for referrals if needed.
• Give them a newsletter and thank them.
• Ask if they are open to receiving your newsletter and meeting again in a year about the ministry
and possible support.
 “Maybe. Let me think about it and talk to my spouse.”
• Affirm them and get a specific day and time in the next two to three days that you can call them
back for a decision.
• Give them a newsletter, get their contact information, thank them.

If you’ve had people who said they would come on your team for $100 a month during your
appointment, and three months later they have not started giving yet, don’t get angry at them. Start with
evaluating yourself as to whether you took enough initiative, in person or on the phone, to be very
specific about what, when, where, and how they were to get started giving.

TOOL #3: YOUR PHONE SCRIPT FOR A FOLLOW-UP CALL

If you did ask them to join your team in the appointment, and they did request more time for a
decision, you need to initiate a follow-up call. During the call you can thank them for the meeting and
continue to build a relationship. But the main two purposes for a well-prepared follow-up call to
someone who needs more time to make their decision are:

TO SECURE THE GIVING DECISION

About half will give you their answer right there in the appointment. The other half will say they
need to pray more, to talk to their spouse, or look at their budget.

TO DETERMINE EXACT NEXT STEPS TO BEGIN GIVING

If you hang up from this call having left things nebulous, you will regret it. After rejoicing they
want to partner with you, make it very clear how much, when to start, method of giving, and how to
actually secure that first gift. I encourage you to drop back by their house or office to pick up that first
check. You may want to pull out your laptop or smartphone, log on to the giving page, turn the
computer toward them and let them type in their info, push submit, and they are officially on the team!
I know all these details may seem confusing or feel overwhelming to you. I understand. If you will
dedicate yourself to asking the Holy Spirit to fill and empower you as you faithfully and consistently
pray, plan, prepare, and practice, you will see God go before you. Remember, He wants your support
raised even more than you do!
Note: We will provide a lot more practical details (in chapter 22-26) on the initial call, the
appointments, and the follow-up.
 21

Crafting Your
SCHEDULE

When I first started raising support, I planned a road trip from Arkansas to Kansas City—a six-
hour drive. I focused on other things that week and confirmed no appointments. I reasoned, “I know I
don’t have any meetings set up yet, but I know these guys. They’re my friends. Certainly we’ll be able
to connect. Just trust God!” With that warm, fuzzy thought tucked into my brain I confidently set off for
KC. When I arrived, I started calling. One person was out of town, another had family in, a third was
sick, a fourth’s number had been changed, and the debacle continued. After running through my entire
list, I did not have one single appointment. I felt so foolish and wanted to cry out, “I will never do
this again!” I got back in my car and drove home.

“Whatever failures I have known, whatever errors I have committed, whatever follies I have
witnessed in private and public life have been the consequences of action without thought.”75
Bernard Baruch, American Businessman

This is not a good example of how to manage your support-raising schedule: Spend six hours
driving to Kansas City. Make one hour of calls. Turn around and drive six hours back home. That
glaring error in my foresight and planning cost me a lot of time and money. I do not have the gift of
administration, nor am I very organized. I struggle big time with details. Support raising is a myriad
of daily “to do’s.” Even though managing ourselves efficiently may not come naturally, it’s essential
we shift ourselves into overdrive to pull it off.

YOUR LAUNCH AND FINISH DATES

Don’t rush into raising support. Make sure you have all the training you could possibly attain.
Some perceive themselves to be so sharp that subjecting themselves to thorough support-raising
training would be embarrassing. Others perceive themselves so smart that getting additional training
before they start is a waste of time. Many times the breadth of your impact is determined by the depth
of your preparation.
So carefully choose your launch and finish date. This means extensive time with God praying for
yourself, your supporters, your presentation, and results. Take the time to get all your tools perfected.
Engage in multiple role-plays, getting objective feedback. Get all your data and plans laid out in an
organized manner. Put together a timeline for the entire process. Pay the price in advance of launching
and the people you meet will see, hear, and sense your preparation, excellence, and professionalism.
It will impress them and God will use it. They will think, “If this missionary has done such a great job
in preparing for and raising their support, they’re going to apply this same level of dedication to their
ministry. I want to partner with this kind of worker.”
People want to know finish dates. Artaxerxes asked when Nehemiah would complete his project,
and he gave the king a “definite time” (Nehemiah 2:6). People will not be impressed by our overly
spiritual “whenever the Lord leads” answers to their specific questions. So, realistically determine
when your completion date ought to be. Don’t make it two weeks. Don’t make it two years! I
encourage workers to look at a three- to six-month time frame depending upon the amount they have to
raise and if they are doing it full-or part-time. Don’t plan for it to take this long, but if you end up
finishing in twelve to eighteen months, don’t feel like a failure. It may not mean you are lazy or
disorganized. There may be extenuating circumstances beyond your control. The point is—do not give
up until you are at least 100%, and be willing to do what is necessary to get there!
Tie your finish date to a ministry goal or event down the road. If the semester begins on August
25 and you want to be there to help students move in and start sharing Christ, make August 10 th your
th

finish date. If your ministry is holding a huge pastors training event in Brazil, and you want to be
there, make this your finish date. If your potential ministry partner senses your burning passion is
getting to those lost freshmen more than getting to 100% budget, they are much more likely to invest
now rather than later.

BUILD YOUR SUPPORT-RAISING CALENDAR

Envision what a weekly schedule looks like. Prioritize your support-raising trips. Planning them
out in great detail will save you a lot of headaches.

UNDERSTAND THE WEEKLY WORKLOAD

Once you have established your launch and finish dates, you will know how many weeks you have
to raise your support. Divide the total dollars needed by the number of weeks to determine the amount
of new monthly support you must raise each week. For example, let’s say you want to get to 100% in
twenty weeks, you’re required to raise $6,000 a month, and you’re working on it full-time. This
means you will need to average $300 of new monthly support each week.

Sample Work Load

Raising $6,000 monthly in 20 weeks

720 phone calls

240 requested appointments
120 face to face asks
60 commitments

Depending on what you ask for, let’s say the average monthly commitment you receive will be
$100. At this figure, it will require sixty new monthly partners to get you to $6,000 budget. My
observation over the years is about every other person you meet with face-to-face will come on your
team. Consequently, you will need to have at least 120 individual appointments to acquire sixty
“yes’s.”
 For every appointment you’re able to set up, you will normally have to ask at least two people to
meet with you. In order to obtain those 120 face-to-face encounters, you will probably need to
directly ask in person or over the phone at least 240 individuals. With the way our society and
technology has evolved, with so many forms of communication options, it is harder than ever to
connect with someone to even have the chance to ask for an appointment! You will average at least
three attempts per person to get them on the line. That means those 240 requested appointments will
require at least 720 phone calls.
We must face the reality of the daily, weekly, and monthly workload ahead of us. The figures
above are for the person who is serious and dedicated to the task. Some of you may need to add to the
numbers above.

PRIORITIZE THE CITIES YOU’LL BE VISITING

As you build your support-raising calendar, take the names from your namestorming and place
them on a country map. Start with your high-priority names. Make a mark where each of them lives.
Do the same with medium- and low-priority names using a different mark for each category. When
you finish, you should have hundreds of names and a mixture of marks across your map. Take a pen
and draw circles around the highest concentrations. Those are the cities you will visit. There is a
sample prioritized map of the U.S. in the appendix.
Which city should you visit first, second, or third? I not only look for the quantity of my contacts
in a city, but also the quality. If in one city I had thirty names, but most were medium- or low-priority
people, I would prioritize it behind a city where I had only fifteen names, but most were high priority.
Schedule it out by plugging in all the pertinent dates and trips. Start with your launch date and finish
date. Then rotate every other week between staying in your hometown to raise support and traveling
to a different city to raise support.

PLANNING ROAD TRIPS

After my disastrous Kansas City trip, I determined whenever I took any kind of support-raising
trip, I would diligently work to pack out my schedule before I even backed out of my driveway. I
formulated a plan that day which has served me, and many others, well. I like to go to a city, hit it
hard, then come back. The ideal number of days in any particular city is three to four. If I am only
coming for three to four days, I have noticed people are more willing and work harder to fit into my
tight schedule. They know I am going to be in and out quickly. But if I tell them I am coming for seven
or fourteen days, they see no pressing reason to set up an appointment in advance, replying, “Oh just
come on into town. We’ll find a time to meet.” I have found support raisers will average one or two
appointments a day if they camp out in cities for extended periods of time. This has a negative impact
on you and the people you meet with.

SCENARIO #1:
You have an 8:30 p.m. Starbucks appointment with James, an old high school friend, who now
owns his own business. He says, “It’s good to have you in town. Have you been able to shop at the
new mall? Or play some golf? Or catch a football game?”
 You reply, “No, I haven’t been able to.”
“Why not?” Larry replies. “What have you been up to all day?”
“Well, let’s see. I had a support breakfast at 6 a.m. with Terry Jones; a mid-morning coffee
appointment with Pastor Strauss; lunch with a businessman who was referred to me by another
supporter; and I just finished a dinner at Chili’s with a couple who wanted to hear about our ministry
vision. I didn’t have much time to run around town today because, well, you’re my fifth appointment
for the day.”
Larry is speechless. What do you think is going through his mind at this point? This guy is serious!

SCENARIO #2:
You meet Rachel, a key referral from a current supporter, at 8 p.m. for a coffee. Getting to know
one another, Rachel says, “I understand you’re in town to raise support for your ministry. Have you
been able to have some good appointments today?”
You pause, look down, and stutter, “Well, yes, I have had a good day. I, umm, did not, technically,
have any appointments yet today, though.”
“Oh, well, what did you do with your day here in town?” she inquires.
“Today? Well let’s see. I got some good sleep. I had a great quiet time. Then I, uhh, exercised and
did some reading. I also spent time at the library catching up on some work.
“So, I am your only appointment for the day?” she states bluntly.
“I guess that’s right,” you sheepishly admit.
Rachel is also speechless, but for a different reason than James was. What do you think is going
through her mind at this point? You need to go get a job!
If you had a salesperson who thought a successful day was one or two sales calls a day, how long
would you keep them as an employee? I know some support raisers who just about break their arms
patting themselves on the back, bragging they are averaging one to two appointments a day!
Even though I tenaciously work and pray to fill up each day of my support raising with six
appointments, many times I have to settle for three to five meetings. Seldom do I have six
appointments in one day, but it’s not because of lack of initiative or effort. I was in Texas recently
and had fourteen appointments in three days. One of my coworkers had sixteen appointments during a
recent three-day trip to Little Rock. So please don’t use other people’s standard as your own. Don’t
compare other Christian workers’ menial work ethic with yours. You set the pace.

SETTING UP MEETINGS
When planning your trips, lay out all the names of the high-, medium-, and low-priority people in
that city. Pray for each of them and then rank them in order of importance as to how willing and able
you think each is to invest in you and your ministry. Determine which higher-ranked person on your
list will be the most difficult to get an appointment with based upon their busy schedule. Lock them in
first. Then contact the second most difficult person to negotiate a slot on their calendar, then third.
Build the trip schedule around those individuals. Leave your old friends who are willing to meet you
anytime toward the end of your scheduling efforts. They love you enough to allow you to plug them
into any opening you have. As you go down your list and call, e-mail, or text each of them, building
out your daily schedule, understand it is quite the challenge to juggle people, schedules, and travel.
Be prepared for last-minute rearrangements of people and appointments every day in every city.
Yes, I want to pack out every day with meetings, but I like to leave a slot or two at the end of each
trip for a “divine appointment.” The reason? What if one afternoon I’m meeting with an old
acquaintance and he gets excited and spouts, “I had no idea this is what you are doing. How long are
you going to be in town? I want my business partner to hear exactly what you told me. Do you have
any openings in your schedule before you leave?” Would you call that a divine appointment? Indeed!
In contrast, I have actually known people who embrace the divine-appointment concept all the
time. In other words, they don’t plan out their trips or appointments in advance. They show up in a
city and walk around for three days, believing God will bring along just the right persons at the just
right time. Obviously, I think we should listen to the Spirit when He directs or redirects us, but I don’t
think the Lord is going to bless our unwillingness to work hard. We can’t justify our laziness. Our
conscience always tells on us.
Planning and scheduling all these appointments takes a tremendous amount of time, energy,
patience, and courage. No excuses allowed. Some support raisers tell me the summer is bad for
getting appointments because people are vacationing. They say the fall is not good because school is
starting with all kinds of activities. Of course, November and December are out because of holidays.
In fact, they can knock out the entire year if they want to! In reality, every day of the year is a great
time to invite people to invest their resources to impact the world. It truly does depend on your
perspective.
 Section V
IT’S GO TIME

Step out of the stands, down on the track, and run the race that God is
calling you to.
 22

Entering
THE ZONE

The office door is shut. The coffee is poured. Chris is staring at the phone. He is planned and
prayed up but is paralyzed with fear. His staring now seems to be redirected out the window
somewhere. His stomach begins to churn. He rearranges his desk. His coffee is now cold. He should
go exercise. Yes. “Why not start today?” he reasons. He puts on his jogging shoes and heads for the
door. His wife sees him and is totally confused. She thought he was spending the morning making
calls.
Maybe you can relate. It’s that first afternoon when you’re going into your office, locking the
door, and determining not to come out until you have at least eight appointments lined up. You’ve sent
a newsletter out, a batch of precall e-mails, and you are finally ready to make that first set of phone
calls to set up appointments. But you are really nervous and begin to do every other task on your to-do
list except the most important: Make calls.
This is where the battle begins. This is “go time!” You and I can be the most prayed-up and
planned-up people anywhere, but now is the real test. Will we face the giants in our mind, walk
toward our fears, and reject passivity and procrastination? Every time we pick up that phone to make
a call, every time we knock on that door for a support appointment, every time we look deep into
someone’s eyes and ask the golden question, we are choosing to run toward the battle. As we get to
the practical “how-to’s” of support raising, let’s commit, now, on the front end, to be men and women
who are: prayerful and fully dependent upon God; personal and caring deeply about each life we
intersect with; and finally, persistent, clinging to a “can-do,” “never-give-up” attitude.
You ready?
I know how you secure the appointment is going to be somewhat generational. Younger support
raisers may contact their peers for appointments via texting or social media. Some may use e-mail.
For many of you, you will be calling, especially if the person is significantly older than you. Seek to
discover and utilize the most effective way to connect with your potential supporters in order to set
up an appointment. That is the determining factor as to the means of communication you choose—not
simply because it is quickest or easiest or less scary.

HEART AND MIND PREPARATION

The phone is not your enemy! It can be your friend, if you let it. Pray before you begin. Ask God
to give you enthusiasm, clarity, and courage. Ask Him to go before you, that people would answer
their phones and that they would be receptive to you and your request to meet with them in person.
Have your phone script in front of you. You may have been a smooth telemarketing rep, but don’t rely
on your eloquence, especially during those first twenty to thirty conversations as you perfect exactly
what you want to say. How you go about handling that one- to five-minute phone call can make you or
break you in your support-raising success. Work hard at making it a wonderful experience for every
person.
You’re calling dozens of people during each session. Choose a reliable method to record the
information you’re gathering during each call. During my call, I may discover we can’t meet for lunch
because my friend is taking his twelve-year-old son to his baseball playoff game, or maybe we can’t
do breakfast because he’s taking his wife away for a twentieth wedding anniversary weekend. If so,
when we finally do get to sit down and have a meal and support appointment together, the first thing I
better not ask him is, “Say Joe. Did you tell me you had a family?” No! You ask how Bobby did in
the playoff game. Did his wife enjoy the stay at the bed and breakfast he had chosen? You are trying
to build a relationship with this person. Recording, storing, and reviewing that information before
each appointment helps you establish strong rapport.

Weak ink is better than a strong memory.

THE SUPPORT-RAISING ZONE

Finding the right place to make your calls is essential. Find an office, a room, a quiet place where
you can close the door and have uninterrupted stretches of time. I like to take two- to three-hour
chunks to focus exclusively on calling. I need absolute focus. Getting started is half the battle. Once I
make that first call, once I get that first appointment, I get in the zone. Nothing can stop me. I am a man
on a mission from God! I will not stop until I have at least those eight appointments I committed to
line up. Yes, I was a little nervous and tentative when I started calling, but now there’s no place I’d
rather be than right here, lining up face-to-face appointments.
Discerning the right times to call is critical. I am not afraid to call someone at their home, cell,
office, any phone that I am able to get their number. I want to be sensitive and wise, but at the same
time I refuse to let “paranoia tapes” play in the back of my mind, whispering, “You’ll be bothering
them,” or “They’re screening your calls.” I do try to use discernment as to when I call. To contact a
middle age or older person before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. might be unwise. I usually call married
couples with kids the earliest, then couples with no kids, and save the singles for the latest calls.
When calling a prospective supporter at their place of work, I usually try to do so between 9-11:30
a.m. and 1:30-4:30 p.m. Friday mornings are a great time to contact them to get on their calendar for
the next week.

LOCKING IN APPOINTMENTS
I like to have my schedule right in front of me so I will know exactly what slots I have open. Even
if I have no appointments lined up, I don’t say, “My whole week is clear. I’m free anytime. When can
you meet?” Their first thought will be, “No appointment at all? What a loser!” A better approach
would be to suggest a couple of specific times to meet, but express flexibility. I have broken my day
into six possible appointments:

Breakfast
This can be for meeting people before work. If you treat them, and it’s near where they’re
employed, it’s usually a done deal.

Mid-morning
A great time to meet pastors, executives, business owners, homemakers. Many of them have
enough flexibility to meet for twenty to forty-five minutes at their office or home.

Lunch
Usually reserved for workers who have enough time and flexibility to go out for a meal. But, get
them back to their work on time.

Mid-afternoon
Same as the mid-morning suggestions.

Dinner
Hang on to these slots for singles or couples you want to meet and have a more relaxed time with.

Evening
Meeting an old friend or younger acquaintance at 8:30 p.m. for coffee to catch up and share about
your ministry is a great time and place to have a support appointment.

And, of course, weekends can be a great time to plan appointments, as people have a lot more
flexibility with their schedules.

DETERMINE WHERE TO MEET

Before you make your phone call, think carefully where would be the best place to connect with
this person. Ask yourself questions like: How well do I know them? Where would they feel most
comfortable meeting? Do I want to try to meet with both husband and wife? How much time do I
anticipate them being willing to give me? What is the age difference between this person and myself?
These factors need to be considered as you suggest a place to meet. Here are three possible locations:

Home
I hate to invite myself over to someone’s house for an appointment, much less a meal. I do
however invite people over to our house to share about the ministry and partnering opportunities.
Meeting at one or the other’s home is usually reserved for people you know fairly well. A home visit
usually is a little more flexible too, and can last at least an hour, but should never surpass two.

Office
Most business owners, executives, or managers have enough freedom in their schedules to allow
you to stop into their place of work for at least a twenty- to thirty-minute appointment. Be punctual
and very respectful of their time limitations though, rarely staying more than forty-five minutes.

Restaurant or coffee shop

This is for someone willing to take the time away from home or office to meet. These are people
who are comfortable enough with you to meet you in a more social setting than their office. Always
pay for the bill so as not to add to the perception we’re nothing more than beggars looking for
handouts!

If you’re married or if the person you’re meeting with is married, be careful with opposite gender
appointments. Don’t meet one-on-one behind closed doors or eat out together at a restaurant; not as
much because of any temptation, but to guard against someone’s accusation of impropriety.

WHAT TO SAY ON THE CALL

Don’t embarrass yourself and risk losing the appointment by not being prepared for the call. Have
a script in front of you. Here are the guidelines:

BUILD RAPPORT
“Is Mr. Smith there?”
“Mr. Smith, this is Steve Shadrach. How are you doing?”
“Have you got a minute to talk?”
“I have enjoyed getting to know your son and daughter at the youth group meetings. They are great
kids. I know you must be proud of them.”

SCHEDULING THE APPOINTMENT

“Mr. Smith, I sent you a letter last week about our ministry. I’m wondering if you had a chance to
read it. Did it make sense?”
“As I was thinking and praying about who I would love to sit down with and share a bit about our
ministry vision and financial goals, you definitely came to mind.”
“I’m going to be downtown later this week, on Thursday and Friday. Would there be a twenty- to
thirty-minute slot I could squeeze into your schedule somewhere in your mid-morning or mid-
afternoon one of those days? I could drop by your office.”

CONFIRMATION OF TIME AND PLACE

“9:30 a.m. Thursday sounds great. You’re in the Halter building, right?”
“Suite 206? Got it. Excellent! I know just where it is. I’ll be knocking on your door a minute or
two before 9:30 Thursday morning at your office.”
“Thanks so much. See you then!”

WISDOM AND ATTITUDE

Don’t say too much about money or they will try to answer you right there on the phone. Don’t say
too little about money so as to deceive them. Remember two key phrases to strike that balance:
ministry vision and financial goals. To me, this is just enough to let them know we are going to
discuss money and giving, but not say so much about it so as to frighten them off before we ever get
together
 Notice I don’t ask them if they would like to meet. Have confidence and assume they would like
to meet and hear about your ministry vision. Simply ask which day and time could work for them.
Your attitude is contagious. They can hear it in your voice and attitude whether or not you believe you
are going to get the appointment. If we bring a downcast, discouraged, or defeated demeanor to that
call, we may come across as a beggar with our hand out, expecting to be rejected. No wonder we
don’t get appointments.
Instead, smile during your call. Laugh if appropriate. Give them a taste of the vision and passion
and joy in the Lord and your work you possess. Let them sense you are fired up to pass this
excitement on to them during your appointment. Maybe you’ve never even met the person you’re
conversing with on the call. Why not start right then enjoying them and beginning to build a
friendship? The actual appointment becomes simply a continuation of two people who have really
connected.
Note: Here is an excellent alternative phone script The Navigators teach their staff to use: “My
first ministry assignment is to put together a team of friends who will partner with me through their
prayers and financial support. As I thought about who I’d like to have on my team, I naturally thought
of you. Is there a time I could come by and visit you for 45 minutes to an hour in the next week or so,
so I can fill you in on all the details?”76 I like it.

START WITH FRIENDS AND FAMILY

Before you start firing real bullets, take some practice rounds. Grab your two best friends, two of
your ministry coworkers, and two of your parents’ good friends that watched you grow up. Ask them
to role-play with you. Make them promise they will be brutally honest with you as you call them up
and practice going through this initial phone call to secure an appointment. Listen to their suggestions.
Revise your script. Practice it again and again, and a few more times! After your first full day of real
calls, start the role-play practice sessions again in order to do further refinement and confidence
building.
The first appointments you seek to make should not be with strangers. They should not be with the
ultra-busy millionaire who has three layers of secretaries to get to him. Start with the people who
know you and love you. But, take every call seriously. Do it exactly like you would with anyone.
Don’t skip any of the steps. These initial calls will allow you to perfect your approach. They will
give you tracks to run on when you start to make the tougher calls down the road.
In approaching family members for support, use wisdom. If you sense it might damage your
relationship with them or hurt your chance to share Christ with them, you might hold off for the time
being and just pray they would bring the subject up.
Occasionally you will get someone on the phone who absolutely will not meet with you. Maybe
they’re having a bad week. Maybe they have an aversion to meetings. More than likely they have
never had a face-to-face meeting with a missionary raising support, and there is the fear of the
unknown. If after several attempts, they will not agree to meet with you, kindly inquire if they would
mind you telling them about your ministry right there on the phone. Turn a potentially negative
experience into a positive one. Take five minutes to share your vision and financial goals. Ask them if
it makes sense and if they have questions. Ask them if they would be open to partnering with you by
coming onto your monthly support team for $75, $100, or even $150 a month. At some point, zip the
lip, and let them answer. No telling what God might do!

WHEN TIMES GET TOUGH

What if your attitude turns sour and you get discouraged during your support raising? How do you
“shake it off” and keep going? Mike, a fully-funded staffer with the mission mobilization ministry
SevenNine, shares some insights: “When my wife and I raised support, we were unstoppable at times,
and God was bringing everything in at an incredible rate. Other times it felt like we hit a brick wall.
Some days every call resulted in an appointment, but then we would have stretches with no meetings,
no new support, no returned calls. All our efforts seemed for naught, with nowhere else to go. My
wife helped me understand that although these were discouraging and draining times, they were not
bad or wrong. They just come with the territory.”
Mike continued, “Yes, most days we did just lock ourselves in a room and plow through the work
we needed to do, but we discovered just toughing it out during the dry times wasn’t always the
answer. Sometimes we would go before God and humbly admit our weakness and disappointment.
When we opened our hearts to Him, He was always quick to cheer us up through a new gift or simply
telling us, ‘My grace is sufficient for you. Trust Me that I will get this accomplished.’ We learned to
love these hard times because they forced us to crawl up into God’s lap, allow Him to see our
struggles, then watch in awe as He stepped into the gap and did what we could never do alone.” This
is good stuff. When it’s “Go Time” and we have a low motivation level, all we can do is make the
God Ask, buckle up, and push ahead. He will honor our decision to rely on faith, rather than our
feelings.
 23

Building
BRIDGES

Maybe I shouldn’t be so transparent, but there have been times I was on my way to a meeting, or
attempting to initiate conversation at a support appointment, that I was totally paralyzed with fear. I
remember driving ten times around the block once before I had enough courage to get out of the car,
walk up to the house, and knock on the door. Once, I was in the office of a wealthy, high-profile
lawyer-politician I was going to ask for a large annual gift. I was using my portfolio to try to hide my
hands and knees—both were shaking uncontrollably! I was sure he was going to expose me by saying,
“Son, do you need to use the restroom? There’s one right down the hall.”
The key to meeting your fears head-on is to walk toward them and never forget to make the God
Ask before you ever step into that appointment. Rely on the power of the Holy Spirit and His
promises in the Word. Follow through on these frightening scenarios will be some of the greatest
preparation for ministry and life you will experience. Don’t usurp what God wants to do in your life
by bailing out on some of the tougher appointments. Forget the “it’s out of my comfort zone” line.
Hang in there and develop a collection of war stories you can share with other new staffers who are
starting their support raising and need encouragement and modeling from you. Following are some
essentials.

“God never uses anyone greatly until He tests them deeply.”77

A. W. Tozer, Author and Evangelist

KNOW THE GROUND RULES

Be on time. Get directions ahead of time. Map it out on your computer or phone. Allow time for
traffic, getting lost, parking, and finding the right office or café. If you tell someone you will meet at
the restaurant at 12:15 p.m., don’t show up at 12:20 p.m.—for any reason. Your appointment might
still be there, but if they are, you will have a strike against you already. Punctuality is huge in support
raising. It reveals your level of faithfulness and maturity to the person you are meeting with.
Dress appropriately. Back on campus, in your student ministry, you might wear sloppy clothing,
have a lip ring, show off the tattoo on your arm, and call everyone dude. If you’re on a support
appointment with a sixty-year-old couple, you would be wise to put on your khakis and a long sleeve
button down. Take off the hardware, and say “Yes, sir” and “Yes, ma’am.”
You might retort, “I gotta be me. I ain’t changin’ who I am.” Instead, take a 1 Corinthians 9:19-23
approach where Paul was willing to bend and adapt himself. He shares, “I have become all things to
all men” in order to try to relate and woo them to Christ. In our appointments, we need to learn when
to turn the volume up and when to turn the volume down. Let’s seek to always be the mature one by
our willingness to adjust ourselves to be most effective when reaching out to others—whether it’s in
evangelism or support raising. Know what I mean, dude?
Work on eye contact and smiling. As one proverb tells us, “the eyes are the window to the soul.”
In most cultures, people appreciate you looking them in the eyes when you—and they—talk. When
someone comes to you to present something and they will not look you in the eyes, what’s going
through your mind? Either they’re not telling the truth, or they are fearful or insecure in what they’re
saying. Richard Moss highlights this truth, “The greatest gift you can give to another is the purity of
your attention.”78 So, whether you are talking or listening—look into their eyes!
Another subtle way we reveal our insecurities is to rely too heavily on our props. Some Christian
workers flip page after page of their portfolio or computer slides until their potential supporter gets
bored. Have a well prepared, but brief, notebook or computer presentation to show them, but do not
let it dominate all your time with them. Support raising is about vision and relationship, and in the
appointment, it primarily needs to be your eyes on their eyes. Your heart connecting to their heart.
Your smile and warmth radiating the love of Christ to them.

MEAL TIMES
Use good manners. This may seem elementary, but the way you handle yourself during a meal says
a lot. Where to sit, how to sit, which utensil to use, not talking with a full mouth are all important. Let
them order first, and when it’s your turn don’t ask for the King Neptune’s Seafood Deluxe Platter!
You will be doing most of the speaking. You are not there to eat. So order something small.
Always pay for the meal. Breaching this longstanding custom is one of the worst forms of “poor
talk.” Isn’t it a known fact that the person who extends the invitation to go out for a meal picks up the
tab? So why is this basic practice violated so often by Christian workers and support raisers? When
the check comes, we make a weak attempt to reach for it, saying, “No, let me.” In reality, deep down,
we want them to pay the bill. No wonder people treat us like beggars. We have trained them to do so!
Allowing them to pay generally works against you—big time. Why? Some think taking care of
your $25 lunch tab is their way of supporting you. No! This is not about a little $25 bill. This is about
whether they are going to become a long-term ministry partner with you, investing $75, $150, or $300
a month in you and your work. If I sense there might be a tussle over who pays the bill, I excuse
myself during the meal to use the restroom. On the way back, I take care of the tab. That especially
explodes the perception high-control executive types have of Christian workers as poor and needy.
This puts us on an even plane with one another. It’s not the wealthy businessman doling a few of his
shekels out to the guy without a job. If I read Philippians 4:17 correctly, this mealtime is actually me
doi ng them a favor by helping them redirect their earthly treasure toward eternal kingdom
investments.
Note that there may be a rare exception to this ground rule. For example, if you are a twenty-
three-year-old girl who asked an older couple out for dinner to present your ministry to them, don’t
bust the man in the nose, fighting over the bill. That may be one of the occasions where one custom
should trump another one.

RELATIONAL BRIDGES
 When I sit down with someone, I don’t immediately launch into my ministry presentation. I like to
spend time getting to know them. Some will allow me to do that more than others. I am going to make
every attempt to begin to cultivate a relationship with this person. Here’s what I do:

LOOK FOR ENTRY POINTS INTO THEIR LIVES

Upon entering their office or home, my antenna immediately goes up, on the look out for any
pictures, trophies, pets, books, diplomas, awards, anything at all that gives me an introduction into
their interests, activities, and especially their family. People love to talk about themselves. If we take
a genuine interest, and know how to get the conversation going, we will be friends in no time.

INITIATE CONVERSATION THROUGH QUESTIONS

Jesus was a master at question asking. I spent a month of quiet times in the Gospels, studying
every place Jesus asked a question. Sometimes He would even answer a question with a question.
We, too, must become skilled question askers. It aids us in support raising, in ministry, and in life!

START WITH CLOSED-ENDED QUESTIONS

Getting the conversation going through light, fact-oriented, closed-ended questions is where I
begin. “Is this a picture of your family?” or “I see your diploma. What years were you at the
University?” or “You must be a soccer coach. Do you coach some of your kids?” or “What are the
names and ages of your children?” Small talk leads to big talk. Shallow questions can pave the way
for deeper ones.

MOVE TO OPEN-ENDED QUESTIONS

You’ve won the right to gradually shift to more substantial, feeling-oriented, open-ended
questions: “What hopes and dreams do you have for your kids?” “What dangers do you face as they
grow up?” “What do you see as some of the greatest needs and problems in our world today?”

CONNECT THEIR INTERESTS AND CONCERNS WITH YOUR

MINISTRY
You’ve asked lots of good questions. You have listened closely with your eyes, ears, and heart.
You have learned all kinds of things about this person and their world. You now have enough
information to gently transition to the sharing of your life and ministry. Attempt to find the common
denominators between what they have revealed and you and your work. This listen first, speak second
principle is from Proverbs 18:13, “He who gives an answer before he hears, it is folly and shame to
him.”
After asking questions, doing a lot of listening, and building rapport, it is now your turn to do
most of the sharing. It will include:
• Your Personal Testimony
• Your Calling Into Ministry
 • Your Ministry Vision
• The Story of a Transformed Life
• Asking for a Giving Commitment
• Closing of Appointment with Specific Next Steps

We’ll cover the first two now and the others in the next two chapters.

YOUR PERSONAL TESTIMONY

“Mr. Smith, one reason I identify with the fears you mentioned for your children is because I grew
up with all kinds of fear myself. Fear of dying, what others thought of me, and of being rejected. At
age seventeen a man led me to faith in Jesus Christ. I realized I did not need to fear anymore because
God loved me completely. He helped me conquer my fears. I get to spend my days passing those
blessings on by helping other troubled teenagers overcome their fears through the love of Christ.”
As you share your testimony, include three ingredients: Share what your life was like before you
became a Christian. Next, the circumstances surrounding your decision to trust Christ as your Savior
and Lord. Finally, include some of the changes He has wrought in your life since. I like to actually
recite the brief prayer I offered up to the Lord the day I invited Him into my life. This way the person
can walk away at least knowing how to receive Christ if they choose to. You never know when a
support appointment may turn into an evangelistic one!
Make it short, but powerful. One young man who approached me for support went through his
entire presentation with me, then asked for some feedback. Everything was great, except he spent
twenty minutes on his personal testimony. He could have condensed it to two to three minutes. If I had
questions or wanted him to elaborate, he could have gone deeper. With your testimony, and all of
your presentation, just hit the exciting, visionary high points of your life and ministry. You could talk
for hours, sharing every tiny detail, but again, once you get past twenty minutes, certainly thirty at
most, you need to be winding down, transitioning to the ask, and letting them get back to their life.

YOUR CALLING INTO MINISTRY

After you have listened to portions of their life and briefly shared your personal testimony, it’s
now time to tie it back in to your calling into this ministry. “I praise God He led me into this ministry.
Now I’ve come full circle. Just as my life was impacted by an inner city-worker who knocked on my
door one day and led me to Christ, I get to help struggling young people start a relationship with
Christ the same way I did.”
If the person you are meeting with shared something about their life or children, you can relate it
back to them. “And the hopes and dreams you shared for your own children, Mr. Smith, are the same
ones God wants for these thousands of young men walking the streets of India every night. They are so
lost and in need of forgiveness and hope. I believe the Lord would love to use you and me to touch
their lives in a powerful way.”
Share when and how God stirred your heart to pursue this work, and if applicable, tie your calling
into this ministry back into your testimony. This can help your supporter connect all the dots in their
mind as to what and why you are doing what you’re doing.
OTHER TIPS
Make it a dialogue, not a monologue. Make it so packed with goodies they can’t help but ask a
question or two along the way. It’s ideal if they ask questions, but even if they don’t, you still need to
create a few spaces in your appointment to try to draw them out. Attempt to get the conversation going
in both directions. A lazy, and sometimes condescending, question like “Does that make sense?” can
be replaced by a more honoring and stimulating question like “What do you feel like are some of the
personal problems our young people struggle with today?”
Gear your story to your audience. Know whom you are talking to. Are they a mature, long-time
elder or missions’ committee member? Or are they a business associate of your uncle who has never
attended church? Don’t assume you can use religious terminology with people. To share “We want to
contextualize the gospel by planting multiplying churches among unengaged unreached people groups
within the 10/40 Window” may not register with someone who doesn’t have a degree in missiology!
You will have to put things right down on the bottom shelf in many of your appointments. Use
common language so they can grasp the basic concept of what you are about. “We want to help young
people become whole and complete, the way God designed them to be. We want to prepare them
personally, morally, and spiritually, so they can have great marriages and families, and positively
affect the next generation.”
It’s preferred to have both husband and wife present in the appointment, but not always possible.
When Nehemiah appeared before the king, he deftly observed “the queen [was] sitting beside him”
(Nehemiah 2:6). Just as Nehemiah was sharing his vision and request with both husband and wife, we
would be wise to try to have both spouses present. In our culture we might assume the husband is the
primary decision maker. I’ve discovered many of the giving choices are made by the wife. Practically
speaking, though, if you are trying to fill up your days and weeks with appointments, it is unrealistic
to expect you can synchronize both the husband and wife’s schedules for every appointment.
If you are married, sit down with your spouse and talk through what the support-raising roles and
expectations are for each of you before you get started. This will save you from some tough
conversations down the road. It won’t work if one spouse’s attitude is, “Honey, raising support is
your job.” No, both must own it. As much as possible, team up and work together with all your heart
and soul. Your supporters will observe your unity and collaboration and be impressed.
Don’t ever use the phrase “one-time gift” in your presentation or materials. I know it’s universally
used among support raisers everywhere, but it is one of the worst things you can communicate. The
phrase implies it’s a once and for all, never to be repeated, contribution. Instead, use phrases like:
special gift, first-time gift, single gift, launching gift… anything but one-time gift! Why? I believe that
first gift is the beginning of a long-term, ministry partnership together.
Keep in mind support raising is not about money. It’s not about you or your needs. It is about
vision and relationships. The thing that means most to your prospective supporter is not your mission
statement or five-year goals. It is the heart-to-heart connection you make with them as they observe
your vision, passion, and authenticity. Ask good questions, listen, and seek to link their interests and
concerns with your ministry. They truly would like to partner with you. Build a bridge and give them
a chance to do so.
 24

Sharing Your
VISION

Carol and I were maxed out. We could not financially partner with any other Christian workers.
Then Marshall called. He was on his way to India to reach students for Christ and wanted to meet
with me. I am impressed with anyone who takes the time and effort to contact and personally meet
with a potential donor. It shows such courage, excellence, and makes me think what they have to share
must be really important.
Even though Marshall was only twenty-two, he pulled his chair up close to mine on the porch and
took me through his portfolio presentation. It was filled with pictures about how he came to Christ,
his campus ministry, and his burden for India. He explained how strategic it is for him to focus on
winning the ten million Hindu collegians to Jesus.
As he transitioned to the ask, he leaned forward, looked into my eyes, and quietly stated, “Mr.
Shadrach, it would be such an incredible honor to have you and your family partnering with me as I
give myself to helping these Hindu students know the love of Christ. I wonder if you would be willing
to invest $100 a month, or even $150 a month, to launch me into this ministry?” His face now less
than a foot from mine, he zipped his lip. I was looking at him and he was looking at me—and waiting.
It was obvious it was my turn to talk. He was confident and polite enough to let me answer. I was so
captivated I could barely speak. I babbled out something about needing to talk to my wife first.
As soon as I got back in the house, I immediately went straight to Carol and proclaimed, “I know
we can’t take on any more monthly commitments, but we must support Marshall!” The combination of
his willingness to approach an intimidating older man, his grasp of the overwhelming spiritual needs
in India, and finally his up-close-and-personal invitation to join him was downright irresistible. I’m
in!
Even though some might say my wife and I had reached our limit regarding the giving percentage
of our income, just this past month, we joined two new support teams. We also doubled the amount
we give to another missionary. We were not planning to increase our giving at all, so why did we?
One simple reason. Each of these three individuals personally contacted us, persisted in getting an
appointment, met with us face-to-face and then… asked. Whether it is asking someone to receive
Christ, asking them to marry you, or asking them to become a ministry partner, I believe there is
power that resides in the ask.
It can be scary to single someone out to pursue for a support appointment. It risks the relationship,
and rejection is possible. To lay everything out on the table for them and then ask has a mesmerizing
effect on the listener. It creates a bond of trust and respect between the “asker” and the “askee.” None
of this really happens by a phone call, e-mail, letter, or group presentation. Now, in a more
comprehensive way, let’s break down all the parts of the ministry-vision presentation and the ask.
MINISTRY VISION
After building a relational bridge, and sharing your testimony and calling, transition into the
sharing of your vision. It’s always good to offer some context to help the listener understand the
purpose and breadth of the agency you work with. Include a simple visual showing the founding, the
leader, the target audience, the geographic area the organization focuses on, and a few stats of the
track record of impact. This is the broader macro look at the work that will help your potential
supporter understand the big picture. They will be able to see how you and your role fit in.
Major on the vision of your ministry. This is the heart and soul of your entire appointment. Pray
over it, work on it, revise it, role-play it, let it sink deep into your mind and heart. Here are the six
basic questions you need to address with your potential supporter. I include some answers, along
with some sample scripts, using a hypothetical campus staffer as my ministry support raiser.

WHY?
What is the biblical and practical rationale behind your vision?
“Second Peter 3:9 expresses the heart of God in that He doesn’t wish for ‘any to perish but for all
to come to repentance.’ Seeking and saving the lost is why Christ came. It’s why we minister. Most of
the almost seventeen million college students on America’s 3,500 campuses are in spiritual darkness,
not knowing or experiencing the love and forgiveness Jesus wants them to have. John 14:6 confirms
the only way to the Father is through Jesus, and I am compelled to share the life-changing gospel
message with these students, who so desperately need truth and hope in their lives.”

WHO?
Who will be impacted and changed by this ministry?
“College students make up just a tiny percentage of the world’s population, but in many ways,
they are the most powerful slice of humanity on earth. They are and will be the leaders of every facet
of society. Reaching the campus today is a key to reaching the world tomorrow. Eighteen- to twenty-
five-year-olds are making the most important decisions of their life. If we can help them embrace
Jesus Christ and mentor them in the right direction, it could set the course of their entire lives.”

WHERE?
Where do they live or work?
“My assignment will be to the University of Arkansas (UA) in Fayetteville. It’s a campus of
25,000 students made up of athletes, fraternity and sorority members, dorm students, internationals,
and others. The one common denominator they have is they are all in desperate need of a personal
relationship with Christ. That’s why I’m saying no to other career options and giving myself
completely to this. I want to help these students know the Lord and become sold-out disciples of
Christ.”

WHAT?
 What is the strategy to accomplish the vision?
“I will be spending all day, every day, in the dorms, Greek houses, Student Center, and athletic
fields, meeting students. I will be building relationships, sharing the gospel, starting small-group
Bible studies, and hopefully leading them to Christ. Then we will establish them in their faith and
equip them to be leaders and laborers for Christ. As you know, Jesus commanded us to make
disciples in Matthew 28. I want to fulfill what is on His heart right there on the UA campus.”

HOW?
What is your goal and how will you measure success?
“We want to start a movement of students on campus and ultimately have an impactful large-group
meeting in place. The real measure of success for us is how many lost students we can win to Christ,
how many new Christians we can help become mature followers of Christ, and then how many of
these students we can train to become workers themselves. If we can graduate at least ten world-
changers each year who are going to spend a lifetime making disciples, we believe it makes a real
difference in eternity.”

YOU?
What is your specific role in fulfilling this vision?
“My role is as a campus staffer. I am part of a team who has made at least a three-year
commitment to reaching UA. I will live near the college with a group of young fraternity guys who are
involved in the ministry. My specific targets will be the Sig Ep and Lambda Chi fraternities. All
together they represent about 325 of the most influential students on campus. If we can see some of
these key leaders come to know Christ in a radical way, it could completely change the direction of
the student body. I have to be honest, though. Sometimes it’s a little scary walking into those big
fraternity houses. Pray for me.”
Note: I love what Casey and his staff with the SevenNine mission mobilization ministry do in
their support appointments. After taking a person through their brochure explaining the ministry, they
flip it over to a blank section. The staffer then draws out a diagram showing where the unreached are
in the world, and how believers can be mobilized to reach them. The potential supporter’s eyes are
glued to this personalized, customized presentation the staff person is crafting.

STORY OF A TRANSFORMED LIFE

As you transition to the ask, now is a great time to drop a brief anchor and insert the testimony of
a person whose life has been changed by God. “May I share one story of a transformed life? Rory
was one of the biggest partiers on campus. He was on the verge of becoming an alcoholic. When he
finally hit bottom, he came to one of our meetings. He committed his life to Christ. The turnaround
was immediate and dramatic as he started sharing his testimony with everyone. He is devouring his
Bible in preparation for our studies, and is even dating a Christian girl. Now many of his fraternity
brothers want to know how they can experience the same new life in Christ. Will you take just a
moment to watch this sixty-second video clip on my phone? It’s Rory himself sharing how Jesus
changed his life.”
ASKING FOR A GIVING COMMITMENT
It could be at this point you may want to draw out the God Ask triangle, showing them your role,
their role, and God’s role in this appointment, giving decision, and ministry partnership. Don’t wait
too long, though, to make the transition to the ask. It is difficult for some, but it doesn’t have to be.
You can seamlessly move from the third person (telling about a Rory) to the first person: “Mr. Smith,
there will be 3,000 freshmen, many of them lost like Rory was, who will be moving onto that UA
campus on August 25 th. I want to be there to reach them for Christ. But I’m not allowed to even move
to my assignment until I’m at 100% support. That means I only have fifty-three days left and $1,950
more monthly support to get me to those 3,000 freshmen. Here’s a chart that shows some of the
various levels I’m asking our ministry partners to support. I’ve thought and prayed about what figure
to present to you. This may be high or low, but I wanted to ask you to consider investing in me and my
ministry at this $100 a month level, or possibly even at this $150 a month level. What do you think?
Could one of those work for you?”
At this stage of the ask, they seem to always appreciate two things: 1) Giving them an idea of
what it is I am asking them for, and 2) Zipping my lip and extending enough honor and dignity to them
to allow them to answer my question. Though I may include the words “consider” or “suggest” in my
ask, it’s always clear, by my silence and eye contact, that I am looking for a decision with my
question. In other words, it is obvious to all—it is their turn to talk!
John Maisel, Founder of East-West Ministries, shares, “Just as Satan never wants you to ask a
person if they would like to pray to receive Christ, so the ‘father of lies’ never wants you to ask
people to support you in your work of sharing the love of Christ. When we understand this, we are
less likely to cut and run. God is at work and delights to use our circumstances to prove His power.
We must stand against our enemy and resist the temptation to flee.” 79 Yes, your throat may get dry.
Your heart may start racing. Your eyes will be tempted to divert from theirs. But don’t bail out. That
“golden question” must be asked!
I like to make the person I am meeting with feel very comfortable in my presence, but you still
must kindly, tenderly, passionately invite them to join your team with a specific monthly amount or a
range. Then wait. They may be looking at you or your Levels of Giving Chart. Either way, they need
to be given the freedom to answer without us being so insecure about a second or two of silence that
we jump in to rephrase, review, or recalibrate our ask.

DEALING WITH OBJECTIONS

Be prepared for all kinds of responses to your golden question. Some of them will be easy to
answer, others tougher. Here are typical ones:

“I can’t give that much.”

“I understand, Mr. Smith. Some of our supporters are on our team for $50 or $75 a month. Would
one of those be a more comfortable fit for you right now?”

“I need to pray/talk with my spouse and/or look at my budget.”

“I understand, Mr. Smith. That’s very wise. Let me just take responsibility to call you back. I
know you are busy, and as you can tell, I’m really focused on this. Let’s see, it’s Thursday morning at
10 a.m. What if I were to call you back Tuesday morning at this same time to find out how God has
led you in this decision? Would that be a good time?”

“I can’t make a monthly commitment.”

“I understand, Mr. Smith. That’s no problem. We have a number of our ministry partners who are
yearly investors. Here’s an Annual Levels of Giving Chart I have with me. Again, I don’t know if this
is high or low, but it would put so much strength into us if you would consider supporting us, possibly
at this $1,000 a year figure, or maybe even this $1,500 amount. What do you think? Could one of
those work for you?

“I already give to my church.”

“That’s great, Mr. Smith. I, too, give to my church and encourage all believers to do so. I am in no
way asking you to divert any giving away from your church, but it would be an incredible honor to
have you on our personal support team. On top of our church giving, my wife and I invest in a number
of missionaries each month. I know we all have a limit as to how much we can give, and we want our
funds to go to strategic ministries. I wonder if you would consider a $50 or $75 a month commitment
to allow us to get to those freshmen by August 25th and reach them for Christ?”

An objection is like a yellow light. Take note, but don’t let it frighten or stop you. Most people,
even Christians, have never had an appointment like the one we’re describing. Your appointment may
nervously throw out all kinds of responses. You will have to calmly discern whether they are giving
you a red light—meaning stop, don’t go any further. Or are they simply flashing a yellow light—
meaning you sensitively continue to present your vision and giving opportunity, until you get a definite
“no″? Don’t let fear or paranoia grip you.

WHEN YOU GET A “NO”

“I understand, Mr. Smith. I’m wondering if there are any issues or questions you have for me or
about our ministry?”
“If you can’t join our monthly team right now, would you be open to making a special gift to our
‘Ministry Launching Fund’? We need to raise $7,500 by August 1st to move us to the campus, help us
set up the office, and get our work started. Would you consider a $200, $300, or some other amount to
help launch us?”
“You’ve been so gracious to give me thirty minutes of your time, Mr. Smith. I wonder if you
would allow me to put you on my mailing list to receive periodic newsletters? We would be honored
for you to read it and pray for us.”
“After you get a feel for our ministry over the next year or so, I wonder if you would give me
permission to come back this time next year and visit with you again about the ministry and possible
support?”
They will probably say yes to your request of putting them on your newsletter list as well as
coming back in a year. Why? Because they believe once you walk out that door they will never hear
from you again. That’s probably been their experience with other Christian workers. If you actually
do follow through with what you say, start sending them newsletters, writing them occasional notes,
asking for periodic prayer requests, etc… guess what? By this time next year, you may have moved
right to the top of their list to support if they happen to get a raise or someone drops out they’ve been
giving to. Maybe I’m an eternal optimist, but I believe around the corner from almost every “no”… is
a “yes!”

WHEN YOU GET A “YES”

“That’s fantastic, Mr. Smith. Thank you so much. Your investment of $150 per month will make a
tremendous difference. You have put us $150 closer to those freshmen coming August 15th! Please let
your wife and children know how excited we are to have you as ministry partners.”
“Mr. Smith, I’m wondering if you would be open to go ahead and get started so I could count your
gift toward reaching my goal? I would really appreciate it. Could I show you what the giving options
are and let you pick the one which most fits you?”
After welcoming them to the team and getting their giving commitment, you want to focus on the
specifics. Have a graphic of some sort showing the various giving options, from writing a check right
then to automatic withdrawals to online credit card options. You can pull out your laptop or
smartphone, type in their information, and get them set up right then.
How you finish up the appointment is crucial. If they want to support you, but you just say, “Praise
the Lord. Great to have you on the team. See you later!” you will be sorry. You must be the one who
takes the initiative by confirming the exact next steps. Don’t leave their home or office until you have
made it extremely clear in your mind and theirs!

OTHER TIPS
Go back to the basics if you get confused. During appointments people will come up with crazy
comments or questions. Whether intentional or not, their remarks can spin you around and cause you
to lose track of what you’re trying to communicate. Keep these three basics in mind as you weave
your way through your ministry presentation:
• Who you are (This is your testimony and calling.)
• What you do (This is your ministry vision.)
• What you want (This is your ask and close.)

Make only one request at a time. This is not multiple-choice requests. Step into each appointment
with the main objective of asking them to come onto your monthly team. If they cannot, suggest your
annual team. If they cannot, suggest your ministry-launching fund. If they cannot, ask if you can come
back in a year and approach them again. But only one request, one decision at a time. You never know
what they are willing to do—until you ask!
There are pros and cons to using pledge or response cards. I know some support trainers
encourage support raisers to use these as a “leave behind” to act as a silent reminder to the
prospective donor. It will set on their desk as they ponder and pray whether they should come on your
team or not. I can see their point, but it is not convincing enough to me to endorse the using of pledge
cards. My principle is simple. I don’t want anything to do the asking for me.
No substitutes. No mediators. I want to meet with them. I want to do the asking. I want to get the
decision. I want to get them started on their first gift. In other words, I don’t need anything to be a
silent reminder. I want to be their non-silent reminder! Do I mind a Christian worker carrying an
information card with them to fill out the basic data on a new donor? Of course not. That’s different
from a pledge card. Some organizations require their staff to include that info with the donor’s first
gift.

A THIRTY-MINUTE APPOINTMENT
If you have half an hour in a support appointment, how should you space your time out? Here’s a
suggested breakdown:
• Connect with the heart (12 minutes)
Establish rapport (6 minutes)
Bridge to their world (4 minutes)
Share your calling and testimony (2 minutes)
• Cast the vision (18 minutes)
Who we are—History of organization and growth of movement (3 minutes)
What I do—My ministry strategy and goals, my specific role, story of a transformed life (6
minutes)
What I want—Share opportunity to invest, ask for decision of amount or range (4 minutes)
Wrap it up—Ask for referrals, thank them for time (5 minutes)
 25

Finishing
STRONG

Sarah came bouncing into my office. She was so excited. She was at 80% in only three months of
support raising. I congratulated her. I even used her as an example in a training session. Then
something strange happened. A few months later I receive a printout from our financial supervisor. I
scrolled down the monthly accounts of all our staff. Sarah received only $750 that month. A far cry
from the 80% she said she was at. I called her into my office to chat. Turns out she had gotten a
number of “yes’s” in her appointments, but very few of her new supporters actually began their
giving. Unfortunately, Sarah’s story will be your story if you think it’s too pushy to ask your new
donor to get started with their first gift right there in the appointment.
Don’t think it’s weird to come by their office or home a second time to pick up the first check or
get them set up to give online. Otherwise, how do you go about getting them started giving? Praying,
waiting, hoping they will send in the gift? And if they don’t start after one, two, three months, what
then? Here’s the voice mail that an exasperated Sarah left for the supporter who had not yet begun:
“Ummm, I’m sorry to be bugging you, but you said you would come on my team. Why haven’t you
started giving yet?” Awkward! She resorted to e-mail instead. No response.
The worst form of communication is assumption, followed closely by e-mail!

Remember, if we find ourselves frustrated at someone because they haven’t started their giving
yet, don’t get angry at them. Nine times out of ten it is not their fault. It is ours! We were the ones who
were not clear enough at the end of each appointment or phone call as to what the specific next steps,
including timelines, are for them to begin giving.

MAKING THE CALL

For those who need more time to give you their decision, give a certain day and time you will
definitely call back. They may not be accustomed to Christian workers working hard, getting specific,
following through with their commitments. Why don’t you surprise them and break the stereotype in
their mind? At the exact day and time you said you would call back, call back! Whether you “feel
led” to or not, follow through faithfully. Repeat the day and exact time you will be calling back,
helping them understand it is a “phone appointment,” and you will be calling to get their decision.
That will help them not to take your ask, your call, or their response lightly.
Brad, a new staff person who just reached 100% in four months, shared this observation: “I don’t
want to wait too long to call back for a decision. The more time I give them, the less sense of urgency
they will have, and it becomes harder to get them back on the phone. So, call back the exact day and
time you said you would!” I agree. The chances they commit to your team start nosediving if you wait
beyond two to three days to call back or if you don’t follow through and call when you said you
would. View it as a “phone appointment” you have set up with this person. If their voice mail clicks
on at the agreed upon time, keep calling back that day until you talk with them. Why? Because you
both have mutually committed to a phone appointment on that day and time. And you always fulfill
your commitments!

PERSEVERANCE TO RECONNECT
More times than not, it seems we get answering machines and people’s voice mails. This is
frustrating. I always continue to call until I reach them to find out their decision. Why? Because I
promised I would. It may take two, four, six, eight calls to get hold of them. That’s okay. I don’t let
insecurities take over my mind that they are avoiding me or screening my calls. That’s why I don’t
mind calling back at different times of the day or night at any number I might have for them. If I can’t
get hold of them via phone, I don’t mind stopping back by their office, home, or catching them at
church, if appropriate. Why? Because I promised I would. I always keep my promises!

LEAVING MESSAGES
I do leave messages at times. I never ask them to call me back. I always assume the best as to why
they may not have been able to be available to take my call. I must take responsibility to call them
back again—every time. There have been a couple of times over the years when, after months of
calling back, I finally just said, “Mr. Smith, I’m not sure why we have not been able to connect on the
phone. I promised I would call you back and wanted to be faithful. I would be honored to have you on
our team. If you are able to call back and give me an indication of what you would like to do, I would
appreciate it. Thanks so much.” Don’t be surprised if you don’t hear back, though. That’s okay. You
did all you could do.

SCRIPT OF THE CALL

When I get them on the phone, here is what I say:
“Mr. Smith, this is Steve Shadrach. How are you doing today?
“I sure enjoyed the time with you on Thursday. Thanks again for spending it with me.
“As you remember, I promised I would call back this morning to see if you had further questions
about our ministry and to find out how God has led you regarding investing in us and our ministry.
Have you been able to make a decision yet?”

PURPOSE OF THE FOLLOW-UP APPOINTMENT

If a person desires to come on your team, the hard part begins. Actually getting them started. You
can attempt to do this over the phone, but doing it in person is so much more effective. There are three
main reasons to stop back by.

SECURE FIRST GIFT

 When I call back and get a yes, I say, “That is great, Mr. Smith. Thank you so much. Coming on
our team for $100 a month will make a huge difference! Praise God.”
“Mr. Smith, I’m wondering if you would be open to go ahead and get started this month so I could
count your gift toward reaching my goal? I would really appreciate it. Could I come by your office or
home for just five to ten minutes to show you what the giving options are? You can pick the one that
works best for you. While there, I can show you how the receipting process works. When would be a
good time in the next two to three days I could slip by for a few moments? How about Thursday mid-
morning or Friday afternoon? Would one of those work for you? It will be brief!”

SHOW THEM RECEIPTING PROCESS

This can be a second reason to drop by. Take a hard copy or e-mail version of a receipt by to
explain it and answer any questions.

ASKING FOR REFERRALS

If you are going to ask for referrals, the end of this follow-up visit is the best time to do so.

REFERRAL STRATEGY
Utilizing this approach may prepare you to become a master networker. In Nehemiah 2 the king’s
cupbearer wasn’t exactly sure how much Artaxerxes wanted to be of help. But he was going to find
out! Shrewdly, Nehemiah implemented the “domino effect” in that he first approached and secured the
commitment of the most influential person, the king. He then asked Artaxerxes for endorsements and
referrals. Nehemiah took those referral letters and gave them to the second most influential—the
governors in the provinces. After getting yeses from first the king and the governors, it was almost a
sure thing the third most influential—the manager of the lumber company—would give him all he
asked.
Here’s how Olga, a twenty-four-year-old Ukrainian ministry staffer, used referrals. She came to
America needing to raise $2,700 in new monthly support to cover her budget, as well as two other
staff. She knew no one here and had only a twenty-one-day visa. A fellow U.S. staffer gave her forty
of his referrals to provide a starting point. Olga was so motivated she raised the entire $2,700 in new
monthly support using only referrals—and referrals of referrals. True to her word, as she was exiting
the U.S., she gave that staff guy forty new referrals. Let’s talk about referrals:

WILL YOU NEED TO ASK FOR REFERRALS?

For some support raisers, asking for referrals is unnecessary because they have hundreds of
people from different stages of life who they can invite on their team. Some will have to pursue a
strategy of asking for referrals to get to 100%. Maybe they met with all the high-, medium-, and low-
priority contacts and are still not at full funding. Asking for referrals becomes this person’s only
option.
Some ministries feel so strongly about referrals they ask all their staff to ask for referrals every
time. Mike Hearon, a regional director for Campus Outreach, trains his staff to first ask the “golden
question” in their appointments, seeking to secure a monthly commitment. But then, at the end of each
meeting, he has them ask the “platinum question,” the one seeking to secure a batch of referrals.

THE RIGHT TIMING IN ASKING

If you ask for referrals, when you do the ask makes all the difference. When I go into an
appointment, I am normally focused on asking them to become monthly team members. I am
committed to present one request at a time and get one decision at a time. Don’t say, “Yes, I’d love
for you to come on my monthly team, and possibly give me names of people to contact too.” No. That
muddies the water. They will usually choose the least painful option if you give them multiple
choices. The time to ask for referrals is after they have made their final giving decision, after they
have decided on an amount. Then, and only then, do you ask about one final way they can be of help—
to brainstorm for referrals.

THE RIGHT ATTITUDE

You can really mess up when asking for referrals if you do it the wrong way or with the wrong
person. Here are some tips: Expand your thinking. Before you start contacting people you don’t know,
have you been diligent to contact every person you do know? Have you really worked hard at
namestorming every person you’ve ever known or even met and put them down on your list? You will
need a sense of urgency to have a successful referral strategy. Like Olga, are you willing to go
anywhere and talk to anyone about your ministry and coming on your support team? Some are too
proud or too lazy to do whatever it takes to get to their ministry assignment. Asking for referrals is the
key to expanding your list and multiplying contacts exponentially.

“The lazy let it happen. The wise make it happen.”80

Rick Warren, Pastor and Author

Be positive and thankful. Expect to get a good response when asking for referrals. Believe in God
and that you and your ministry are worth a significant investment. Be thankful to the Lord and to each
person who trusts you enough to give referrals to you. Treat each one with great care. If you sense a
strong negative reaction when you mention referrals, use wisdom and sensitivity and be willing to
back away.

THE RIGHT APPROACH

Don’t just wing it when asking for referrals. Craft a script and role-play. Get feedback and
practice again. Make your first ten appointments with people who will be favorable toward your
request for referrals after they have made their giving decisions. Whether you ask the person in the
initial appointment or whether you ask them in the shorter follow-up visit, here is what I say.
“Mr. Smith, before I go, there may be one more very important way you can help me. I want to
quickly get to full support and my ministry assignment, but I’m limited in the number of people I know
personally in this area. Would you take a moment to think about all the people you and your family
know? If you are open to it, I’d like to write down a few names of people you think might share our
mutual concern for the lost. I would love to have the opportunity to sit down and share the ministry
with them as I have with you.”

HELP THEM THINK OF NAMES

If your contact doesn’t give you names, it may be they’re not stonewalling you, they just need their
memory jogged. If possible, do a little advance homework. If they are part of a church, small group,
or club, you might mention them one at a time to see if names come to their mind. For example, if they
are an attorney in town, you might bring a list of other attorneys in the city to let them peruse the
names. This will help uncover others in their profession they think might be open to meeting with you.
If they give you names, ask if they have phone numbers and addresses available.

ENLIST THE PERSON TO ADVOCATE FOR YOU

You never know how much the individual or couple you meet is willing to do for you until you
ask. As a follow-up request, Nehemiah gave the king specifics of what to include in his reference
letters. Then Nehemiah held on to those letters, and he was the one who decided when and how they
should be sent. If a person you meet with is willing to give you names, use discernment as to the most
effective way to contact them. Craft an e-mail or letter for your advocate to individually send out to
their friends. They will obviously want to look at it, tweak it, and approve it. At the right time, when
you are ready to follow up on those referrals, ask your advocate to send out those e-mails or letters to
their contacts. Coordinate the timing so you can begin the follow-up calling a few days later to initiate
appointments.

TRIANGLES OF TRUST
Make a list of some of your close friends and associates. After you have met with and secured
giving commitments from these individuals, make a follow-up request. Ask: “Who do you know well
enough that they would meet with me, simply because you asked them to?” Those names and
appointments will probably be good ones, because a triangle of trust is created whereby your friend’s
credibility and that relationship is now extended to you.
If you have divided your contacts into high-, medium-, and low-priority, a referral from your high
category will normally be a better referral than one from your medium category. A medium will be
more favorable than low. Prioritize them accordingly.

MAKING ASKS FROM A DISTANCE

What if someone lives so far away you can’t meet with them face-to-face? Don’t be the guy who
reasons: “I live all the way over here in Dallas, and it’s a whole hour of rush traffic to Fort Worth.
I’m just going to call or e-mail him instead.” There may be an occasional isolated contact with
limited resources that it may not be good stewardship of your time and money to go see. If so, send a
personal letter or e-mail, greeting them and sharing about your life and ministry. Give them details of
your support goal and desire to invite them onto your monthly team for a certain amount or range.
Include a simple brochure explaining your work. Give them a certain day you will contact them.
Once they get your information, call and catch up. Be sure they got the letter or e-mail. Ask if they
have questions. See if they have been able to pray and make a decision about joining your team. If
yes, make sure you’re very specific about the exact next steps to get them started. Ask if they can go
ahead and get started that month. Inform them of the various giving options. I say something like,
“Today is the 15th and you mentioned you could get started this month. That’s great! I am putting a
self-addressed stamped envelope in the mail tomorrow. If you can fill out your check (or other
option) and put it back in the mail by the 25th, it should get to me by the 1st. If I haven’t received it by
the 10th, something happened to it in the mail. I will call you. Thanks so much!”

NO NINE-TO-FIVE SCHEDULE
You don’t clock in and clock out during this season of support raising. There may be days you
start out meeting someone at 6 a.m. and don’t get home that evening until 11 p.m., having had a full
day of appointments. It can be a crazy schedule that has to be very flexible. Self-discipline during the
support-raising time is essential. Spare moments between meetings could be used for letter writing,
setting up appointments, thank you or reminder texts, prayers, phone calls, even reading or exercise.
Don’t get idle for any reason. It can be a killer. Your donors will not sense that you are a man or
woman on a mission. Don’t neglect to insert periodic days of Sabbath rest during your support-raising
journey. Time to get alone with God, refocus, and refresh will be essential.
 26

You Need
THE CHURCH

Lance came to the Lord in college. He began sharing his faith, making disciples, and gaining a heart
for the world. Upon graduation, he got married, applied to a mission agency, and began raising his
support. In addition to asking his family and friends to join his team, he also approached the church he
was raised in. This was on old-fashioned church with a world map in the foyer. On it were placed the
pictures of the one hundred missionaries they were supporting—each for $200 a month. They were so
proud of the number of workers who had come out from their body. They were also proud of the
amount they were giving to each.
Then, in walks Lance. He went to the missions’ committee meeting held every Sunday afternoon.
It was full of older men wanting to quickly wrap up the meeting so they could get to their pro football-
game watching. They were all supportive of Lance and obviously going to get behind the young man
who grew up there. Lance went through his presentation, but noticed the men were yawning and
anxious for him to finish up. He moved rapidly to his ask by saying, “I am required to raise $4,600 of
monthly support to get me to China. I want to ask you, as my home church, to come on my team for
$2,300 a month—50% of my total budget.”
The moment “$2,300 a month” came out of Lance’s mouth, each man’s head instantly jerked up.
Their eyes bulged open. They started stammering and stuttering all at once: “Well, well, yes, Lance,
we, we, want to support you, but, but you know that all anyone ever receives is $200 a month. That,
that’s what we always give.” Finally Lance was able to quiet them down and responded, “I
understand, but will you at least pray about it?” Oops. That incited a whole new chorus of chaotic
jabbering. These old guys attempting to blunt Lance’s request with a bundle of reasons why it was an
impossibility. At last, Lance exited the meeting. A friend on the committee later told him, “Wow, did
we have a missions’ committee meeting when you left! You rearranged the circuits of the ‘we’ve
always done it this way crowd!’”
When Lance came back the following Sunday to get their decision, the men unanimously
proclaimed; “Let’s do it! 50% of your budget. We’ll provide $2,300 a month.” Right now, you may
be thinking your church would never ever be willing or able to support you at that level. Well, if
Lance’s “stuck in a rut” church was willing to reconsider their ancient policies, maybe yours will too.
Many times, we have not… because we ask not.
I challenge you to ask your home church for 20 to 50% of your total budget. What’s the worst they
could say? “I’m so sorry we can’t do 20 to 50%, but would 15% help?” Absolutely! They will never
forget the boldness you demonstrated. They will respect you for asking what no one else has ever
dared to ask for. They will be open to future increases to your team, surmising you must really
believe you and your ministry are a strategic investment. God may very well surprise you if you are
willing to lay it all on the line by asking big. A disclaimer: Having one church take such a huge
portion of your support has potential negatives. If the pastor or finances of the church change, or they
decide to attach unreasonable demands to their support, it can put your team in jeopardy. So, use
discernment—and keep working on increasing the number of individuals who are giving monthly.

HOW NOT TO RAISE SUPPORT FROM CHURCHES

The apostle Paul had local congregations investing in his work. Why shouldn’t we? There’s a
right way and a wrong way to do so. I have observed all kinds of desperate things Christian workers
do to get to full funding. Some are unwilling to set up face-to-face appointments with individuals to
ask for support. Instead they decide to try the mass appeal approach with churches across the country.
Missionaries spend tons of time and money preparing bulging packets filled with a cover letter,
brochures, video, pledge card, and return envelope. They confidently mail them to hundreds of
churches at a time, fully believing every pastor will eagerly open, read, and immediately respond
with a large gift from their missions’ budget. Not a good approach.
Going to people you do know will almost always bear more fruit than approaching churches you
don’t know.

Some finally discover this older and more expensive form of spamming doesn’t yield results and
decide to take to the road instead. Believing they have the gift of public persuasion, they pile their
family into a car and go from town-to-town, church-to-church, delivering impassioned speeches about
their ministry. They hope the congregations will give them large love offerings. After a year or two,
those offerings have barely covered the hotel, food, gas, and repair bills. Worst of all, they’re no
closer to having a solid monthly support team! What they are left with is a worn-out car and a worn-
out family in the process. I understand why some denominations want their workers to travel like this
to spread vision to their local churches, but the wear and tear on the missionaries can be substantial.

HOW TO RAISE SUPPORT FROM CHURCHES

Work smarter, not harder. Let’s develop a strategy for church partnerships, but don’t go
overboard. I know of one man who bragged to me about having one hundred churches on his team.
Problem was, they were all giving only $25 a month. Some even had “strings attached” to their $25!
He was expected to fly back at his own expense to their missions’ conference. Another worker was
required to send in extensive reports each year justifying the support he received. Still others are
asked to plan and host short-term trips the church was sending to them.
Besides, how could anyone stay connected and caring for that many congregations and their
leadership? Impossible. We should have a few churches on our team, but we need to be more wise
and strategic as to which churches we ask and how we invite them to partner with us. Here are some
ideas:

START WITH YOUR HOME CHURCH

The place to begin is with your home church. If you don’t have one, get one! But choose wisely.
Yes, select one who will embrace your ministry and support requests. By the way, where’s the verse
that says you can only have one home church? Along with the church in which you’re currently
involved, what about the church you grew up in? Why can’t that also be your home church? And what
about the one you attended while in college, or the one you served in for ten years before you moved
to your current city? These congregations are going to most likely feel the strongest about partnering
with you. Please let them join you.

SHARE WITH THE PASTOR

Begin here. You don’t want your pastor to hear secondhand about you going into ministry or
raising support from his church. It’s far better that he hear it directly from you—early on in the
process. He may not be familiar with your organization or the concept of personal support raising. He
may be one of the few people who ask to see your budget. Have it available.
Ask him what the steps are for applying to the church for support. Seek to honor him by getting his
advice and guidance. If you want to get his buy-in, you’d better let him weigh-in. Listen to what he
tells you. Try to follow it. Coming to him first, and in a personal way, may prompt him to give you
some insider information on how to approach the missions’ committee for support.
Ask him which people in the church he would recommend you approach. These are going to be
good names. Being able to call someone and say, “The pastor recommended I talk to you,” carries a
lot of weight. Years ago, my pastor responded to this request by giving me only one name—a
prominent businessman I didn’t know personally. As I met with him, his skepticism turned to extreme
generosity when he understood the pastor had given me his name. Bingo!
Ask him personally to come on your team. This is going to be fun. Call up your pastor and request
an appointment to share your ministry vision and financial goals. He is obligated to meet with you
because you are one of his parishioners. Right? As you lay out your ministry vision, ask him to come
on your team. He’ll be confused. “You’re asking to be supported by the church, right?” He will
inquire with a puzzled look. “Yes, Pastor,” you say. “I certainly want to approach the missions’
committee to be supported by the church. Today, though, I am just talking to you. It would be an
incredible honor, and put such a deep strength into us, if you and your family would personally come
on our monthly support team.” He won’t know where to take the conversation. He’s been approached
a hundred times by Christian workers requesting support from the church, but this is the very first time
he has ever been asked personally like this!
It’s a win-win regardless of how he responds. If he says yes and comes onto your monthly team,
think how much strength and credibility that will give you as you approach others. Even if he says he
cannot, he will probably feel compelled to be an advocate for you, offering to give you names, speak
to the church, and write a reference letter on your behalf.
I can’t tell you how many pastors I have talked to over the years who have been local church
pastors for decades and have never once been asked to come on a worker’s personal support team.
What a tragedy. Start with the senior pastor, then call up the assistant pastor, then the next one in line.
Meet with each of the staff. Word will get out, “She’s a comin’!” That’s okay. Just do it anyway. Each
of them deserves a once-in-a-lifetime experience to have this kind of appointment and opportunity to
invest in a real Great Commission worker. It might just change the course of their lives.

SPEAKING TO GROUPS
 Exercise self-control when asked to speak or make appeals in group settings. No doubt you’ll be
invited to address Sunday school classes, worship services, home groups, and evening desserts. I’m
not saying turn these down, just use discernment as to which ones you accept and how you present
yourself and ministry. Just because you’re invited to share your support presentation with the
wealthiest Sunday school class in the whole city, don’t get too excited. Ellis Goldstein doesn’t think
asking in large groups is near as effective as one-on-one. He likes to share that often-quoted
principle, “Every man’s challenge is no man’s challenge.”81 So, when asked to speak to groups, apply
this overriding principle in all your decision-making. Don’t do anything in a group that would in any
way hamper you getting individual appointments. Cases in point:

SCENARIO #1: SMALL GROUP INVITE

This is a Sunday school class, home group, or dessert sponsored by friends. If you choose to
accept, get there early and stay late, meeting and greeting, remembering names and building rapport.
When it comes time to make your presentation, don’t take the whole hour and pour out your entire
ministry vision. Just take five minutes to thank them, introduce yourself, the name of your ministry,
and finish off with a key verse and a brief story of a transformed life who has been impacted through
your ministry. All in five minutes!
Then transition to, “There is so much more about our ministry vision, organization, and financial
goals I would love to share. I am committed to doing that on a more personal, individual basis. I
know you’re busy. It would be a tremendous honor for me to be able to squeeze into your schedule for
a short twenty or thirty minutes sometime soon to go more in-depth into the work the Lord has led us
into.”
After this you can follow up with one of two options:
• Pass out contact cards
“If you don’t mind, I’d like to pass out this little card to everyone. If you’d be willing to simply
write your name and phone number down, I will do my very best to get back with each of you and find
out when a convenient time might be to get together. I would be grateful for the opportunity.”
Collecting those cards, you will get back about fifteen from that group of thirty. Out of those fifteen
you’ll secure about six to seven appointments. Out of those appointments you’ll gain around two to
three monthly supporters and two to three special gifts. Those could turn into monthly or annual gifts
in the future if you follow up correctly with them.
• Just contact everyone
“I would like to do my best to get back with as many of you as possible to try to set up an
appointment with you. If you don’t mind I will be in touch with you this next week or the following.
Thanks again.” You will need to coordinate with a friend in that class or the director to get all the
names and numbers of the attendees that day. Then pray, plan, and start calling!

The twenty hours you put into planning a big fund-raising dessert could be used much more wisely
and produce far superior amounts of faithful, ongoing support by simply having twenty one-hour
appointments. There’s no comparison. If your ministry does plan some kind of annual banquet, don’t
use it as a fundraiser as much to meet, greet, and get their contact information. Now those one hundred
attendees don’t just chip in their $100 to cover the meal. No, they are now going to each get an
individual visit from a staff member inviting them to come on to their support team for $100 a month!
In other words, use any group gathering you organize as a means to an end, not an end itself. The end?
Individual appointments. Individual asks.

SCENARIO #2: CHURCH SERVICE INVITE

Resist the temptation to accept the pastor’s offer to use an upfront speaking opportunity before the
congregation to unveil your ministry plans and goals. Take the five-minute teaser route I previously
described, then sit down. Or take the whole session, but use it to share a message from the Bible
highlighting key passages revealing the heart of God for the lost. (Likewise, you could use the whole
class time at one of the small groups previously described to give a visionary message from the
Word.)
If you elect to use the small or large group invite to go ahead and present your full ministry vision
or make an appeal, it will automatically undermine your ability to secure individual appointments
with the majority of the people present. If afterwards you do attempt to call and meet with them
personally, they’ll naturally ask, “Why do we need to meet? I heard the details of your work. What
else could we possibly talk about?”
Also, if you give the traditional announcement: “If anyone wants to know more about our ministry,
we have a sign-up sheet at the back table,” you will regret it. If only four people out of the 500
present sign your sheet, ethically how can you approach the other 496? And if you do, they will think,
“Why are you calling me? I didn’t sign your sheet!”

Make sure everything you do or say in a group setting helps, not hinders, getting individual
appointments.

UNIQUE CHURCH CHALLENGES

As a former pastor, I still remember all the demands put on me by so many. Over the years I’ve
had the privilege of interacting with thousands of different pastors from almost every denomination.
My respect for them is immense. I have observed that the pressures of keeping the church and building
budgets fully funded can have an effect on how a pastor interprets certain passages. That constant
financial stress can influence the attitudes and approaches they develop toward parachurch ministries
and support raisers.82 Here are three challenges you may face when approaching churches:

DENOMINATIONAL CHURCHES
Having been a pastor of a denominational church, I know the limitations that are placed on church
leadership to only fund programs and people who are officially associated with them. I am haunted by
the look of utter despair—and even betrayal—I have seen on the faces of zealous young missionaries
who were going to their own home church for support only to be turned away due to their calling to a
nondenominational work. All you can do is go to the church leadership and make your case for
support. If they are unable to provide funds from their budget, this may make them more willing to
allow you to meet with individuals in the church.
HIGHLY STRUCTURED FUNDING FORMULAS
It’s encouraging many churches are specifically thinking through how they want to more
strategically disperse their giving dollars. However, God does not always fit into those well-
intentioned categories and percentages! As you approach your church, you may try to do research in
advance to understand the breakdowns and ministries they do and don’t support. When you make your
presentation, seek to highlight the aspects of your ministry that fit into the kinds of work the committee
is committed to funding.

HIGH-CONTROL LEADERSHIP
Some pastors seem to think it is “my church” and “my people” and “my budget.” It can feel like he
is building his own church, rather than Christ’s. I’m sure they have good motives, but you may want to
be prepared to present creative alternatives. For example, if they make you choose between accepting
support from the church or approaching individual members, which should you choose? Always
choose individuals, but I don’t think you’ll have to. Here’s what I would say to that church leader:
“Ma’am, I must have my home church on my team. How can I possibly go to other churches or
individuals and ask for support if my own church is not behind me? It cuts the slats right out from
underneath me! But, I have another dilemma. I have all these personal relationships in the church, and
they’re waiting for me to come to them and include them in my support team. They’ll be angry if I
don’t! I understand the reasoning behind your policy in you don’t want outsiders to come and use our
church directory for solicitation. May I present a plan to you to see if it might be acceptable? Here is
a list of the thirty-two couples in our church I am close to and that are expecting me to contact them. I
promise not to approach any of our members for support outside of this list before I gain your
permission first. Will that work?”

FINAL TIPS
Create and present a customized version of a Levels of Giving chart to present to churches in your
time with the missions’ committee. Showing them how they might fit into your “Church Anchor Donor
Team” on a monthly or annual basis will vividly show them what their part to play is.
Find key advocates in various churches. You can scatter full-color ministry packets out to
churches across the country, but you’ll be sorely disappointed in the results. Instead, get your entire
list of contacts out, pray and peruse over them, determine which of those individuals have some
significant involvement and influence in their own local church. Write them a note, asking them to
advocate on your behalf to key decision makers in their congregation. Take their cues as to what the
steps are for partnering with them to make a request to the church. Your odds of success just went up!
Whether you realize it or not, you are one or two contacts away from hundreds of key churches
across the nation. Don’t base your entire support-raising strategy on going from church-to-church, but
having several key congregations behind you can make a real difference. The Lord has already
prepared a few churches to partner with you. Your job now is to discover them!
 Section VI
NURTURE YOUR FLOCK

Life is grounded in relationships.

We must be intentional to be relational.
 27

Three Laws of
GIVING

Gavin gave me the news. He was leaving our staff. It was hard to see him go. Over the last five
years, he had taken a ministry from nothing to hundreds. Students converted, disciples made, laborers
launched. Now he was leaving us. Did his calling change? Was the Lord transitioning him? I asked a
few questions, but I was not prepared for what I was about to hear. Gavin, who had raised his support
in record time, told me something that surprised me. He had lost half his supporters over the previous
few years. He won them, but he did not know how to keep or lift them.
Don’t let Gavin’s story become your story. Yes, pray and work hard to get to full support. Pack up
all your stuff and report to your assigned city. Your relationship with your donors is strong. You’re
excited. They’re excited. You’ve pumped them up about your incredible ministry, and them being a
strategic member of your support team. You’ve promised you would be a committed ministry
“partner”—praying for them, keeping them informed and involved. Yes, the expectations we create
during this honeymoon are sky high. But some of us end up over-promising and under-delivering.
Don’t we?
In the book Raving Fans by Blanchard and Bowles, they describe how employees can create such
satisfied customers they become raving fans of that company. The abiding loyalty produced in their
clientele is so strong and lasting they would never even think about going to a competitor. 83 I began to
ask the same question regarding my supporters. How can I treat them in such a way they would never
want to leave my team? And when others inquired, they would always give a good report of me, my
ministry, and the way I have cared for them.
What if you resolved in your heart you were going to actually over-deliver what you had
promised to your new supporters? Determine how you will honor and cherish your ministry partners
in such a way they would never want to redirect their giving dollars anywhere else. Sound intriguing?
If so, let’s find out how to create “raving fans” of our supporters.
My uncle just shakes his head in disbelief. He is unable to grasp why I choose a seemingly small
and fixed level of income to live on. He is also unable to grasp I have the most secure job on the
planet! Most people believe their college degree, hard work, and the supposedly unbreakable U.S.
economy will guarantee a good job and long-term stability. I’ve been offered several jobs during my
years of living and ministering on support, many of which paid more. A lot more.
Of course, all security and stability comes from God, and God alone. But humanly speaking, that
esteemed executive position with a corner office, silver nameplate, and six-digit salary is like the
fescue seed I scattered in my yard yesterday. It can vanish at the first wisp of a wind. I feel totally
different about my support team. Do you know people who hesitate to make the jump from their
secure secular job and monthly paycheck to go into full-time ministry and raise their unsecured
support? Help them rethink their perspective. Taking that step may be the most stable, steady, secure
thing they’ve ever done!
As for Carol and me, God has given us monthly and annual supporters who live in different parts
of the country and work in various industry sectors. Similar to a stockbroker’s advice, it’s wise to try
to develop a diversified “portfolio” team of givers, if possible. If the economy is hammering my
supporters in the Northeast, my West coast givers probably are doing better and want to share. If my
donors in banking need to cut back for a year or two, my partners in the energy industry may be able
to pour extra funds into our account.
We have around fifty monthly partners, and about thirty or so annual or special gift donors. We
have three churches on our monthly team, but they don’t give a huge amount. Why do we like our team
to be about this size? Well, we can get our arms around a group like that and care for them properly.
Praise God, we’ve won them, but now we need to be faithful to keep them and lift them. Here are
some principles to keep in mind:

MAINTAIN AND CULTIVATE YOUR TEAM

Once you get to 100% support, what are you supposed to do? Well, some people stagger over to
their sofa, plop down, wipe the sweat from their brow and exclaim, “I’m glad that’s over with!” No,
it’s just the beginning. You have simply completed the first one hundred yards of your marathon. That
all-out sprint over the last two, four, six, eight, or ten months now turns into a steady long-distance
race, and you need to pace yourself to stay on course.
Our focus now becomes maintaining and cultivating. “The upkeep of property or equipment” is
how Webster defines maintenance. Not too exciting. But applying the concept to our donor teams, it is
the “process of regularly communicating and appreciating our supporters.” Webster’s defines
cultivation: “to prepare or loosen the soil for the raising up of crops; to foster the growth of; to
improve by labor, care, and study.” For our purposes, let’s use the word to mean “the process of
involving and building lifelong relationships with your current supporters as well as preparing others
to become new ones.”
Every great sports team has a good defense as well as offense. Maintenance is our defense. God
has given us these supporters. We need to hang on to them and try to develop actual relationships with
these precious partners. Don’t be praying for new supporters if you haven’t taken care of the ones
He’s given you. Cultivation is our offense. We need to continually be growing the quantity and quality
of our flock. Our goal should be a healthier and stronger team month-by-month and year-by-year. In
addition, John Patton, operations director for The Center for Mission Mobilization, seeks to
“influence and minister to my supporters, helping them see how their investment is making an eternal
impact. I like to challenge them to get personally involved, and to pray and give more.”

THREE LAWS OF GIVING

Veteran fund-raiser consultant William McCownkey came up with a short overview of the entire
support process. He calls it winning, keeping, and lifting.84

Winning
Up to this point I have majored on getting people on your support team. You started out asking for
$100–$200–$300 per month. It’s possible you had to come down a few notches to fit into a few
budgets. Even if that new supporter is only able to come on for $25 or $50 a month, that’s okay. At
least you’ve got them on your team. That’s a start!

Keeping
Winning them to your team is just first base. Now maintaining their commitment to you and your
ministry is the next stage of a healthy support team.

Lifting
This is the regular cultivating of your current supporters to, at periodic intervals, increase their
investment.

Let’s touch on winning here, then keeping and lifting in the next two chapters.

WINNING
What are the primary motives people joined your team? We are all different, and they invest for a
variety of reasons. For some it is:

To be a partner in something worthwhile

They’ve given to good causes, and maybe not so good ones, but see your mission and passion and
realize this could be an eternal investment.

To participate vicariously
They would love to be there themselves doing ministry, but feel led to stay and give and see the
work accomplished through you.

To accomplish a purpose they want accomplished

They want to see an orphanage built in Zambia or a youth ministry started at their children’s high
school, so they give.

To achieve or maintain a sense of self-worth

This is why people give large gifts to universities or hospitals. They will leave behind a tangible
legacy.

Because they love Christ

They obey Him by giving to you.

Because they love you

They have watched you grow up, or you have touched their child’s life for Christ. These are the
people closest to you.

To receive a blessing
Some donors are motivated by the return. Realize this doesn’t always mean a financial return but
whatever God gives back will be in abundance.
 For financial security
Sometimes individuals, especially those with significant resources, may make a gift to you in
order to reduce their taxable income that year. They would rather give to you than the IRS.

A need to give
It’s an innate, built-in characteristic of human beings. Whether Christian or not, people derive joy
and fulfillment in giving to others.

Because they were asked

From all the studies I have seen, this is always the number-one reason people join your team. In
so many areas of life, support raising included, we simply have not received—because we have not
asked.

YOUR SUPPORTER’S GIVING PASSIONS

Spend time getting to know each of your ministry partners. You might even ask them how they like
to give. Either way, pray, think, and discern what kind of a giver they are. You will notice some
unique characteristics. They will fall into one of these groups:

Some are starters

They love to launch people or projects. They want to provide seed money for a new ministry or
initiative. They like to get in on the ground floor of a new initiative. Approach them first. They will
appreciate it—and give!

Some are finishers

They enjoy the satisfaction of putting you over the top. Let them know when you get to 90% of
your funding, or if you lack a final $2,500 to finish off the cost of a conference. They will jump on the
opportunity to push you over the goal line.

Some are project oriented

They don’t care about coming on your monthly team or committing to an annual amount. They want
you to lay a ministry project in front of them. Specifically pray and seek to customize it to fit their
interests and giving ability. Whether it’s buying Bibles for servicemen on a base or drilling a water
well in Africa, these givers like to see the what, why, and how much of a particular opportunity. They
give to meet the need, and move on—waiting, of course, for the next exciting and visionary project to
be handed to them!

Some are impulsive

When presented with an urgent challenge, and their hearts are moved, they like to be the “go-to”
guys in a pinch. They want to know about last-minute needs or emergencies you may have. If you’re
careful not to overuse these valued givers, they can be your “safety-valve” supporters over the long
haul.

Some are programmed donors

 Approach them before January 1st. Once they have an amount, they are locked in for twelve
straight months. I have a supporter who has not missed a month in nineteen years. He started out at
$41.53 every month; increased to $76.17; later raised to $132.91. Now, after numerous increases
he’s at $462.52 a month. Ask them to increase before their fiscal year begins, and it’s a done deal.

Some are primarily annual donors

They like to make a once-a-year gift to your ministry. Almost always it’s in December. There are
definitely people you know who make extra, and sometimes significant, gifts at this time each year.
For many support raisers, 30 to 40% of their total support comes in during December. This is why
you must have a solid end-of-the-year asking strategy. Beginning November 1 st each year, start to
think and pray about whom you will be approaching in late November or early December for more
substantial end-of-the-year gifts.85

Some want to use their business to bless you

Think through individuals who own a company or practice. They may want to use their profits,
products, or expertise to expand the kingdom. Ask them to partner with you and your ministry.
Christian business owners around the country are sleeping giants, waiting to be awakened!

Some may want to be your key man or woman

Pray over your giving list, looking for individuals who care about you and your cause. Create a
clear job description how they can be of practical help to get you to full support and stay there. Set up
an appointment with them and present the vision for your ministry, the need for a key man, and a job
description for them. Make sure they have a good reputation in the community. Choose someone who
is well-networked. It will be a huge boost to your support-raising efforts. Besides giving themselves,
some of their duties can include: going on appointments with you, as well as setting up appointments
and meetings for you.

ANCHOR DONOR TEAMS

Scott Morton, in his book Funding Your Ministry , uses the word “anchor” to describe a larger
gift you would seek for a monthly or annual commitment.86 I wanted to give it a try with my own
support team. I asked my wife to run a report for me on our giving over the last thirty-six months. I
wanted to see who had given a gift of $500 or more during that time. It was a broad mixture of
regular, annual, and sporadic givers. These individuals would be my candidates to potentially join a
new “$2,500 Annual Anchor Donor Team” my wife and I were launching.
I identified those who gave a $500 to $2,000 gift over the previous three years. I prayed over
which five the Lord wanted us to ask to join this team of investors who would commit at least $2,500
a year. I contacted each of them and all five were excited, even honored, to join. I asked them which
month they would like for me to contact them each year to remind them of their gift. Some of the best
candidates for annual anchor donors are those who have been regular investors to your monthly team,
but who also have the ability to send in a substantial annual gift too.
That was such a positive experience for us, we decided to bump it up and identify supporters who
gave $2,500 to $5,000 gifts over the previous thirty-six months. I again prayed and picked out five to
invite to join an even newer “$5,000 Annual Anchor Donor Team.” Most said yes. They felt
privileged to play such a significant role in our ministry. Prayerfully and personally going to each
individual and extending an invitation to join one of these annual anchor donor teams makes all the
difference. It will for you as well. Many of you may be making smaller annual asks than the levels I
have listed here, some of you much larger.
Matt Burns, managing director for the Perspectives Global study program, uses this approach
extensively. Functioning as his “Levels of Giving” chart, he draws out an aircraft carrier in his
appointments, asking the potential donor to climb aboard with him as they together launch mission
mobilization movements all over the world. He shows the role of “copilot” for one individual who is
willing to invest $20,000 a year. He presents four spots for “Wing Men” who will each commit at
least $10,000–15,000 annually. He shows the ten “Deck Crew” slots where supporters can join him
at $3,000–5,000 each year; and the twenty spots completing the “Fuel Team.” He understands monthly
commitments are a more sustainable way to put a healthy team together, but he combines the monthly
asks with these substantial annual asks. Matt feels so deeply about the power of face-to-face
appointments he has even flown to London and Dubai to meet with top anchor donors.
The question is, how deeply do you feel about it?
 28

The
LOVE BANK

He met her at a wedding. She caught his eye right away. He approached her, but she was leaving
for college the next week, 1,000 miles away. He got her number from her friend and called to ask her
out. She said no. He continued to get to know her and asked her out again. Still no. After two years
she finally said yes to a date. He planned it all out. It was perfect. Not only the first date, but many of
the others. He proposed, and the two were married. Now, after a decade of marriage he still brings
her flowers. He still plans and prepares all their dates. My friend’s motto in marriage? Don’t
overpromise and underdeliver. A great motto in marriage. A great motto in support raising!
When a new supporter comes on our team, your love bank is full of “love points.” You can do no
wrong. But if year-after-year all you do is make withdrawals rather than deposits in that account, at
some point, it will become bankrupt. No wonder they leave our team. There is nothing left in the
relationship! We’ve taken their money month-after-month-after-month, but have not invested anything
back into their lives, families, or walk with Christ.
A disastrous ending to a bright beginning can take place, not only in marriage, but with our
support team. We’ll pay the consequences if we fail to exercise wisdom and foresight and spend the
time to maintain and cultivate our supporters. What is it we are trying to maintain and cultivate?
Relationships. Like a marriage, we need to remember it’s for life. If you simply appreciate and
communicate with your supporters over the long haul, they will stick with you through thick and thin,
whether you are with the same organization or move to another. About 85% or more of our original
supporters are still with us today.
The key is to continue making deposits in the lives of our support team. Just this past Sunday
afternoon I spent two hours writing personal notes in a book I purchased for each of the husbands on
our team about living radically for Christ. At the same time Carol ordered every wife a copy of
Elizabeth Elliott’s classic Through Gates of Splendor, wrote a note in each, and mailed them out. It
costs time and money but it lets them know you care about them for more than just their money.

WHY PEOPLE QUIT GIVING

I’m referring to “lapsed donors,” those who were giving regularly, but for some reason, stopped.
From my informal surveys over the years, I have made some ballpark estimates. Out of every one
hundred donors who dropped off:

Four moved away or died

Sometimes we are unaware of a supporter who moves and quits giving. As they transition banks
and finances, we need to track them down and make the necessary arrangements to keep their giving
going too.
 Fifteen decided a different organization could serve them better
They’re not unhappy with you, they just decided to give somewhere else. Personally, I don’t want
to give up on those people. I will continue to appreciate and involve them, and hopefully see them
rejoin my team in the future. I believe once a team member, always a team member! This affects how
I view them and treat them.

Fifteen are unhappy with your organization

Out of those one hundred lapsed donors, fifteen are disgruntled for some reason. Maybe they
thought they were coming on your support team, but every month they received a high-pressure
appeal from the president of your organization pressing them to give to various projects. They are
tired of it and want out.

Sixty-Six think you don’t care about them anymore

The majority, sixty-six out of those one hundred donors, quit giving because they think you don’t
care about them anymore. And the truth is, they might be right. Ouch! Many times they stop because
they haven’t heard from you in months and months. On the front end, you created some expectations in
their mind about this being an exciting, ongoing “partnership” with lots of communication. It really
didn’t turn out to be quite like you described. Overpromising, but underdelivering can ultimately
ravage your team.

WHEN A DONOR LAPSES

Can you guess what most Christian workers on support do when a regular donor has missed for
two, three, four months, or more? It’s hard to fathom, but most do: Absolutely nothing. They may not
be keeping good records and don’t know the person has missed. Or, if they do know, they are
unwilling to do anything about it. The silent treatment of just hoping or praying they will someday,
somehow restore their giving is the worst way to handle it.
What do you think is going through someone’s mind who has been a regular monthly giver for
years, and for some reason they stopped giving, but have not heard from you for two, three, four
months or more? They assume you either don’t know or don’t care. They begin to think their gift is
insignificant or not needed. So if you have a lapsed donor, don’t avoid it or go into denial, prayerfully
and carefully be proactive. Take the initiative to find out why. What do you have to lose?
When one of our monthly donors misses two months in a row, I give them a phone call at the
beginning of that third month, certainly no later than the fourth. When they pick up, I say, “Hi, Doug.
I’m glad I got you on the line. I wanted to check on you guys. I happen to be looking over our monthly
printout this morning and you had been giving like clockwork for so long, and for some reason you
have missed the last two months. I got concerned about you. Is everything okay with you all?”
90% of the time they respond, “Oh, I’m sorry. We just moved.” or “We just changed banks.” I say,
“No problem at all. Just thankful you all are doing okay. Do you think you might be able to catch up?
Would you be open to moving to an EFT? Most of my supporters have gone to that. It seems a lot
easier for everyone.” A couple of times over the years, after I’ve asked if everything is okay, there’s
a long pause and they say something like, “I really didn’t want to tell you this, but Brooke and I are
separated.” Wow. At this point, the call is no longer about a little $100 monthly gift. No. This is
about helping a friend salvage his marriage! My call to a lapsed donor is truly because I am more
concerned about them than their money.

WRONG ATTITUDES TOWARD YOUR SUPPORTERS

What is the lens you have affixed toward your ministry partners? Are you making excuses as to
why you are not able to invest yourself in staying connected and nurturing them? As you look at these
four excuses, maybe you need to ask the Lord to give you an “attitude adjustment.”

I don’t have enough time

You’re busy and have major responsibilities. You have commitments to family, church, and
community. How are you supposed to juggle everything with this incredible amount of support-raising
logistics? You may feel burned out from constantly negotiating a variety of pressure-filled
obligations. I understand. But, there are some things in life we can’t afford not to do. If the Lord has
called you to this ministry, and to support raising, then it must be a priority. We will always have
conflicts with time. Days will always seem short. It’s a challenge to balance all these areas of life
with support raising, but please learn to do it, and do it well.

I don’t have the money

Wrong answer. Remember what pulls the train—vision, not budget. Determine what is God’s will
for your life and ministry. Go raise the funds to fulfill that. Create an initial, then ongoing support-
raising budget to cover all travel, meals, and calling to get to 100%… and stay there! That gives you
the freedom to continue to maintain and cultivate your ministry partners month-after-month, year-after-
year. Build it into your budget. Don’t let money ever be the determining factor.

I’m not good at keeping in touch

“That’s not my spiritual gift,” one person told me. I had to laugh. I didn’t know it was a spiritual
gift. I thought it was just a decision we made. If I truly care for someone, I’ll continue to take the
initiative to keep in touch. Right? Apply the Golden Rule in support raising—doing to others what
you would like done to you. I have to be honest. My wife and I are on a number of monthly support
teams. If we treated our donors the way some of the people we support treat us, we would have lost
our team long ago.

If they’re really committed, they’ll keep giving

This is the most naïve excuse of all. You and I cannot forget about people and expect them to
continue to support us. Did you know your donors were contacted this week by three different
nonprofits, out of the one million in the U.S.? If we don’t care for our supporters, someone else will!
They are lining up to woo our donors away from us, hoping we will neglect them, so they can be the
beneficiary of our reckless and woeful “ministry partner abandonment.”

PRAY FOR YOUR SUPPORTERS

What greater form of love could you show your ministry partners than to lift them and their needs
up to the Lord? This communicates to them you really do care. God will use your prayers to work in
their lives, but also to spiritually bond you with them. Most likely, you are the only person who is
interceding for them on a regular basis. As you pray,

Get specific requests from them

My wife and I are experimenting with something. We are setting aside one hour a week to make
calls to our supporters. We are working down a list, she to the wives and me to the husbands. We
communicate three things, sometimes just leaving a voice mail: we were just thinking about you; we
are so grateful for your friendship and ministry partnership; give us a couple of specifics we can pray
for you about this upcoming month.
All of our staff are given a half day each month to do nothing but pray. We are interceding for our
families, staff, ministries, and our supporters as well. As Carol and I are prepping for our half-day of
prayer together, we amass the prayer requests we have gathered via our phone calls. We sometimes
send an e-mail to our supporters in advance of our prayer times to collect specific requests. We pray
out loud for our supporters by name, then text them telling them we lifted up their request right then!
We are feeling such a deeper connection to the supporters we are praying for like this. I think the
feeling is mutual.

Pray for passion, vision, and generous giving

Paul prays in Ephesians that the “eyes of their heart” would be enlightened. Ask God to open their
minds and change their perspective so they can clearly see and feel how God is working in and
through your ministry. Ask the Lord to give each of your supporters a burden to get involved in
personal ministry in practical ways. Ask the Lord to prosper your supporters’ companies so they can
give more to God’s work. Ministry partners are always asking me to pray for a particular meeting or
potential deal that could significantly advance their company and profits. I do add them to my prayer
list and specifically lift those up.

KEEPING YOUR TEAM HEALTHY AND VIBRANT

How do you keep your team stable and growing over the long haul? How do you create raving
fans of your support team? Two tips—the first from the mind, the second from the heart.

Keep accurate records

I use a software program to track all my supporters so I can know exactly which individuals are
giving annually, monthly, sporadically, or when asked. Each year I list the stakeholders in our
ministry, from top to bottom. I learned the hard way not to treat everyone the same. Sometimes the
greater the investment, the greater the need is to communicate. The person giving $400 a month may
want to know how their investment is paying off more than the person giving $25. In order to get
complete info on our new supporters, we e-mail a “Getting to Know You” form to fill out and send
back. It includes birthdays, anniversary, children’s names, contact info, church, activities, and prayer
requests. We put them in a notebook and intercede for them during our half days of prayer.

Cultivate a heart of thankfulness

Luke 17 describes ten lepers who were made clean by Jesus. Do you remember how many
returned to offer a thank you to their Healer? One! Amazing. I’d like to think I would come back and
express my gratitude, but it’s hard to know our hearts. We must learn to consistently say “thank you.”
We’ve had staff lose their support teams and drop out of ministry because they could not bring
themselves to genuinely thank their donors for their generous support.

If we are not grateful to our supporters, it’s probably because we are not thankful to God.

All of us possess a basic need to be appreciated—including our supporters! Author John

Maxwell concurs, “Encouragement is like oxygen to the soul.”87 A little appreciation goes a long
way, and that’s why I exhort all support raisers to “Thank before you bank.” When you get a special
gift or an increase, make it a discipline to contact your donor within forty-eight hours. In fact, I do it
within thirty seconds of seeing the gift so as to capitalize on my flash of gratitude! Those are fun calls
to make to my supporters.
May I tell you what most Christian workers do when they receive a new or special gift or
increase? Nothing. Unbelievable! To do nothing is the worst thing you can do. What do you think
goes through the mind of a person who sent in a new or special gift, then doesn’t hear back from you
after two, four, six weeks? About a year ago we sent $500 to a worker we had never given to before
and whom we knew was at low support. Although we talk to him fairly often, he has never even
acknowledged the gift. Did he get it? Does he care? I don’t know, but I thought, “no wonder he’s at
low support,” if he can’t even take a moment to express appreciation. He will continue to struggle
because these first-time gifts really do turn out to be just one-time gifts!
If you choose this less-traveled path of truly caring for the precious people the Lord has gifted to
you, you might find they will also make a choice—to walk alongside you for a lifetime. God is raising
up partners to invest in you. We must thank Him—and them.
 29

Communication
LINES

I got it. Twice a week it came. Every week. Every month. We were supporting them as church
planters, but I began to wonder if they were doing any actual ministry. Their constant e-mails were
packed with news and pictures about their kid’s activities, their weekend sightseeing trips, and the
emotional ups and downs of adopting a local child. It was draining on us. I wanted to let them know
we were interested and praying for them, but didn’t have the heart to say, “Send fewer e-mails, and
let us hear more about your ministry.” It is important to communicate. It is more important to
communicate well!

COMMIT TO COMMUNICATE REGULARLY

If we truly care about those who are sacrificing to allow us to minister, we will do what is
necessary to reach out to them. Some ministries ask their workers to communicate in some form to
their supporters on a monthly basis. Whether it is a newsletter, call, card, or some other medium I
would encourage you to connect with them at least every other month. These are the benefits:

STRONGER ACCOUNTABILITY AND LOYALTY

You’re less likely to sleep in on Monday mornings and check out what is on the afternoon talk
shows if you’re required to report the fruit of your ministry to your supporters on a regular basis.
Know that many of them are up at 6 a.m. every morning and working forty, fifty, sixty hours a week to
earn enough to send their monthly gift to you. This has a way of creating a strong work ethic in us!
Every contact you make with your supporters bonds them to you more closely. Where your treasure is,
there is your heart also, and every time you make the effort to communicate with your donors, it
connects your hearts more, builds loyalty, and creates a long-term allegiance.

ENJOYING YOUR SUPPORTERS

Resolve right now you are going to like your ministry partners. We are commanded to love one
another, but not like! Make up your mind not to view them as necessary evils. No, you are going to
embrace your supporters, not just tolerate them, and choose to enjoy them. This is the greatest
compliment you can pay anyone—that you simply enjoy being with them. You’re not reaching out to
your ministry partners because you have to, but because you want to. Ask the Lord to change your
heart if hanging out with your supporters is not something you naturally gravitate toward.

“We Christians need to be into giving and receiving a lot more than buying and selling!”88
 Betty Barnett and Earl Pitts, Trainers with YWAM

We’ve always lived right next to campus so we can minister to students and have them live with
us. We currently live around the corner from the stadium. On game day we turn our yard into a
parking lot. On our street, Razorback fans pay between $30 and $125 per parking spot! If we parked
sixty cars we could probably clear $2,000+ per game. Carol and I decided it was worth giving up
some parking revenue to rub shoulders, eat a burger, and enjoy our supporters. We are trying to look
at the big picture instead, believing God will honor placing your friendship and hospitality over
short-term financial gains.
As much as you would like it, not every supporter is going to want to be your best friend or take
family vacations together. As hard as you might try to bond with them, they may just want to give their
money to you and your cause, and not get personally involved. That hurts some, but we must let the
donor define the relationship. Continue to reach out and appreciate them, but you can’t force it.

WELCOMING THEM TO THE TEAM

When someone joins your team, what do you do? Have a plan. Go through all the necessary steps
to show your new supporter what the giving options are, how to get started, how the receipting works,
answering any and all of their questions. You want to get all of their contact info so you can get
started communicating with them. As mentioned, you can do that through a Get to Know You sheet of
some kind. Send an immediate thank-you note. Why not do something special for them to communicate
how excited and grateful you are to have them on the team? If there is a favorite book or CD you think
will encourage your new supporter, send it with a handwritten card. Brainstorm and think of creative
ways to make them feel a part.

COMMIT TO COMMUNICATE WELL

As you begin to evaluate how you are going to regularly communicate with your supporters, don’t
drift back to a budget-driven approach. Don’t ask how much will it cost to send that newsletter or this
gift. No, determine you will be vision-driven, asking what can you do that will be the most effective
way to reach out to your ministry partners. Use all these avenues:

IN PERSON
Any opportunity you have to get face-to-face with your supporters on an individual basis, take
advantage of it. Schedule at least one meal or coffee per week to meet one-on-one with a different
donor. No agenda beyond catching up. At the end of a year, you will have connected with fifty-two
different partners. You do that enough, and I promise your supporters will begin to view themselves
as not just your donor, but your friend. When you travel, make sure to give your ministry partners in
those cities a call so you can meet. Most of them have never had a Christian worker they support ask
them to get together. Don’t be surprised if they are stunned by your invitation! Note: if you are
overseas or have supporters who live far away, why not schedule fifteen-minute Internet-based video
conversations with a different donor each week to share and catch up?
IN SMALL GROUP SETTINGS
We have traveled to cities and planned a small drop-in reception at one of our supporter’s homes.
We do the necessary contact work ahead of time to make sure who is coming. We’ve hosted a
weekend “snacks and play” gathering at a local park where the adults can talk while the children
play. Some host other kinds of events with success, like small desserts, or even banquets where a
more formal presentation of their ministry can be shared. Some of the settings may be a perfect venue
for a current donor to bring a friend, introduce them to you and the ministry, and thus provide a natural
lead-in for you to follow up with a call and support appointment.

HANDWRITTEN NOTE
I was thinking about a particular businessman in Dallas and wrote him a postcard. I let him know
I was praying for him. A few days later I received a check from him for $5,000. I, of course,
immediately called to thank him. He said, “I put your card on my mirror to remind me each morning
that someone is praying for me.” A simple postcard meant that much to a prominent businessman, who
has all the trappings of a successful life? We do live in a lonely world. I urge you to connect with
people on your support team. You will be so glad you did.

PHONE CALL, E-MAIL, TEXT

With so many other things pressing, it takes commitment to communicate with your supporters
regularly. When I’m on a road trip, instead of listening to the radio, I will spend the time in the car
calling through the list of my supporters. During that time, I can have thirty short conversations or
leave voice mails. How easy it is to simply say, “Greg! Just driving along here thinking about you and
your family, and how grateful we are for your friendship, and for being a ministry partner with us. It
means a lot, and puts so much strength into us. As I hang up, I will lift you all up to the Lord. Thanks
again!” That took thirty seconds. It is probably the only time they’ve ever received a message like that
from one of the Christian workers they support. How encouraged they will be.
Utilize an e-mail service and create a template where you can send out personalized newsletters
that include links, pictures, and videos. Find one that allows you to see who has opened your
newsletters. Every six months, I print a list of everyone who’s been opening my newsletter and circle
the people who I’ve never approached for support. I always have a handful of new names to call for
appointments!
I find myself regularly texting with my supporters, asking them to pray about a gospel appointment
I am about to have with a student, or a meeting I am scheduled to speak at, or asking them for prayer
requests, or a follow-up to a conversation we had about their sick teenager. The list goes on. It is
quick and easy and many times they are more likely to respond to a text than a phone call.

SOCIAL MEDIA
Where does it end? Where are we going with all this technology? How can we possibly keep up?
It can seem like a runaway freight train overloaded with complex technology. If you are having a hard
time keeping up with all the new social media options constantly popping up, you’re not alone.
Netpop Research’s surveys claim eighteen- to thirty-four-year-olds make up 82% of all the social
media users.89 How about you? Have you embraced the social media “tsunami”? Here’s a few do’s
and don’ts of using it for support.

“If you’re not engaging in social media today, you’re not a communicator; every individual has
an online brand.”90
Marcus Messner, Journalism Professor at VCU

Do explore the different options.

Ask lots of questions, experiment with a few things. See what works for you.

Don’t think social media is the secret to full support.

It’s great to initially contact someone or to keep them informed of your life and ministry along the
way, but for those who are building a long-term support team, nothing substitutes the face-to-face ask.
In this high-tech age, there are some times we must still insist on being high touch. Take the personal
approach.

Do utilize social media for short-term projects.

There is a place for putting a Donate Here link on a web page. Quick and easy, you may get a
burst of small gifts that put you over the $3,250 figure you need to get you to those Haitian orphans
this summer.

Don’t abuse your supporters by overcommunicating.

You can overwhelm your ministry partners if they constantly get messages, e-mails, links, videos,
blogs. Get started developing a social-media strategy, but don’t let it morph into a social-media
circus!

Do use social media in your individual-support appointments.

Instead of spending ten minutes droning on about how great your ministry is, show them a
testimony of a video interview of a changed life. Or click to your ministry’s social media page. Let
them see posts left by various couples whose marriages are being restored. We live in a very visual,
storytelling world. If you can show them rather than just tell them what kind of eternal return on
investment they’ll be receiving, you will see people jump on your support team!

Don’t be foolish about what you post to your social-media sites.

If you use them to complain to the world, make political commentary, post vacation pics, just
know that all your donors who are following you will see them too. Don’t ever put something up that
will be a stumbling block or hurt your credibility with them.

SPECIAL DAYS AND GIFTS

Remember birthdays and anniversaries. The older you grow, the fewer people remember your
special days. I carry my “Important Dates” list with me everywhere I go. A week does not go by I am
not calling, texting, e-mailing, or postcarding happy birthday or anniversary to multiple supporters.
Care enough to remember your supporters’ birthdays and anniversaries. Don’t overlook their
children, either. You take an interest in someone’s child, and they will never forget you.
My wife has perfected the art of making toffee. It’s delicious! Years ago we started sending some
to our supporters each Christmas. One hundred fifty boxes go out each December 1st. Carol at the
stove stirring and giving directions, while the rest of us are chopping, boxing, including little notes
and pictures, and rushing off to the post office. It requires a lot of time, energy, and money to pull it
off, but it is well worth it. There’s a man who sends in $1000 each year. He told me, “You know why
I send in that $1,000 each year, don’t you?” I said, “No. Why?” “Because of the toffee!” he spouted. I
laughed and replied, “We’d still send the candy even if you didn’t send the gift.” “Yeah, I know,” he
said, “but I just wanna make sure!” He was joking, of course, but a just sending a small gift was a
tangible display of our love and appreciation for him and his wife. Yes, it costs money for the
ingredients and postage to send all the toffee, but his single $1,000 gift almost covers it.

NEWSLETTERS
Your supporters really do want to hear from you. If you establish healthy communication patterns
with them, it will be “like cold water to a weary soul, so is good news from a distant land,”
according to Proverbs 25:25. Some of your ministry partners will save every single one of your
newsletters. Whether you are producing hard-copy newsletters or e-mail versions, look at what others
have produced and borrow the best of the best. Let’s look at the bad, then the good of newsletters.
Include any of the elements below, and it will be your demise.

Distress signal
Inserting a “We’re going under unless you give!” message in your newsletter may work once, but
doing it again raises huge questions about your ability to raise and manage funds. Never do it.

Hint-hint support raising

Instead of asking others face-to-face to join your team, you slip in subtle hints in the prayer
requests, hoping it will act as a subliminal message producing an instant craving to send you money!
Even worse, is if you include envelopes to do “the ask” for you. The ultimate manipulation? Putting a
stamp on it to guilt us into giving.

All family news

As excited as we are about your son’s baseball or your daughter’s ballet, your supporters are not
investing in you to find out your kid’s sports scores. Have a small family section periodically, but
focus on the ministry’s progress and changed lives.

Sea of words
A newsletter that’s all text overwhelms your supporters. If it has no pictures, captions, graphics,
or white space, it won’t have many readers either.

Poor talk
Publishing pics of the old van with 250,000 miles on it, or sharing about how neighbors gave
clothes to your kids, or explaining that health insurance has gone up makes you look like beggars. It
diminishes the honor and calling of your ministry role.

These bad ones normally go straight to my file folder on how not to do newsletters. But, if you
want to create “raving fans” of your supporters, here’s how:

Get permission
Ask if they would like to receive a newsletter. Then they won’t view it as junk mail. If they are
not supporters yet, this can open the door for future appointments.

Insist on a standard of excellence

A well-written, well-designed newsletter says everything about us—and our ministry. This is one
reason to have a very sharp person proofread it. Don’t skimp on cost. A full-color newsletter
increases readership 60%. It’s worth it.

Make it all about vision

Make sure the headlines, pictures, stories, and prayer requests stay focused on the vision of the
ministry. Even in my family news section, we try to highlight my kid’s ministries, not their school
awards. I want my supporters to understand it’s a family affair and they’re getting seven for the price
of one with their monthly investment!

Focus on changed lives

Each newsletter should include a picture and story of a transformed life. It doesn’t always have to
be someone you led to Christ. A person impacted by your ministry is great too. Your supporters are
making spiritual investments, and they want to see the dividends. I show these kinds of newsletters to
my family to help build vision and passion in our children’s hearts.

Keep it simple
Put everything on the bottom shelf. Assume your supporters don’t know anything about your
ministry and it’s the first time they have ever read your stuff. Don’t confuse or try to impress them by
using religious jargon, acronyms, or insider-speak that your staff understands—but no one else!

OTHER NEWSLETTER ESSENTIALS

Decide on the frequency
Your supporters need to hear from you at least every other month. Some organizations say
monthly. Many support raisers only send out e-mail newsletters, but this is a mistake. Your e-mails
may be caught by spam filters. E-mail addresses change all the time. And think about how full your
own e-mail box is. Much of the stuff you get is never opened, much less read. Commit to doing at
least three to four printed newsletters each year, and fill in the rest with e-mail versions. Social
media updates can be on top of that, not replacements. Keeping us on their radar means they will be
more likely to continue to pray and invest.

The purpose of newsletters is to share vision and change lives.

Map out the themes

 Why not plan a year in advance and come up with a schedule of themes you can follow? That
way, you won’t be wondering at the end of each month what you should write on—due in three days!
This past year, I interviewed a different person each month that has been impacted by our ministry. I
include their story and picture in a monthly e-mail entitled One Life to Give. We got some great
feedback as they clearly saw what the return on investment was for their giving.

Mix in quality ingredients

Don’t start off with “We have three great Bible studies in the dorm this fall.” Hook them in with
excitement and suspense instead: “As I was walking through Pomfret Dorm third floor, the smell of
pepperoni pizza was wafting out of the cracked door of room 338. As I poked my nose in I was
astonished to see…” Whoa! Where are you going with this? Write so they look forward to receiving
and reading it each time. Make it a story, not just stale information.

Special note for admin or “behind the scenes” staff

The fruit the Lord raises up through your ministry is also your fruit. Never succumb to the lie that
you don’t have great news to share with your supporters. Yes, it may have been one of the field staff
out there who actually did the rescuing of a group of orphans in Zambia. But it was you who prayed. It
was you who did all the paperwork to bring them on staff and orient them. It was you who helped
design their support-raising materials and helped plan their travel to Africa. It’s you who provide the
week-by-week communication and tools they need to stay on the field and continue to rescue orphans.
You are just as essential to the overall work in Zambia as the staff on the ground.
So gather stories of changed lives from your field staff and use them in your own newsletters.
Don’t focus on the office news or the specifics of your job. Instead, publish the pictures and
testimonies of how Christ is impacting lives. Show your supporters how their investments in you and
your organization are being incredibly multiplied, the kingdom is being expanded, and God is
glorified.
Will you make a commitment now to truly care for your supporters? You’ve won them to your
team, now keep them by communicating regularly and communicating well. You will strengthen the
bond you have with each of them. If you do, they may well stick with you and your ministry team—for
a lifetime!
 30

THRIVE!

I remember the day my perspective changed. It was Scott. He had joined my support team for $100
a month. Things were going great until he lost his job with one brokerage firm and had to start over
with another. During this time he wanted to meet. As I was driving to the appointment I braced myself
for the news that he needed to drop off my team.
Just as we sat down he said, “I’ve been on your team for over two years now, and you’ve never
asked me to increase. Not one single time. How come?” I was stunned. I didn’t know what to say. I
started stammering and muttering all kinds of ummms and uhhhs, trying to come up with some
response.
Finally he broke in and emphatically said, “Well, ask me!”
I nervously replied, “How about possibly, increasing, what you, um, are currently giving?”
“Well how much do you want me to increase?” he bellowed.
“Oh, yes, well, uh,” I stalled, then timidly added, “how about maybe, uh, moving it, from say,
$100 to $200 a month?”
“Well, when do you want me to start?” he shot back.
“Could you possibly, um, get started, this month?” I inquired.
Thinking my grilling was finished, he continued, “Well, over this past year, which of your other
supporters have you asked to increase?”
“Pa-past ye-year?” stretching each word out to buy me some time. “Lemme think. I’ve been real
busy this year. Uhhh.” It was obvious I couldn’t think of anyone. He made me promise I would
contact at least two supporters a month over the next six months and ask them to increase.
I began calling up various ministry partners who had been giving the same amount for years,
whom I had never asked to increase. After catching up, I said, “You know, you guys have been on our
team forever—faithfully giving $75 a month like clockwork. But in all these years I’ve never asked
you to increase, not once. I was just wondering if you would consider giving us a raise?”
Each and every one of them burst into laughter. “Well, of course, we’ll increase” each one
affirmed. “We just thought you didn’t need more support, because you never asked!” During each of
those conversations the Lord was attempting to drill into my mind and heart again: “We have not…
because we ask not.” I seem to keep relearning the same lesson!

You miss 100% of the shots you never take. Translation: the answer is always no… unless you ask!

BENEFITS OF ASKING FOR INCREASES

Besides adding funds to your team, there are other significant plusses for you to periodically lift
your supporters to increase. We don’t ask for increases because we feel like we’re being
unappreciative or presumptuous by asking. If you think that, then you will project those negative
feelings onto your donors. Donna Wilson with InterVarsity concurs, “Our worst fear when asking for
an increase is we’ll be accused of being ungrateful, but I truly believe an upgrade or increase ask is a
no-lose proposition.”91 We all need to improve in this critical area. Consider these benefits of
“upgrading” your supporters:92

You have a contact with them.

Any contact you have with your supporters can enhance your relationship and connection with
them.

You thank them.

You are visiting with them in order to ask for an increase. You will want to saturate the before,
during, and after with thanking them for their current support. Creating one more opportunity to
express an attitude of gratitude can’t be anything but good, right?

You educate them.

Asking them for additional support, we are informing them our support needs increase over time.
This is logical and makes sense to them, but that fact has never crossed their minds! Many of them get
cost-of- living increases in their paycheck. If they’re tithing, they will increase their current giving or
find new places to give. It makes sense to donors your budget also grows with the increase in cost of
living, as well as expansion of your ministry plans and budget.

You prepare them for future giving.

A request to increase can be a positive transaction even if the donor declines. It’s usually not an
issue of whether they would like to increase. Almost all of them would increase if they felt they had
the resources. Now that you have met with them and your request for additional support is shared, it
moves onto their mental list of future needs to fund. I have had ministry partners decline to increase
only to do so at a later date, without being asked. Since I had previously taken the time to share the
opportunity, they increased when they could. From observations over the years, most donors will not
increase unless they are asked. Their lives are just too busy, and it never occurs to them until we
enter their world and bring it to their attention!

GOOD MAINTENANCE IS THE KEY TO INCREASES

There may be supporters you can ask to increase after twelve to eighteen months of giving, but I
normally like to wait closer to twenty-four months before I approach them. A lot of it has to do with
your relationship with them or how well you have been communicating and thanking them. Keeping
them informed and appreciated is the key to getting good responses when you ask for increases.
If you will just do the simple basics of a regular newsletter and periodic thank-you notes or calls,
you will be doing more than 80% of what other support raisers do for their donors. But most
organizations and individual workers thank donors impersonally, or not at all. Thank-you notes
communicate you are a grateful person who values their partnership. Each year evaluate each of your
current supporters. As you do, ask three questions:

Who could increase this year?

 If they have been giving faithfully for twelve to twenty-four months or longer and have never been
asked, they are candidates. If your relationship has deepened, or they have expressed a greater
interest in you or your ministry, they are candidates for an ask even more so. If they were able to
attend an event and see your ministry up close or their income increased, these are indicators it may
be time to “lift” them.

How much could they increase?

Normally I ask for at least a 50 to 100% increase from what they are giving—occasionally more,
occasionally less—depending upon the situation and the discernment the Lord may give me at the
time.

What is the best way to approach them?

Obviously, a face-to-face ask is optimum. A phone ask is next best, with or without a prior e-mail
or letter. Only sending an e-mail or letter with no phone call does more harm than good. It will feel
unappreciative and presumptuous to your supporter.
Over and above what they are already giving, asking for a gift to a special project can be a way to
move donors into deeper involvement. Sometimes supporters who don’t feel comfortable increasing
their monthly gift may be willing to give a special gift for a unique project or need.

MOTIVES ARE VITAL

Like the initial ask, the lifting ask should not be driven primarily by need—but by vision. Carol
and I are on many monthly support teams. When a worker asks me for an increase, I’m looking for
two things:93

Ministry fruit
Is God’s hand on this person’s ministry? Is this person effective? Can he show me a track record
of fruit? In other words, why should I invest further in this person’s ministry if he hasn’t proven
faithful with the initial investment? If the person is ministering on unreached “hard soil,” I will of
course take this into account.

Vision-driven ask
To warrant an increase, I am looking for some new vision or a recast of the original great vision.
The opposite of vision-driven asking is need-driven asking.

SETTING UP THE “LIFTING ASK”

Here is a sample script of what I would say in a phone call or e-mail to set up an appointment
with a current donor to ask for an increase.
“The last couple days, Carol and I have been taking stock of what God has done through our
church-planting ministry the last three years. It’s amazing to see all the lives God has touched for His
glory. As I was thinking and praying about whom I wanted to personally connect with, the Lord
brought you to mind.
“I would love to be able to take you to lunch and share two things. First, I want to thank you in
person and update you on the tremendous impact your generous gifts have made here. These past three
years have been incredible, and I want to share with you a few of the stories. You have been so
consistent to give every single month for three years, and it’s been a tremendous blessing for Carol
and me. Much thanks to you for your faithfulness and generosity!
“Second, to build upon our ministry from the last three years, we are gearing up for more
expansion and impact these next three. This summer, I am raising a significant amount of new
resources to fund this growing movement. I would be honored to treat you to a meal and share about
our ministry vision and financial goals, and to see how the Lord might lead you. Would a Thursday or
Friday lunch this week work for you? I can be flexible on the time and place.”
Asking a church to increase would be very similar. You would seek to take out the pastor or
missions’ committee chairman—whoever the decision maker is. Share with them the ministry fruit
from the past, and the exciting plans for the future… and make your ask!

ANNUAL FOCUS ON GROWING YOUR TEAM

Ask your supervisor if you could have one, two, or three weeks each year to do nothing but work
on keeping your support team healthy and developing. This is not vacation time. It is hard work time!
Do it during a “down time” when your ministry is not as busy. Pray and think deeply, well in advance,
in order to effectively use this annual time to:

MAINTAIN CURRENT SUPPORTERS

Along with making a plethora of calls to your supporters to catch up with each other, try to
schedule road trips to those areas where you have a concentration of ministry partners. Don’t just
leave messages. Get them on the phone. Meet with them. Pack your schedule with meals and get-
togethers on an individual and small-group basis. Appreciate them. Encourage them. Fill them in on
your life and ministry. In order to do that effectively, your support team can’t be too big. I remember
one guy bragging to me about having a team of 300 donors. That’s nothing to brag about! How can you
really care for a team that large?94

“100% matters because there is no comparison between ‘thriving in ministry’ and ‘just getting
by.’”95
Joe Michie, Creative Director for the Center for Mission Mobilization

LIFT CERTAIN CURRENT SUPPORTERS

Plan ahead. Discern which donors you are going to ask to lift, and how much of an increase you
will request. Never wing it. Let them know you have prayed and thought about it. You might share,
“We are asking God to provide another $1,000 in monthly support this summer before we launch our
work again this August. We’ve been praying the Lord would give us ten of our current ministry
partners who might be willing to increase their giving an average of $100 a month. Some will be able
to do more, others less. We would be honored if you would consider being one of those ten. Would
you be open to increasing your monthly investment in us and our work?”
ASK NEW FRIENDS TO COME ON YOUR TEAM
Once you get to full support, some of the pressure is off. Now, when you meet someone you can
just spend time getting to know them rather than immediately feeling the need to set up a support
appointment. During the twelve months after you get to full support, meet as many people as you can,
build as many friendships as you can, and simply ask them if they would like to receive your
newsletter. Make no requests of them beyond this. Keep an ongoing list of your new contacts. When it
comes time to invite new people on your team, you might call and say, “Shelby, I am taking a break
from our inner-city work next week to invite some new friends onto our support team. I have enjoyed
getting to know you so much this past year. I was wondering if you would let me treat you to lunch,
lay out what our ministry vision and financial goals are for this next year, and see if the Lord would
want you to join in with us in some way?”
So, this annual support-raising time is simply the culmination of your yearlong maintenance and
cultivation efforts. You have been praying, informing, encouraging, calling, visiting, and writing your
current and potential supporters for the previous twelve months. Now this one- to three-week period
becomes the best and most natural time to ask your friends to come on your team for the first time or
increase their current monthly or annual giving. You can do it. Set goals. Work hard. Trust God.
At this point, you may realize that support raising is an ongoing commitment and takes consistent
investment of time each week. Why not consider tithing your time to your supporters? Your ministry
partners work hard to give a percentage of their income to you and your work, so why don’t you
reciprocate by seeking to tithe your time back to them? In other words, at the end of each year, after
all the dust clears, what if you had given 90% of your time to your immediate ministry, but 10% of
your total time to pray for, communicate with, and encourage your support team? 96 Is that too much to
ask? Not if you recognize you now have two flocks. You obviously need to shepherd your personal
ministry, but don’t forget about the equally needy and important group—your supporters. View them
as lifelong team members and friends.

FINAL TIPS
Find your advocates.
Continue to evaluate all your contacts to pick out any individuals who would really want to
shoulder up with you and help with your support team. There are definitely donors who are staff or
lay leaders within their churches who would advocate for you—if you asked them. You give them all
the information they need about you and your ministry, and they would take it to the right people or
committees and represent you and your support requests. Think broadly and find out if any of your
ministry partners sit on a foundation board or work for a company with a charitable giving program
where everything they give to you will be matched.

First look within to finish the job.

The additional support you need may be resident with your current team. If you are not at full
support or your ministry budget has grown, consider this: When you get to the 85, 90, 95% range of
completing your budget, there are individuals or churches that would be willing to increase their
monthly or annual commitment. They just need to know how close you are to the finish line. In other
words, you may not need to even go out and approach new people. Instead, focus first on identifying
and asking certain current supporters to bump up their investment to help you get to your assignment
—quickly and fully funded!
At one of our seminars, Sean Vollendorf, a campus director for Student Mobilization, got excited
about asking his supporters to lift. He immediately went home and began calling and meeting with
various supporters, asking them to increase. The result? $1200 in new monthly support in just one
week!

Ask high on the front end.

During your initial support-raising efforts, try to stay focused on asking for higher figures in your
appointments. If the person joins your team at that amount, praise the Lord. But, even if they are not
able to match your request they will always remember the amount you asked for. Many times they will
increase at a later point, whether of their own initiative or because of your lifting ask. In light of your
initial request, this ask for an increase will not be offensive or shocking. In many ways, it will be
expected.

If you have done a good job praying for, informing, and appreciating your partners, the majority of
them will be glad you came and asked for a raise. You have invested more and more in them. Now
they have the privilege to reciprocate. Winning and keeping your supporters is critical. As your life,
ministry, and expenses grow over the years, you’ll be grateful you had a consistent, annual lifting
strategy in place. Remember big visions require big dollars. Ask and believe God for both!
 31

D-DAY

The year was 1944, and Hitler and his Nazi regime were threatening to take over all of Europe.
The only hope to stop them appeared to be the American and British soldiers gathered in England the
night before, waiting for the go-ahead to cross the English Channel for France. The jails were full of
AWOL soldiers who had refused to fight or had attempted suicide. The reason? Everyone knew full
well the Nazis had spent the previous two years fortifying the Normandy beaches with machine-gun
bunkers, mines, and barbwire. There would be massive casualties.
At dawn, when U.S. barges carrying the soldiers got near the shore, the large loading ramps
dropped open for the men to swim and run to the battle. Instead, they were instantly mowed down by
the Germans. For hours virtually all of our soldiers either lay dead or paralyzed on the beaches,
afraid to move into the line of constant Nazi gunfire. Some men were so frozen with fear they hid, laid
down in the fetal position, and cried out for their mothers.
Finally, one shell-shocked officer mustered the courage to rally his terrified men. Colonel George
Taylor stood up in the blood-red water next to Normandy Beach and yelled to his ravaged unit, “Men,
there are only two kinds of soldiers on this beach; those who are dead and those who will die. Now
let’s move into the beach!” 97 His vision and resolve galvanized his men, and for the next five hours
they made their way up the hill, climbing over dead bodies all the way, at last creating a break,
through which the Allies could enter to win the battle, and ultimately the war. It was a “now-or-
never” decision Taylor made. Either he aggressively took the offensive—or waited for his enemies to
annihilate them.
It may have been the decisive hour in all of World War II.
Just like those soldiers on that bloody June morning generations ago, we have a “now-or-never”
question to ask ourselves, “Am I going to stay in the water, lay paralyzed on the beach—or am I going
to risk everything to get up and run to where the battle is?” God grants us a brief window of
opportunity to make our lives count. Will we waste it? Will we make excuses why we can’t pursue
and accomplish His plan for us? Will fear or distraction or apathy rob us of victory?
You must wrestle with and answer these questions if you are going to truly fulfill the Lord’s
calling in your life. Don’t turn back. You will never ever regret staying the course.
Today is your D-Day—the most decisive hour of your life.

RUN TO THE BATTLE

You and I have an invisible enemy bent on our destruction. He’s a million times more diabolical
than Hitler. Satan will do anything to distract, disrupt, or point-blank destroy us. You are a Christ
follower and full-time officer in God’s army. Your current assignment is gathering the necessary
resources to enter the war. You will have all kinds of obstacles. Satan will catch wind of your
intentions. Your objective is to build up the kingdom of God. Because you are bent on mobilizing
people, prayer, and resources—all hell will break loose. The Enemy will come against you like
never before. In fact, right now, “Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion,
seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8).
As you proceed in your day-to-day support-raising activities, God’s will isn’t always the easy,
smooth route. In fact it may be just the opposite. If a door is closed, don’t politely shuffle off, quietly
assuming “the Lord” has shut it. No, in the name of Jesus you may need to press on, busting through
obstacles, knowing we have an enemy opposing us at every turn!

REMEMBER THE GOD ASK

Get the diagram and the various roles fixed in your mind. Review and embrace the biblical truths
it communicates. When in doubt, remind yourself that you are not just asking man to give you money.
No, you are asking God Himself to go before you and direct the mind, heart, and finances of your
prospective supporter. Your face-to-face appeal is not a horizontal ask, but a vertical one. When you
do open your mouth to speak, understand you are simply inviting the person you are meeting with to
invest in the work of God, through you. At the same time you’re looking up to the Lord for your
provision, you are encouraging your friend to ask God what their giving goals should be. The God
Ask, if properly understood and applied, is a powerful experience for all three persons involved. It
can truly be a beautiful triangle of trust.

THE POWER OF CHOOSING

Support raising requires you to constantly be operating in your “discomfort zone.” That’s good for
you. Unless you actually choose to raise support, you will never experience the full joy and blessings
of having a support team. You must move from the “ought to” to the “want to” in order to discover
God’s real purpose in living and ministering from support. We learned from 1 Corinthians 9:14 it is
the Lord’s command that we do so. Then why are we reluctant, unwilling, or approach support raising
with negative attitudes? Let’s be transformed and cheerfully embrace God’s will for our lives.
Has the Lord worked so deeply in your heart that you now view support raising not as an
obligation, but an opportunity? Not as a problem, but a privilege? No longer a drudgery, but a
delight? Know that if you are raising support because you are required to, you will struggle, and may
not be in ministry for long. My hope is your perspective has shifted. That you have come to the point
where you choose to go out, from scratch, and raise your entire support.
I have one final question:
If you could push a magic button, and have a guaranteed monthly salary check the rest of your life,
and not have to fool with all the scary, time-consuming tasks we’ve outlined in this book, would you
push it?
Neither would I.
 APPENDIX

We’ve collected and created many useful tools and resources to help
you fully fund your ministry.
 Appendix Table of
CONTENTS

1. A Fourteen-Point Checklist for Your First Thirty Days

2. 100 Days of Support-Raising Quiet Times
3. Support-Raising Bible Studies
God: The Owner and Supplier
Biblical Examples of Funding Ministry
Understanding Your Ministry Partners
Christlikeness in Support Raising
4. Support-Raising Worksheets
Monthly and Annual Budget Planner
Support-Raising Action Plan Sample
Support-Raising Action Plan Blank
Namestorming
Namestorming Contact Sheet
Where Are Your Prospective Donors Located? (Map)
Phone Script Outline
Tracking Your Appointments
Getting-to-Know-You Sheet
Ministry Communication Plan
Support-Raising Weekly Accountability Sheet
Support-Raising Accountability Covenant
5. Raising Support in U.S. Communities of Color
6. Raising Support in Other Countries
7. Five Keys to Raising Organizational Funds from Major Donors
8. Tapping into the “Business as Mission” Network: Your Next Generation Ministry Partners
9. Support Raising and Your Emotions
10. Social Media: Know Its Limits or It Will Limit You
11. Current Resources for Raising Personal Support
 A FOURTEEN-POINT CHECKLIST FOR YOUR
FIRST THIRTY DAYS
By Steve Shadrach

During one of my more teachable moments in my twenties, I mustered up the courage to ask my
father a very dangerous question. “Dad, if there was one area of my life I could work on and grow in,
what would it be?” I felt sure he would hem and haw, ponder it for a few days, and come back
without any recommendations for this flawless son of his. But to my surprise, he shot back with an
instant response, “Oh, that’s easy,” he said. “You procrastinate all the time.” Putting on a cheerful,
confident face, I replied, “Thanks, Dad. I’ll start working on that first thing in the morning!”
Well, that story is true all the way up to the last sentence. I don’t remember how I responded, but
my father was correct. I am not a good planner, and I do struggle with motivation sometimes. His
motto of “half the battle is just getting started” is true, and whether it’s starting an exercise program or
sitting down to make support calls, taking that first step can create some momentum and pull you right
into the flow of things.
I am a constant maker of to-do lists, and so here is my checklist to get me off the couch, give me
some practical steps, and hopefully a solid start in my support-raising efforts. Some of this will be
review for you, but as I am about to launch out to initiate my first thirty days, I personally would:

1. Make sure I am “prayed up.”

I already took a prayer retreat to get alone with God to review my calling and the Scriptures the
Lord put into my life. I have searched my heart and turned over to Him any areas of sin or resistance.
I have thoroughly studied passages that give me a biblical foundation for asking for support for my
ministry. I have prayed over my support-raising plan and each of the names on my list, giving it all
over to the lordship of Christ. I have asked to be filled with the Holy Spirit and led by God every step
of the way. I am now ready to launch out, embrace my destiny, and “fulfill my ministry.” Note: If you
are married, you would be very wise to do all of the above with your spouse.

2. Have a solid weekly accountability partner/plan in place.

Now that I have reported in to my Heavenly Authority, it’s time to finalize a detailed commitment
to my earthly authority—my weekly accountability partner. I will meet with this person, look them
straight in the eye, and pledge strong, honest, transparent reporting that includes me e-mailing them a
weekly accountability sheet every Monday morning at 9:00 a.m. I will then follow up that e-mail with
a call at 10 a.m. to allow my partner to ask any and all questions about my support-raising activities,
personal life, schedule, anything, and everything!

3. Commit to get to 100% by the agreed-upon “finish date.”

I have my support-raising budget number so firmly fixed in my brain that I will not stop until I get
to at least that figure. I also have the finish date set so I can look at every person during each
appointment and tell them exactly how many days I have left to my finish date and how much more
monthly support I need to raise to get to 100%. This will give them, and me, a greater and more
specific sense of urgency.

4. Secure my support-raising expenses “war chest.”

I have a list of all the various expenses I expect to incur during my support-raising journey, thus
allowing me to do an excellent and vision-driven job of putting my team together quickly and
thoroughly. I have approached one or more individuals whom I asked to “frontload” my ministry, and
invest some seed money to insure I can effectively create a healthy, long-term support team. Having
those funds in my account, I can now proceed into my first thirty days (and months to follow), making
all of my travel, meals, and materials decisions based upon what would be most strategic rather than
how to cut costs.

5. Meet with my steering committee.

I have recruited a group of six to twelve friends/supporters to meet with me to hear a report on the
progress I am making in my quest to get 100% ministry funding. They have committed to gather with
me every thirty days to pray, encourage, namestorm for potential contacts, and hold me accountable. I
have asked them to do anything they can to keep me on the path and headed toward full funding by my
finish date. We had an inaugural meeting, and they gave me a send-off prayer to launch me into this
journey.

6. Finalize all my presentation materials.

Having scoured other support raisers’ materials to find the best of the best, I had a graphics
person design a short portfolio of pages describing my ministry vision, as well as a simple
PowerPoint presentation I can take on a laptop to appointments. With my smartphone I captured at
least one potent sixty-second video interview about a life that has been impacted by our ministry. I
will be showing these to my prospective donors who are looking to invest in a group that is really
making a difference in people’s lives.

7. Role-play the call, appointment, and follow-up.

I have thought through and practiced hard on every aspect of my support-raising tools. I recruited
several friends who received my phone call asking for an appointment, walked them through the
appointment/presentation exactly like I would in a real live meeting, ending with a specific ask for a
monthly commitment… and then waited for them to answer. I also role-played the follow-up call with
each to see if they have been able to make a giving decision. I then practiced stopping by to show
each of them how to get started on their monthly giving and asked for referrals. At each juncture, I
prod each of my gracious “guinea pigs” to be brutally honest with me about all the verbal and
nonverbal parts of my approach. Note: You might videotape yourself at each stage to go back and
evaluate.

8. Firm up my support-raising calendar.

Having divided up all my hundreds of contacts into high-, medium-, and low-priority, I marked
each of their locations on a country map. I circled the most concentrated cities and prioritized where
my first, second, third trip, etc… will be. Plugging the timing of each excursion into my overall
calendar helps me know well in advance which weeks I will be in my own city, meeting with local
contacts, and which weeks I will be on the road visiting with my many out-of-town friends, family,
and churches.

9. Create my top-ten list.

I have bathed my lists of names in prayer, especially those whom I have known for years and
anticipate them wanting to partner with me. I ranked which person I believe would most want to join
my team in a significant way. He or she will be my first appointment. Next, who do I sense has the
second strongest desire to invest in me and my work? I combed through all my high-priority contacts
until I had listed the third, fourth, fifth, etc… until I got to at least ten people. Meeting with these
individuals right out of the gate will give me a strong start and a string of solid “yeses.” I will just
keep going and going, adding #11 to my top ten after I meet with #1, adding #12 to my list after I meet
with #2, and so on.

10. Pack out my first week calling for appointments.

I set my schedule where I am going to wake up every morning at 6 a.m. to have some time with
God in the Word and prayer focused on growing in my relationship with Him. I want to make sure I
am finding my joy in the Lord, rather than in ministry, or results. Next, I pray by name for each person
I am calling that day, asking God for wisdom, clarity, and favor. By 8:30 a.m., I start to make my
calls. I have a goal of obtaining at least five appointments each day. I know it will take hours and
hours of calling, return calls, and texting to connect with people and confirm times and places, but I
am going to stay in the saddle until I confirm five appointments as a minimum—ten would be
awesome!

11. Pack out my second week with appointments and calls.

Knowing my schedule is really going to get crazy, I recommit to my wake-up and devotional time.
I have worked hard to fill up my days with face-to-face appointments, having at least three a day, but
shooting for four to five. In between these appointments, and later that evening, I will be using every
spare minute to make and return calls with people I am trying to reach for appointments the following
week. I don’t want to let idleness slip into my schedule anywhere.

12. Pack out every week with appointments and calls.

I realize how I spend my first week will have an effect on my second week. How I spend my first
two weeks has an effect on my third… and so on. Consequently, I do not want to let up or
compromise my goals, pace, or schedule in the least. I will commit to pack out every day (at least
five days a week, if not six) with calls, appointments, follow-up calls, and all the needed
administration and correspondence. I will always be reporting on Monday mornings with my
accountability partner, my weekly activity sheet, and a phone call. No exceptions. I will stay focused
until I reach at least 100%.

13. Send out my monthly update newsletter.

I will produce a hard copy and e-mail version to send out to everyone on my mailing list by the
5th of each month reporting on the previous month’s progress in my support-raising efforts. I will
focus on our ministry vision as well as a picture and personal story of “One Transformed Life” of
someone who has been touched by this ministry. I want to keep vision and changed lives in front of all
my constituents. There will be absolutely no poor talk or begging found in any of my materials or
correspondence.

14. Pause for a day of evaluation and reloading—and start the process again!
At the end of each month, I will take an extra day off (beyond my Sabbath) to rest, pray, assess,
get feedback from successful (i.e. fully funded) veteran support raisers. I will adjust my plans
accordingly and gear up for another month of hitting the trail—and hitting it hard! I understand the
more focused I am on prayer and trusting God, the harder I work, the greater sense of urgency I
possess, the more intense passion and vision I radiate, the more the Lord will use that to move people
I meet from apathy to action.
Hope this “Back to the Basics” checklist of fourteen items is helpful. I believe if you will adopt
these kinds of attitudes and practices—and really stick with them—you will look back at the thirty-
day mark and be amazed at what God has done through you. At the sixty-day mark you may be
astonished. But you need to believe you can do it. Don’t be like me and procrastinate. Instead, be like
my dad knowing that “half the battle is just getting started.” So, let’s run to the battle!
 100 DAYS OF SUPPORT-RAISING QUIET TIMES98
Available in full-size format at www.thegodask.org/extras.

What uncertainties do you have? Ask God to guide you over

2 Corinthians 5:7
these perceived obstacles.
What kind of godliness do you need from the Lord to raise
1 Timothy 4:8
support?
Exodus 25:1-40; 35:21 How is true biblical fund-raising a spiritual ministry?
Support raising is a tough journey, but have faith the Lord
James 1:2-4
will bring you through it.
Are you being budget-driven or vision-driven? How does
1 Timothy 6:6-12; Hebrews 13:5
“poor talk” dishonor God?
Have you put God in the driver’s seat, or are you still trying
Proverbs 19:21
to steer?
Pray for the individuals who might be opposing you raising
Matthew 5:43-48
support.
Romans 11:33-36; Philippians 4:19 List the areas where God’s resources are unlimited.
Having a hard day? You can count on them when you are
2 Timothy 3:12
doing the Lord’s work. Buckle up!
Acts 20:35 How is it more blessed to give than to receive?
Have you recruited teammates or a steering committee to
Ecclesiastes 4:9-12
help in the support raising?
How did Jesus and his disciples live and minister on
Luke 8, 9, and 10
support?
Do you view yourself the way God views you? Why or why
Numbers 13:32-33
not?
Are you being diligent with your schedule each day or are
Titus 1:12; Proverbs 5:3
you getting lazy? Get organized!
Make all of your requests known to God. What are you not
Philippians 4:5-6
asking God for… that you should be?
Colossians 3:23-24; Romans 12:11 Why and how will God honor your hard work?
Ephesians 4:31-32 How do you deal with no’s? View them as opportunities!
Have you asked your spouse or closest friend to pray for
James 5:16
you today?
Be still before the Lord. Listen to what He is saying. What
Psalm 46:10
is He telling you?
What areas of your heart do you need to “guard over” to
Proverbs 4:23
keep you from falling into sin? Do it!
How can God give you clarity as to what amounts or ranges
James 1:5-8 to ask for with your prospective donors?
Do you have any debt? Pray over and against any owed or
Proverbs 22:7; Psalms 37:21
future debt.
Have you prayed and thanked God for your donors today?
Philippians 1:3-11
Lift them up in prayer individually.
Do you feel justified in living on support? What do you base
1 Corinthians 9:14
that on?
2 Corinthians 9:5-15 List the results of being generous. Are you a cheerful giver?
What biblical principles can you apply to the way you raise
Ezra 7:10; 2 Corinthians 4:2
support?
John 15:5 Ask the Lord to fill you with His Spirit and words today.
Matthew 19:26 How are you going to deal with discouragement?
James 4:6; 1 John 2:16 Is your pride a stumbling block for you? If so, how?
Isaiah 40:28-31 Pray for renewed strength and energy in support raising.
Why are you going into full-time Christian work? To
1 Corinthians 9:15-27
accomplish what?
Pray for a divine appointment today. Allow the Lord to
Isaiah 55:8-9
speak to you!
What small things do you need to be more faithful in? Do it,
Luke 16:10
and God will give you bigger things!
Rest in the Lord’s sovereignty. He knows your pain and
Isaiah 40:31
stuggles.
Update your current supporters. Share with them a few of
Proverbs 25:25
your current victories.
What can you learn from the way Nehemiah prayed and
Nehemiah 1
planned?
What kind of ministry could you have in the lives of those
1 Thessalonians 2:10-13
you have appointments with?
Have you trusted God today more than your resources?
Luke 12:22-26
What is keeping you from doing so?
What are some reasons to strive never to be in financial
Proverbs 22:7
debt?
Ephesians 3:20 Do you believe it is possible to get to 100% in 100 days?
Which individuals care enough to be strong prayer warriors
Philippians 1:1-11
for you?
In what areas are you vulnerable to the enemy? Draw upon
1 Peter 5:8
Christ’s power against spiritual attacks.
Luke 12:29-31 What is motivating you today?
Write down all the major possessions you own. Consecrate
1 Chronicles 29:1-20
each to God.
Lead by example. How much are you supporting your
Luke 6:38 church and fellow workers?
Have you prayed for your supporters to become more
Acts 4:32-36
kingdom-minded through your ministry?
How is receiving support a biblical “right” God has granted
1 Corinthians 9:9-15
you?
Proverbs 30:7-9 Evaluate your speech. Are you engaging in poor talk?
Are you procrastinating? Work to get to 100% ASAP, so
Proverbs 6:6-11
you can give 100% to your ministry ASAP.
How are we showing love and actually doing a favor to
Philippians 4:10-20
others by asking them for support?
Are you letting your emotions control you? What are some
Psalm 37:4
ways you can “delight” yourself in the Lord?
Have you worked out all the strongholds money may have
Luke 12:13-33
over you or you family?
1 Corinthians 10:31 List the areas of your life you can commit to the Lord today.
List those you have shared your testimony or the gospel with
Acts 20:24
since you started raising support.
How will viewing support raising as ministry help others
3 John 8
become “fellow workers in the truth” with you?
List some ways/times you may be tempted to lose hope.
Galatians 6:9
Give those to God. Start afresh.
Matthew 6:25-34 What is your job, and what is God’s?
What is your calling? Are you remaining firm and unmoved
1 Corinthians 15:58
in it?
Are you shying away from asking for support and asking for
Ephesians 6:10-19; 1 Kings 17:8-16
prayer instead? Be bold!
Have you completely trusted the Lord to provide for all of
Luke 5:5-7
your needs? Even in times of trouble and strife?
How many of your appointments have you trusted God to
James 1:6-8
ask the “golden question”?
Proverbs 15:22 Have you sought godly counsel in your support raising?
Do you have any kind of debt you need to reconcile with
Romans 13:8
anyone?
Why and how did God require the Levites to rely on the
Numbers 18:21-24
gifts of the Israelites?
Do you have a good budget, and are you following it
Proverbs 27:23-27
faithfully?
Pray your donors’ hearts turn toward completing the Great
Colossians 1:9
Commission.
James 4:2 Are you asking God for support, as well as others?
1 Peter 5:10 How will God use your hardships and obstacles to create
Christlikeness in you?
Why is saving for the future wise? What can you learn from
Proverbs 6:6-8
the ants?
How can you emphasize the greatness of your vision,
Romans 15:20-24; Colossians 1:28-29
instead of your “needs”?
Are you being honest and straightfoward in your
2 Corinthians 2:17
appointments?
In what ways are you trusting God to push you past your
1 Corinthians 9:24
comfort zone to get to 100%?
Are you living above reproach? If your supporters see a
3 John 5-8
godly track record, they’ll want to give.
What does it mean to fix your eyes on Jesus? What is
Hebrews 12:1-3
holding you back from doing so?
Luke 14:28-33 How well prepared are you for your appointments?
List your fears. Give each one to God. Ask Him for courage
Joshua 1:1-9
to walk forward.
Are you giving grace to others? Even to those who tell you
Ephesians 4:29
“no” to your support request?
Are you thanking the Lord for all of His faithfulness to you
Deuteronomy 7:9
so far?
Have you lost some friends along this journey? Now is a
Colossians 3:14
great time to pray for them.
Take an extended time praying specifically for the fruit
John 15:16
you’re bearing in support raising and in ministry.
How can you seek to have the mind of Christ during your
1 Corinthians 2:9-16
support raising?
What are you afraid of? Pray against your fears. Call them
Psalm 27:1; 2 Timothy 1:7
out to Him by name.
Have you asked God for an open door today? Be willing to
Matthew 7:7-8
walk through a door if He has opened it for you!
Who are you listening to? The Sovereign God or the sly,
Proverbs 19:27
deceitful Satan?
How could asking people to give who aren’t believers yet
Matthew 6:21
turn their hearts toward God?
Reflect on the different ways support raising is a true
Phillipians 2:14-16
blessing.
2 Corinthians 5:20; Ephesians 2:10 How do you fit into God’s master plan?
Leviticus 18:8, 24 Are people giving to YOU or are people giving to GOD?
What is your ministry vision? How will you present it to
Nehemiah 2:1-9
supporters?
2 Corinthians 8:8-14 Have you prayed for strength to finish strong?
 In what ways can you work harder to get to your ministry
Proverbs 20:4
assignment quickly?
Have you given up? Are you stuck? Call out to your ever
Psalm 46:1
present help in times of trouble.
Do you believe you are a good investment? Are you worthy
1 Timothy 5:17-18
of your wages?
Are you thanking the Lord for the smaller gifts, along with
1 Thessalonians 5:18
the larger?
The Lord has brought you this far, trust Him to lead you the
Psalm 32:8
rest of the way.
How can you increase your sense of urgency to get to 100%
2 Timothy 4:1-8
more quickly?
How are your life and ministry tied to reaching the whole
Acts 1:8
world for Christ?
Excited about being fully funded? Share your joy with
Psalm 66:16-20
others and tell them of what God has done!
Think of the highs and the lows of support raising for the
Romans 5:3-5 past 100 days. Thank God for all the trials and triumphs
you’ve experienced.
This is the finish line. What will you have to show for your
Revelation 7:9
life and ministry on this day?
 SUPPORT-RAISING BIBLE STUDIES99

The thing that will make or break you will be whether or not you have really studied the Scriptures
and gained a rock-solid conviction that continuing to personally ask others to invest in you and your
ministry is good, is right, and is biblical!
Have you put in the time to objectively, inductively, and thoroughly study the Scriptures on this
topic prior to forming your beliefs and approaches? If not, you need to decide what is going to control
you before you embark on this adventure. Fear of rejection or failure? Other people’s opinions? Past
experiences? Or the Word of God? Here are four bible studies that will help you examine and
understand what the Word has to say about support raising.
 GOD: THE OWNER AND SUPPLIER

Create a separate document and go through these passages carefully, recording your
observations, interpretations, and applications. As you go, highlight your Bible with three
different colors when you observe: 1) When God provides something, 2) When a donor gives
something, or 3) When a recipient receives something.

A. King David and the Temple

Carefully study 1 Chronicles 29:1-20
1. List the resources provided for the temple in verses 2-3.
2. Beyond the physical, what kind of resources were the people asked to contribute? (v. 5)
3. When the leaders gave, why did the people rejoice? (v. 9)
4. In verse 12, what did David say comes from God and is in His hands? How do you think he
developed this conviction?
5. In verse 14, the king asked a question. He answered it in verse 16. What was the question and
the answer?
6. Study verse 17 and reflect on any connection between giving and integrity.
7. How should knowing God is the provider of all things influence a person’s generosity?
8. How will this passage and knowing God is the source of everything affect your personal support
raising?

B. The Apostle Paul’s Perspective

Carefully study 2 Corinthians 9:5-15
1. In verse 7, how should a person decide what they should give?
2. Why do you think God takes great pleasure when someone gives cheerfully? (v. 7)
3. Find and list all the results of generosity in verses 6, 10-15. Now break the giving process
down into what it produces for the givers, the receivers, and God Himself.
4. From this passage, what is the correlation between sowing and reaping?
5. Think of a time you gave a) reluctantly, b) under compulsion, and c) cheerfully. How did that
make you feel each time?
6. Write out verse 8 in your own words. What parts are meaningful to you? How will this truth
affect your personal support raising?

C. Miscellaneous Passages
Carefully read each verse and record your response to: What is the key thought in each
passage related to God being the source and provider of all things?
1. Leviticus 25:23
 2. Deuteronomy 8:1-10
3. Deuteronomy 8:11-20
4. Psalm 24:1
5. Psalm 37:25-29
6. Proverbs 3:9
7. Ecclesiastes 5:18-20
8. Haggai 2:6-9
9. Matthew 6:19-21, 24
10. Acts 17:24-28
11. Romans 8:32
12. 1 Timothy 6:6-10

Summarize: After studying all the passages on this worksheet, summarize your own biblical
convictions about God being your provider. How will this affect the different aspects of your
personal support raising?
 BIBLICAL EXAMPLES OF FUNDING MINISTRY

Create a separate document and go through these passages carefully, recording your
observations, interpretations, and applications. As you go, highlight your Bible with three
different colors when you observe: 1) When God provides something, 2) When a donor gives
something, or 3) When a recipient receives something.

A. The Levites
Carefully study Numbers 18
1. Describe the work of the Levites and how it differed from the other tribes.
2. Describe how God intended to meet the needs of the Levites.
3. How does your understanding of God’s heart to fully fund His Old Testament ministers affect
how you view God and His desire to provide for you today?

B. Nehemiah
Carefully study Nehemiah 1:1–2:9
1. Describe how deeply Nehemiah felt about his mission.
2. How did Nehemiah prepare for his appointment with the king?
3. As support raisers, what can we learn from Nehemiah about prayer, preparation, courage, and
how to ask?

C. Jesus
Carefully study Luke 8:1-3
1. Describe the method in which Jesus and His men were supported.
2. Out of all the ways Jesus could have chosen to fund the personal and ministry expenses for
Himself and His men, why do you think He picked this way?
3. Knowing the Son of God chose to be supported by the ongoing gifts of individuals, how should
that affect our perspective and approach in funding our own lives and ministries?

D. The Disciples
Carefully study Luke 9:1-6; 10:1-9
1. What did Jesus model in Luke 8:1-3 that would be helpful to the disciples as they were sent out
in Luke 9 and 10?
2. Why did Jesus want the disciples to first find a host (to provide them room and board) before
they launched out to initiate ministry in the city?
3. In Luke 10:7, Jesus told His disciples to stay put and keep living and ministering from the
 support and hospitality of their host. The reason? Jesus proclaimed “the worker is worthy of his
wage.” What did He mean by that?
4. Jesus believes you deserve to be fully supported. How should that affect how you view yourself
and support raising?

E. Apostle Paul
Carefully study Acts 18:1-5; 1 Corinthians 9:1-14; Romans 15:20-24
1. From Acts 18, describe Paul’s preferred mode of operation. Was it to make tents and preach
once a week, or to live on support and preach daily? Why?
2. From 1 Corinthians 9, describe the rationale Paul used as to why he and Christian workers
deserve to be supported by others.
3. Most Christian workers will just think or pray or consider the option of living and ministering
on support. Yet 1 Corinthians 9:14 seems to indicate it is a command from Jesus to do so. How
do you interpret this verse and why?
4. According to this Romans 15 passage, why was Paul coming to visit them? How does Paul
making a direct and personal appeal to the believers affect your view or approach in support
raising?
5. From these passages, list some principles or lessons learned from Paul you could apply to your
support-raising convictions or practice.

F. Others
Carefully study these verses and record a key thought and application next to each as it
relates to your philosophy or practice in raising support.
1. Deuteronomy 12:10-12
2. 1 Samuel 30:7-10, 21-25
3. 1 Corinthians 15:58
4. Galatians 6:6
5. 1 Timothy 5:17-18
6. 3 John 1:5-8

The Lord funds His ministers in different ways. On this chart, list a key observation from each of the
examples you have studied and then draw an application from it that can help you in your support
raising.
Summarize: As a result of studying all the passages on this worksheet, what are the specific
next “action steps” you will definitely take in the preparation or implementation of your support
raising?

1.

2.

3.

4.
 UNDERSTANDING YOUR MINISTRY PARTNERS

Create a separate document and go through these passages carefully, recording your
observations, interpretations, and applications. As you go, highlight your Bible with three
different colors when you observe: 1) When God provides something, 2) When a donor gives
something, or 3) When a recipient receives something.

A. The Poor Widow

Carefully study 1 Kings 17:1-16
1. What are the different ways God provided in this passage?
2. It must have been so hard for Elijah to ask this poor woman for her food. If so, why do you think
God required him to ask her?
3. What do you think Elijah, the woman, and her son learned through this whole experience?
4. What can we learn here about trusting God, approaching lower income people for support, or
God blessing our supporters for their sacrificial investment in us?

B. The Wealthy King

Carefully study Nehemiah 2:1-9
1. List the questions the king asked Nehemiah. Why do you think he asked each?
2. Nehemiah had crafted a series of requests for the king. He would make request number one,
wait for an answer, then make request number two, wait for an answer, etc… Why do you think
he used this approach?
3. Who was sitting next to the king, and do you think that may have had any bearing on the king’s
attitude or decision?
4. Why do you think the king gave him everything (and more) he requested?
5. What can we learn from this passage about approaching potential major donors?

C. The Extravagant Woman

Carefully study Mark 14:1-9
1. Why do you think this woman gave so lavishly?
2. Instead of condemning her like the others did, why did Jesus honor her for the way she chose to
use her money?
3. To Jesus, the woman’s extravagant deed was an act of worship. How could asking our
supporters to give sacrificially actually be facilitating their growth in worship?
4. How can we help our supporters understand that when they give, it is not to us, or even to our
ministry, but to God Himself?
D. The Struggling Church
Carefully study 2 Corinthians 8:1-15
1. What was the financial condition of the churches in Macedonia? (vv. 1-4)
2. Why did Paul ask these churches to give, even though they were financially strapped?
3. What are some of the purposes in giving Paul lists in verses 7-15?
4. How should this passage affect which churches (and people) we should approach for support—
and the amounts we should request?

E. The Generous Friends

Carefully study Philippians 4:10-20
1. Initially, the Philippians were concerned for Paul, but had not yet given. Why not? (v. 10)
2. In verses 15-16 these Philippian believers gave multiple times so that Paul could go minister in
other towns. What implications does this have for workers who raise support in a particular
city or country in order to go do ministry in a different one?
3. Paul claims in this passage not to have any needs, and yet he asked the Philippians to give.
Why?
4. After studying verse 17, how can we say we are actually doing our supporters a favor by asking
them to invest in the work of God through us?
5. In verse 19, how could Paul confidently promise God would fully provide for the generous
Philippians?
6. How should knowing God’s heavenly bank account is always full affect our asking, as well as
our supporter’s giving?

F. Others
Carefully study these verses and record a key thought and application next to each as it
relates to understanding your supporters and helping them become teammates with you
through giving.
1. Acts 20:35
2. Romans 12:1-13
3. 2 Corinthians 1:15-16
4. Philippians 1:1-7

Summarize: After studying all the passages on this worksheet, write out a paragraph explaining
how you are going to biblically view and treat your supporters as true ministry partners—given
to you by God.
 CHRISTLIKENESS IN SUPPORT RAISING

“God’s work done in God’s way never lacks God’s supplies.”

Hudson Taylor, missionary to China

Create a separate document and go through these passages carefully, recording your
observations, interpretations, and applications.

A. Obeying Your Calling

Carefully study these passages:
1. Exodus 3:1-15; 4:1-8
2. Isaiah 6:1-10
3. Jonah 1:1-3; 3:1-5
4. John 14:10-14
5. Acts 13:1-5
6. 1 Timothy 4:9-16
7. 1 Peter 4:7-11

What do each of these passages (and others you cross-referenced) teach about our calling into
ministry?

What is your ministry calling, and what biblical basis do you have to support it?

B. Conquering Your Fears

Carefully study these passages:
1. Joshua 1:1-9
2. 1 Samuel 17
3. Isaiah 41:10
4. Matthew 6:25-34
5. Matthew 14:22-33
6. 2 Timothy 1:5-14
7. Hebrews 12:1-3

What do each of these passages (and others you cross-referenced) teach about facing your
fears, and walking toward them in the power of God?

What kind of fears do you anticipate facing while raising support? How will you look to the Lord
and His Word to help you walk toward those fears in the power of God?

C. Stewarding Your Support

Carefully study these passages:
1. Psalm 37:21-26
2. Psalm 112
3. Proverbs 6:6-11
4. Proverbs 10:2-5
5. Proverbs 14:23
6. Proverbs 22:7-9
7. Ecclesiastes 4:8-10
8. Matthew 6:19-24
9. 2 Corinthians 9:5-15
10. 1 Timothy 6:6-12; 17-19
11. 1 Peter 5:2-4

What do each of these passages (and others you cross-referenced) teach about how God wants
believers to steward the finances He provides them?

Personalize it. Write down the biblical principles you will operate by in regard to giving,
spending, saving, debt, and other financial dealings.
 SUPPORT-RAISING WORKSHEETS

We have trained thousands of Christian workers through our monthly Support Raising Boot
Camps. In this section, you’ll find numerous worksheets that we use within the Boot Camp
preparation work. We hope they will be advantageous to you. Plan your work, and work your plan.

You can find many of these worksheets available in full-size format at:
TheGodAsk.org/Extras
Monthly and Annual Budget Planner
(Let vision pull your train, NOT budget!)
*Remember to raise enough to maximize the fruitfulness of your family and ministry!

NOTES
Support Raising Action Plan100
Support Raising Action Plan
 Namestorming101
Relatives & family friends

Neighbors

Friends from college

Friends from where you grew up

Friends from former residences, churches, or jobs

Church acquaintances

Sunday school acquaintances

Acquaintances from other churches

Coworkers/business contacts

Friends from other cities

Social media “friends”

People you’ve ministered to

Friends from athletic/social organizations

Others
Note: Work hard to come up with at least 200-800 names
Namestorming Contact Sheet
Where Are Your Prospective Donors Located?
TO HELP YOU PLAN YOUR TRAVEL SCHEDULE
 PHONE SCRIPT OUTLINE
Use the space below to create your personal phone outline.

INTRODUCTION: (greeting)

TRANSITION: (give reason why you called)

THE ASK: (for an appointment to present your ministry vision and financial goals)

CLOSE: (be clear on details, directions, date, time)

 SAMPLE PHONE OUTLINE

“Hello! Is this… May I speak to…?”

“This is (your name), from (your agency).”

“Jim, do you have a minute to talk? Is this a good time?”

“You doing Okay?… Did you get a chance to read the e-mail I sent you last week?”

“As you read it, did you have any questions? Did it make sense?”

“God has given us a very exciting and strategic opportunity to impact people for Christ. Jim, it
would be a real honor to get to sit down and share what God has led us to.”

“I’m going to be downtown later this week. It would just be a brief time of laying out our ministry
vision as well as our financial goals. Could a mid-morning or mid-afternoon slot on Thursday or
Friday work for you?”

“Friday morning at 10:15? That would be perfect. You are in the Halter Building, right? Suite 206?
I know exactly where it is. I’ve got it written down on my calendar, and I will be knocking on your
door a couple of minutes before 10:15 Friday morning. Look forward to seeing you, Jim. Have a
great day! Good-bye.”
Tracking Your Appointments & Support Commitments Monthly &
Annual Supporters
 Getting to Know You102
Your partnership and friendship are so meaningful and valuable to us! Would you please keep us
current so that we can pray and care for you more specifically?
 Ministry Communication Plan103
Fill in the chart with your projected plans and ideas for the coming
ministry year. Include potential topics and ideas for your
newsletters.
Support-Raising Weekly Accountability Sheet104
 Support-Raising Accountability Covenant105
Staff Person’s Commitment:
1. I will thoroughly and honestly complete my Accountability Report (AR) every week.
2. I commit to e-mail my AR to you every single week at/before our agreed upon time.
3. I commit to follow up my AR with a phone call to you every week at/before our agreed upon
time.
4. I commit to faithfully follow through with whatever you ask me to do.
5. I give you full permission to ask me any and all questions.
6. I agree to follow through with all these commitments until I get to 100% budget.
7. I will let you know if you say/do something that hurts or angers me. I will keep short accounts
with you.
8. I will work my very hardest to meet my weekly goals and not make any excuses at all.
9. I will trust God to meet all my needs. I pledge not to increase my debt.
10. I will do a prayer letter/e-mail each month during my support raising, and send you a copy.

Before God, my family, my coworkers, my ministry, my donors, my accountability partner, and

myself: I will be faithful to all these commitments and work and pray with all of my heart, soul,
and mind until I get to 100% budget.

Accountability Partner’s Commitment:

1. I will always believe the best in you.
2. I will hold you fully accountable to the goals and commitments we have covenanted together.
3. I will pray regularly for you, and with you when possible.
4. I will be available for our phone appointments. If a conflict arises, I will call or e-mail
beforehand to reschedule
5. I will let you know if you say/do something that hurts or angers me. I will keep short acounts
with you.
6. I will feel the freedom to ask you any and all questions.
7. I am available to you for any and all questions.
8. I will rejoice in God’s provision and celebrate with you.

Before God, my family, this staff person, and myself, and with all my heart, soul, and mind, I will
be faithful to all these commitments until this staff person gets to 100% budget.

Suggested Categories to set goals in and report to your Accountability Partner each week:
1. Number of calls made
2. Number of people asked for an appointment
3. Number of appointments
4. Number of new ministry partners
5. Amount of new monthly support
6. Amount of new annual or special gifts
7. Number of new referrals
8. Number of hours spent on support raising
 RAISING SUPPORT IN U.S. COMMUNITIES OF
COLOR
By Donna Wilson

CULTURE AND SUPPORT RAISING

Culture influences almost every part of our lives—how we think and communicate, and our
customs, practices, behavior, beliefs, relationships, and more. So, when we enter the world of
support raising we need to realize it, too, has evolved within a particular cultural context. Fund-
raising originated in the early years of our country when economic resources were primarily handled
by the majority culture of white males. That isn’t a bad thing, but our principles of fund-raising are
anchored in that cultural context.
Much of our North American society is grounded in that context, and we’ve all learned to function
within it. But when a missionary from a non-majority culture is raising support here in the United
States, he or she may often experience cultural dissonance with standard fund-raising techniques.
More importantly, nonmajority culture donors may feel disrespected or even offended when their
culture is not taken into consideration when asking for funds.
We need to understand donors from communities of color are extremely generous, typically giving
much larger percentages of their incomes than their counterparts of majority culture. However, giving
in communities of color usually looks very different. It’s often within the family, with family being
defined much more broadly than in white culture. It frequently involves “in-kind” gifts (such as
providing free food, housing, or childcare). This tradition of caring for one another means that most
giving is done within the community, and choices are made in the context of a larger group—not a
single person’s needs. While white culture is proud of its individualism and self-sufficiency,
communities of color see interdependence as an important value, thus decisions about giving are
normally made with the larger community in mind.
Communities of color also tend to be more hierarchical and more paternalistic than majority
culture. White culture enjoys informality and avoids behavior that would position one person above
another. On the other hand, communities of color see age, gender, and social status as realities to be
acknowledged and honored. For instance, it might be inappropriate for a young missionary to
approach an older member of the community and ask directly for funds, as that kind of familiarity
could appear disrespectful.

RAISING FUNDS IN THE AFRICAN AMERICAN CONTEXT

The most important piece to understand about raising funds in an African American context is the
central role the black church has played in black culture. Despite a history of oppression, African
Americans have survived and thrived because of their faith and their churches. As a result, the
majority of giving by African Americans goes to the church, meaning partnership with black churches
is a key element for fund-raising in the black community. Yet, the majority of North American mission
and parachurch ministries are run by majority culture leaders. Our broken history of race relations
means that trust is still a very difficult issue, even in Christian contexts.
Black churches sometimes want to know how black people will benefit from the ministry they are
giving to and if the funds they are contributing will indeed make their way to the black missionary
they are supporting. “Giving back” and “uplifting the race” are significant values in the black
community. Consequently, it’s important for the support raiser to connect his or her ministry to the
black community and particularly to black youth who represent the future.
In addition, pledging or monthly giving is not a part of the giving tradition in most black
churches. African American donors tend to give in an unplanned, spontaneous way. When confronted
with a hardship or a need, they will give generously and in the moment. It isn’t uncommon for an
offering to be taken two, three, or even four times in a black church for different needs within the
community. This may mean the black missionary will either need to show up regularly in the church to
preach and present a need (for which an offering is taken) or have a respected older person do this on
their behalf on a regular basis. Because of the hierarchical nature of the black community, getting the
support of black pastors, black businessmen, and respected leaders of the community is critical to
success. If these leaders are willing to endorse your ministry, they will establish the credibility and
trust vital to support raising.
Acknowledging the close relationship between giving and serving in the black community is
another element important to successfully engaging black donors. Blacks consider donations of
knowledge, skill, and time to be of considerably greater value than money. So, identifying ways that
African American donors can give by serving can often be the first steps toward financial support.

RAISING FUNDS IN THE ASIAN AMERICAN CONTEXT

One of the unique cultural values that must be considered when raising funds in an Asian
American context is the cultural value of “saving face.” Eastern cultures value smooth relationships
and getting along harmoniously with everyone. Hearing a “no” causes a loss of face because the party
that said “no” is put in the position of saying he or she can’t meet a need, request, or expectation. And
the person who asked feels shame for asking because they put the responder in the uncomfortable
position of having to say no. Therefore, to avoid disharmony in the relationship, and a potential “loss
of face,” communication tends to be indirect rather than direct.
Asian American donors represent a broad spectrum of directness and indirectness based on a
number of factors:
1. Ethnic descent (East Asian, South Asian, Southeast Asian)
2. Relative status (age, position, socioeconomic status, gender)
3. Level of cultural identity (first generation in the U.S., second generation)
4. Relationship to the asker (level of friendship or family connection)

Each of these factors can change the degree of indirectness required in support raising.
For instance, an older first-generation Asian American would be very familiar with indirect
communication and will respond to the unspoken (yet communicated) request for funds. However, a
second-or third-generation young Asian American will be more accustomed to the directness of North
American culture and will be comfortable with a more direct “ask.”
 Knowing when you should be direct or indirect is a subtle crosscultural skill. The effective Asian
American fund-raiser should develop the tools of both approaches, and the sensitivity to know when
to use the appropriate “ask.” Methods of indirect asking include: a) prayer letters and other mass mail
correspondence, b) e-mail, c) having someone else ask on your behalf (advocate), d) webpages or
Facebook, e) phone messages and f) group presentations.
Asian American culture is also relational, group-oriented, and hierarchical. Most things get done
through relationships/networks/connections/guanxi.* Asian Americans like to support people they
know. Asians are loyal to their community, so if someone they know and trust introduces/advocates
for you, then you’re not a stranger, and they’re more inclined to support you. In addition, the
hierarchical nature means that there’s a respect for elders and leaders. When an older Asian
American leader/influencer advocates on your behalf, the result can be very powerful in the
community. Identifying an appropriate advocate who has status and longevity in the community is a
critical piece of fund-raising in Asian American contexts.

RAISING FUNDS IN THE LATINO CONTEXT

Latino or Hispanic culture, like Asian American culture, is relational, group-oriented,
hierarchical, and indirect; support raising with Latinos requires similar skills. Respect is extremely
important. When cultivating relationships in the Latino community, it’s critical to honor authority and
age by first contacting the proper people. If you’re young and/or female, you may need an older male
to lend respect to your presentation.
Another important cultural element is confianza—i.e. trust, and who’s involved is almost as
important as what the ministry is. Latinos are very willing to help, but you’ll need to build trust, by
using advocates and endorsements from members of the community. In the Latino church, the pastor is
the key authority figure, so it’s critical to take time to build that relationship. Latinos also put a high
value on service and giving back. Looking for ways to engage Latino donors as volunteers with your
ministry is an excellent way to build trust and open the door to financial partnership.
Relationships are of supreme importance in the Latino community, and they’re more likely to give
to someone they know and have met personally than respond to a phone call or letter. This familial
and communal orientation gives the support raiser an opportunity to build on the already existing
strong networks in the Latino community. Identify individuals who can be bridge builders into
networks within the community. This high value on relationships and honor also means any action
which creates relational disharmony is strongly avoided. Because Latinos know that rejecting you
would be extremely dishonoring they also tend to communicate indirectly. The support raiser needs to
be familiar with these nuances of direct and indirectness when asking for financial support.
Fund-raising in indirect cultures often takes more time. Trying to rush the process of relationship
cultivation may send negative messages to a Latino prospect. To see your passion and vision, there
needs to be time for storytelling. And there needs to be time for celebration as goals are met and
progress is made. Recognition is often unwelcome by Latino givers, but being able to help others is a
strong motivator, and taking the time to communicate the difference their giving is making is
important. Latino donors will notice your relational investment in them and respond with generosity!

*guanxi (n.) a Chinese social concept based on the exchange of favors, in which personal
relationships are considered more important than laws and written agreements.

Donna Wilson is the National Director of Fund Development Training and Associate Director
of Advancement for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship.
 RAISING SUPPORT IN OTHER COUNTRIES

With the gracious help of Ellis Goldstein and Mickey Booth with Campus Crusade for Christ, we
solicited training tips from five expert support trainers from five different parts of the world. Go to
the links below at www.thegodask.org/extras to find the part of the world you are raising support
from to get practical helps:
1. Raising Personal Support in Africa by Kafah Nkanjoh Mekwi
2. Raising Personal Support in Asia by Ricky Magno
3. Raising Personal Support in India by Ramesh Gupta
4. Raising Personal Support in Latin America by Armando Tamayo
5. Raising Personal Support in Eastern Europe by Eugene Simonov

A big thank you to each of these men. They are serving Christ in powerful ways and committed to
raising up laborers for Christ and helping them get fully funded.
 FIVE KEYS TO RAISING ORGANIZATIONAL
FUNDS FROM MAJOR DONORS
By Steve Shadrach

Years ago, as I was getting our ministry started, I had lunch with the founder of a major truck line.
He shared with me the people who initially believed in him enough to invest $5,000 in 1964 when he
was nothing but a lowly truck driver were now worth $16 million! I immediately responded, “That’s
exactly what I am asking you to do sir. Even though we are small and just getting started, we believe
those who will take a chance on us now and be early investors in our organization and vision will
reap huge, eternal dividends later as this ministry grows and multiplies.” He laughed and said, “I see
where you’re going with this young man.” No, I didn’t get a yes to my $10,000 ask that day, but the
experience was part of the Major Donor 101 education I desperately needed.
If you are a leader in your ministry, you may do more than just raise your own personal support.
Getting to 100% for your own team may just be step one for you. Step two is also raising money for
the organization—like rent, utilities, administrative help, technology, equipment, etc… Someone has
to keep this “general fund” healthy, and if you’re in a leadership role, it may be you. For some of you,
there’s a third step beyond your personal support and general fund. You may also be responsible for
raising the finances for special projects. Count these added duties as a privilege, not a burden, as you
will be asking major donors for major amounts. Remember, big visions require big dollars!
Support raising, just like ministry, is all about relationships. I’m hoping you have been, are, and
will be building loads of great relationships—with all kinds of people. Reach out to those in the
various schools, neighborhoods, churches, and communities you’ve been a part of. Like Paul’s
commitment to “become all things to all men,” learn how to build a relational bridge to people of
different faiths, races, personalities, and socioeconomic levels.
One reason to do this is because you never know who is going to end up earning or possessing
significant resources that could be invested in the kingdom. If you live long enough, meet enough
people, build enough relationships, chances are a number of them will end up being potential major
investors in you and your ministry. Some people claim the reason we have bigger givers is because I
know a lot of rich people. No. It’s just that I have spent a lifetime attempting to love, serve, and reach
out to all kinds of people—even wealthy and generous ones!
After reading James 2:1-10, I don’t want to give an ungodly preference to wealthy people, but
let’s admit it—most of them are a different breed. We better recognize that if we’re going to connect
them and their resources to completing the Great Commission. Many of them think, talk, and act in
ways hard to understand. Even so, consider these five keys:

THEY WILL PROBABLY WANT TO GIVE ANNUALLY OR

SPORADICALLY
Most major donors with a lot of resources usually don’t want to fool with regular bank drafts or
check writing, but would rather commit a large single gift or annual amount to you or to your project.
Always leave the door open to coming back next year or to present another project to them.

PRESENT A “MINISTRY PROJECT” TO THEM

They’re used to having business people lay “investment opportunities” in front of them—like
constructing condominiums or some hot stock. It will be refreshing for them to see a one-pager from
you where their resources can finally be channeled toward a “kingdom initiative” with eternal
dividends.

THEIR FIRST LARGE GIFT MAY JUST BE TO “TEST THE

WATERS”
Sometimes major donors want to see what you will do with that initial gift, when and how you
thank them, and what kind of reporting back you will do in the months to come. They’re looking for an
excellent ROI (Return on Investment), and if they feel good about you, your work, and how you’ve
treated them, there will probably be more large gifts coming your way. If not, that first-time gift will
truly be the infamous “one-time” gift!

CULTIVATE THEM TO JOIN AN ANNUAL “ANCHOR

DONOR” TEAM
If they’ve given a $1,000 or $2,000 gift in the past, why not ask them to be part of a new team
you’re forming who each commit at least $2,500 a year to the organization? Larger single gifts might
warrant you creating a $5,000 or $10,000 annual anchor donor team. Some of you will be asking
individuals to commit $25,000 to $250,000 (or more!) to the general fund or certain ministry projects.

APPRECIATE, INFORM, AND INVOLVE THEM IN YOUR

LIFE AND MINISTRY
I understand not all of these major donors will want to be your best friend and take family
vacations together, but that doesn’t mean you can’t thank and pray for them, and attempt to grow your
friendship. They’re busy and can be aloof, but deep down, they respect you and secretly find great joy
in partnering with someone who truly has vision and passion for things that really count in this world.
Donna Wilson, with InterVarsity, enters into each appointment and relationship with a longer-term
game plan in place. She seeks to “invite donors who have the interest and ability to move to the next
level of giving.” For example, she will gradually move them from Sustaining Gifts to Major Gifts…
or from Major Gifts to Leadership Gifts. In so doing, she is “intentional about involving a donor with
the ministry in ways that create a sense of ownership.”
So, as a point of integrity, I go into these kinds of appointments very clear what I am asking for. Is
this gift to be used for my personal support? For the general fund? Or for a specific ministry project?
If they say “use it where needed” and will not designate their gift, I always put it in the general fund
or a special project—never in my own account. That practice guards my heart to be above reproach.
Ask God to give you the boldness to win them to your team, for the care and concern to keep them
on your team, and the creativity and persistence to gradually lift them to give more and more as your
ministry vision grows.
 TAPPING INTO THE “BUSINESS AS MISSION”
NETWORK: YOUR NEXT GENERATION
MINISTRY PARTNERS
By Steve Shadrach

Brad was a growing Christian, good husband, father, and church member. He was also a busy
company owner, but finally found time to enroll in the Perspectives on the World Christian course
his friends had been bugging him to take. He thought he knew a lot about God, the kingdom, and
missions… until Perspectives. Feeling humbled, but now incredibly motivated, he made some radical
changes in his life and business. Even though he’d been paying himself much more, he decided he was
going to start living on $100,000 or less, and asked each of his executives to do the same. If they were
willing to do so, they would have the privilege of joining his “strategy team,” choosing ministries
around the world to partner with and invest millions of dollars of company profits in their Great
Commission efforts. Brad and his team are having amazing impact and, even in the midst of a
struggling economy, have seen their business double each of the last five years. I guess you really
can’t out-give God!
Don’t be surprised by Brad’s story; the Lord is raising up laymen and women all over who have
had their eyes opened to a more eternal purpose for their lives and companies. There’s a powerful
work of the Spirit sweeping our nation and beyond commonly known as “Business as Mission,” or
BAM. The world has become flat as it relates to working professionals who want to directly touch
the world for Christ. They have become “revolutionaries,” according to George Barna’s book
Revolution. They’re no longer satisfied just sitting in the pews, giving to the building program, or
being a greeter at the door. No, they want to do more and recognize they have resources, ideas, and
experience to offer a lost world busting at the seams with overwhelming opportunities and unmet
needs. They are tired of being overlooked and underutilized in this grand adventure and will settle for
nothing less than their own finger prints all over this task of finishing the Great Commission!
Many of these revolutionaries are company owners who finally grasped the “make disciples of all
nations” mandate. They developed a burden to be good stewards of their expertise and profits to
open doors for the gospel. Today, there are tens of thousands of business people on a mission from
God to either partner with an existing ministry or missionary, or craft their own plan to meet the
spiritual and physical needs they see. How can you link up with this influential network of next-
generation world changers? Here are five ideas on how to educate and involve these potential
ministry partners:
1. Go to www.businessasmissionnetwork.com and study the various BAM models, and connect
with lay people, companies, and pastors discussing BAM.
2. Buy one of the excellent books about BAM and give it to business owners you know to help
them understand how they could become a “Great Commission company.” Amazon has numerous
titles.
3. Think through all your business-related contacts who already have a BAM-type vision and
goals, or who might be open to the concept. Craft a proposal how they could practically and
financially adopt you and your organization as their ministry partner.
4. Recruit small groups of business owners to come with you to your field of service to see the
work and brainstorm with you how they could use their resources to partner with you.
5. Core4Research’s national survey revealed alumni of the Perspectives course increased their
giving to missions by 32%! Try to recruit every one of your current or potential supporters to take
Perspectives, and watch your support multiply. (www.Perspectives.org)
 SUPPORT RAISING AND YOUR EMOTIONS
By Donna Wilson

Doug had excellent presentation skills, a strong prospect list, and deep passion for the ministry, so
his coach was perplexed when he wasn’t making any progress on his support raising. Finally Doug
admitted, “I’m so ashamed of having to ask people for money.”
Feelings are complex. They often have multiple layers and sometimes come out of nowhere.
Frequently, the feelings aren’t really about fund-raising—but about interior places of pain and
insecurity the support-raising process churns to the surface of our emotional waters. Feelings can
immobilize even the most talented missionary raising support. Moving from a place of fear to a place
of trust in support raising is a spiritual formation process involving reflection, prayer, and reshaping
our deep-seated beliefs. It requires the ability to trust God’s Spirit will work through our support
raising, changing our hearts and minds to more closely conform to the image of Christ.

FIRST, IDENTIFY YOUR EMOTIONS AND WHAT’S DRIVING

THEM
This can be more difficult than it sounds. Fear, shame, unworthiness, guilt, embarrassment, and
other emotions often come from experiences encountered at a young age when not equipped to
process them. Family values, church practices, or an authority figure’s opinion, all contribute to our
unconscious feelings surrounding money. We have to go deep to discover the core internal issues. For
instance, I often hear missionaries question whether fund-raising is biblical. After studying Scripture,
they may raise a second concern and, when that’s addressed, another one. Each concern is actually a
smoke screen, disguising the negative emotions they are trying to avoid.

SECOND, ADDRESS THE INACCURATE BELIEFS FUELING

THESE EMOTIONS
Usually these are unconscious places where we need scriptural truths to challenge our fears about
God, ourselves, and others. These fears may be lies about ourselves we are tempted to believe.
Sometimes they are lies we absorb from simply living in a culture saturated with secular values.
We’re constantly being pulled off-center and need to realign ourselves with God’s perspective.
Scripture study and prayer are our best tools for addressing these feelings. The four common areas of
belief where our emotional posture can create a barrier to support raising are:

BELIEFS ABOUT MONEY AND POSSESSIONS

When raising funds we can be tempted to think: “I’ve got to convince people to give me some of
their money.” However, the biblical view is: “I’m inviting people to give back to God some of His
resources for His work” (1 Chronicles 29:14-16, paraphrased).
BELIEFS ABOUT GIVING
Depending on our background, we may see giving as a nice thing people do after they’ve paid the
bills and met their own needs/wants. Or perhaps we grew up with giving being a way of getting some
kind of economic benefit (tax deduction, premium, public favor, better business). The biblical view
of Christian giving is to God, acknowledging His ownership of everything. It is to be done out of our
“first fruits,” not the leftovers (Proverbs 3:9).

BELIEFS ABOUT PERSONAL WORTH

North American culture tells us our value is in what we own or accomplish; and our worth is
reflected by our position or salary. Family and friends may not consider ministry a “real job” because
it lacks these traditional markers. But Scripture teaches our value comes from God and His love for
us. Scripture describes us as friends, children, and heirs of the King (Romans 8:14-17).

BELIEFS ABOUT HOW MINISTRY SHOULD BE FUNDED

Some see fund-raising as a secular invention, something Christian ministries should not engage in,
even though Jesus and His ministry were supported by the gifts of others (Luke 8:1-3). On a few
occasions Paul chose to be self-supporting, but more times than not he was supported by caring
donors (Philippians 4:14-16). He believed ministry workers deserve to be supported, and in 2
Corinthians 8-9 he even engages himself in a fund-raising effort for the Christians in Jerusalem.

LASTLY, SEEK THE ENCOURAGEMENT AND

REINFORCEMENT OF A CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY
As you work through these feelings and struggles, Scripture continually affirms our need to
function in the context of a body of believers. This is particularly true in support raising. When
emotional barriers creep into our fund-raising, find prayer partners, spiritual encouragers, and friends
willing to speak truth into your life—taking you back to a biblical perspective. “Living in God’s truth
is the only way to shut down debilitating self-criticism, even when there is something to it” is the way
John puts it in 1 John 3:18-20.

Donna Wilson is the National Director of Fund Development Training and Associate Director
of Advancement for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship.
 SOCIAL MEDIA: KNOW ITS LIMITS OR IT WILL
LIMIT YOU
By Andrew Knight

Today, social media exists mainly for entertainment purposes and subtly teaches people to shortcut
relationship building instead of fostering deep face-to-face and heart-to-heart connections. Social
media can be a valuable supplement to raising support partners and increase their giving longevity.
When abused it can have disastrous consequences on you and your support.

ALL I REALLY NEEDED TO KNOW I LEARNED IN

MINISTRY
Raising support reminds me of two important ministry values: relevance and relationships. The
apostle Paul modeled these by “becoming all things to all men.” When using social media in your
support raising, these core values should be reflected. Fund-raising is not just a means to ministry, but
ministry in and of itself. To determine your need for or the effectiveness of a social media strategy,
ask these two questions:

1. Do you swim in the same social-media streams as your donor base?

A social-media strategy is relevant insofar as the donor base has a social-media presence that
overlaps with the fund-raiser’s.

2. Is your contact base and support team growing relationally and numerically?
Your social-media strategy is relational insofar as it’s connecting you more deeply to current
donors as well as helping you cultivate potential new donor relationships.

THREE QUESTIONS TO LEVERAGE YOUR SOCIAL-MEDIA

STRATEGY
1. Starting a Strategy: Where is most of your donor base?
Locate your donors within the social-media landscape. Work to find your potential and current
donors social-networking outlets and create a ministry presence right in their social-media backyard.
Your support base is pooling their presence in some places more than others, so go deep in one or
two of the main pools rather than an inch deep in all of them.

2. Gaining New Supporters: Do you use social media to gain contacts or supporters?
This question determines whether you are shortchanging the relational process during fund-
raising. Social media should be used to increase your contact list, but not be counted on to deliver
consistent support partners. Nothing can take the place of personal face-to-face support challenges,
but it can be used as a medium to secure support appointments. Here are some ideas:
 • Peruse your social-media sites and search for new names and faces to increase your support
pool.
• Finding contact information for potential donors can be difficult. Many donors place contact
information in social-networking sites for public view. If not, just directly message them
through that site.
• In addition to asking supporters for referrals at the end of an appointment, ask them to scan
through a social-media site and connect you to them through the network.
• If you feel out of touch with a potential supporter’s life or interests, do some research on them
via one of their social-media sites before calling them.

3 . Growing Your Support Base: Do you understand how to use social media for ongoing
cultivation of your support team?
Each social-media outlet was created to be used for specific purposes, and not all will perform
equally well on every front. Some are designed for photos, some for self-expression, some for
communicating, others just for connecting. As you narrow your approach and strategy for utilizing
social media, make sure you’re utilizing them the way they were designed and tailor them for fund-
raising use. Here are the two broad categories:
• Information-disseminating media outlets are designed to allow you to communicate yourself to
others using creative, clear, and concise formats. These include blogs, texts, picture messaging,
social site messaging, video sites, e-mail clients, and video or e-mail chats. One of your main
fund-raising responsibilities will be to update your support team and keep them current and
involved in your vision by disseminating information regularly and relevantly.
• Information-gathering media outlets are designed to help keep you informed of other’s
whereabouts, opinions, or comments. These include sound bites, posts, micro-blogging, and
status updates. You cannot effectively shepherd your support team if you are uninformed about
your team’s everyday life. Read, research, and follow the social-media sites that can give you
an inside look into your supporter’s life. This can inform your prayer, encouragement, and
counsel for them.

FINAL TIPS
• Be available: Can your supporters find you and information about your ministry and mission
anytime, anywhere? 95% of donors want to be able to read up on you before they give. Make
sure you have a site or blog where people can reach or research you.
• Be personal: Use social-media networks to remember birthdays, anniversaries, children,
important dates, and significant events that happen in their life.
• Be unique: Find new and creative ways to inform, engage, and involve your supporters in your
mission. Give them live updates through videos. Use pictures in nicely formatted e-mails. Ask
specific questions or get their opinions through an online survey. Have them sign-up online to
pray for certain requests or pray for specific people. Also, consider using SMS text messages to
ask them for urgent prayer in real time.
• Be consistent: Social media has made it easier for missionaries in the field to keep their support
teams updated. Even though they have no excuses, missionaries are losing supporters for lack of
 regular updates. Electronic newsletter formats and e-mail templates allow you to publish
attractive updates—from anywhere in the world!
• Be grateful: Thank you’s go a long way. While a note through the mail has a personal touch, in a
time crunch you can quickly offer thanks through a social-media outlet. A text, e-mail, post,
message, picture, or a quick video taken from your smartphone and e-mailed to your supporter
are ways you can thank God and His people for needs being met.

Andrew is a regional director for Campus Outreach Minneapolis. For ten years he has been on
support, reaching college students for Christ, and diligently keeping his donors informed—using a
variety of social-media means to do so!
 CURRENT RESOURCES FOR RAISING PERSONAL
SUPPORT

ORGANIZING AND TRACKING YOUR SUPPORT

A. Tnt MPD is a free program for managing your relationships with your ministry partners, and is
available in: Arabic, Dutch, English, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian,
Simplified Chinese, Spanish, and Thai. It’s used by over 8,000 missionaries in twelve languages
representing over one hundred mission organizations. They also have two other applications that help
other ministries support their staff with up-to-date donation information: DonorWise, a donation
processing and receipting system for small- to medium-size ministries, and: TntMPD. DataServer, a
system designed to provide TntMPD users with near real-time web-based access to their donation
information provided by their ministry. Works with Mac and PC. (www.tntware.com)
B. Karani is a new “TntMPD-like” cloud-based software and can help you manage all of your
contacts and fund-raising in one place online. Store and manage all of your contacts’ information—e-
mail, mailing addresses, phone numbers, and more. Track every interaction with your contacts,
including calls, asks, letters, thank you’s, and meetings. (www.Karani-App.com)
C. Friend Files is free and designed to help you keep in contact with supporters. Also, maintain
an up-to-date list of names, address, phone numbers, e-mails; keep track of contributions and analyze
your support; print mailing lists and address labels. (Download into Microsoft Access at
www.PeterNoonan.net)
D. Donor Manager is a free, Windows-based program designed to help missionaries keep track
of information about their ministry partners. The program runs on Microsoft Windows (98, 2000, NT,
XP, Vista, and Windows 7) and also runs on a Mac (using Parallels, Crossover, or other emulator)
and on Linux using WINE. Features: Ability to keep up-to-date mailing list with names, addresses,
phone numbers, e-mail addresses, websites, family info; import photos for each supporter; track and
analyze donor contributions, and produce reports; print mailing labels, envelopes, and create merge
files for mail merge; send bulk e-mail messages to your ministry partners.
(www.DonorManager.com)
E. Mission Hub is a new online follow-up system you can use to collect info on all your
supporters and track with them. It can also be used to organize and keep up with all of your ministry
groups and names out on campus or in the city you are seeking to reach. Download for the Android or
iPhone, access the info anywhere. Easy tutorial videos included. (www.missionhub.com)

TRACKING DOWN CONTACT INFO FOR PEOPLE

A. Zabasearch is a website that searches for and collates disparate information on U.S. residents,
including names, current and past addresses, phone numbers, and birth years, and then permits the
user to query other search engines with this information to retrieve other data such as satellite photos
of addresses. (www.zabasearch.com)
B. Anywho is a free people-finding service that scours the white and yellow pages, and has
area/zip code lookup, reverse lookups, and mapping functions too. (www.anywho.com)
C. Google Maps is a virtual globe, map, and geographical information program, even giving
street views of houses and neighborhoods allowing you to look up any address and zoom in as close
as you want. (maps.google.com)
D. Batch Geo allows you take a spreadsheet or database with all of your contacts names,
addresses, city, state, zip codes (or whatever amount of info you have on each) and copy and paste it
into their program, and it instantly creates a colorful zoom-in/zoom-out Google map pinpointing
where all of your contacts reside. A free and very easy way to see where your contacts are grouped
and which cities you need to take support-raising trips to. (www.batchgeo.com)

GROUP E-MAIL SERVICES TO COMMUNICATE WITH

YOUR SUPPORTERS
A. Mail Chimp is a free mass e-mailing system allowing you to customize newsletters, integrate
your social network, and track results (who opened, links clicked, etc.) in real time. It is generally
used for legitimate mailings, such as for e-mail list subscribers, and is able to “de-spam” your e-
mails where they will not go into your recipient’s junk mail. It’s like your own personal publishing
platform. (www.mailchimp.com)
B. Constant Contact provides customizable templates and one-click editing. Free personal
coaching and support by phone, e-mail, and chat; secure, permission-based e-mail lists; links to
Facebook and Twitter; anti-spam checker; collects social-media stats; syncs with other apps.
(www.constantcontact.com)
C. iContact.com is more than a one-stop shop for e-mail and social-media marketing features;
they’re an e-mail marketing service. You can perfect your online marketing strategy with the help of
their strategic advisors, take advantage of their large-sender services, or turn to their Design Services
Team to tackle your e-mail design projects, large and small. (www.icontact.com)
D. Vertical Response is an e-mail and social-media marketing website that allows you to group
and personalize all of your mailing list for e-mails, do online surveys, event marketing, direct-mail
postcards, and grow and manage your donor lists. They will help you coordinate your social-media
efforts as well. (www.verticalresponse.com)

PRODUCING/SENDING MATERIALS FOR YOUR SUPPORT-

RAISING ACTIVITIES
A. Missionary Tech Team is a U.S. based ministry dedicated to helping Christian workers with
different logistical needs. They have a team of designers to help create customized banners, displays,
literature, accessories, vinyl signage, booth exhibits, computer and graphic services, and a catalogue
of all their ministry resources. (www.techteam.org)
B. Creative Plus designs and produces customized prayer and photo cards, magnets, reply cards,
bookmarks, business cards, as well as displays for you to take to group events.
(www.creativeplus.com)
C. Magnet Street has been creating and producing high-quality ministry magnets for decades and
provides individual help, designs, tools, and support you need to personalize and capture your
message. (www.magnetstreet.com)
D. Discount Photographic Imagination designs and prints prayer cards, magnets, postcard
prayer cards, bookmark prayer cards, business card prayer cards. (www.dpimagine.com)
E. Amazing Mail creates and produces customized photo postcards, fold cards, brochures,
business cards, reply cards, and greeting cards. They also can help you create a database for your
lists, keeping it clean and effective. They can mail them to anywhere in the world.
(www.amazingmail.com)
F. Chalk Line provides a wide range of services to communicate with your supporters like
creating and printing prayer letters, postcards, newsletters, envelopes, leave-behind pieces, magnets,
and photo cards. They can do the folding, inserting, sealing, and stamping of your letters and can also
send letters internationally. (www.ChalkLine.org)
G. Mission Center International serves Christian workers by printing and mailing newsletters
and other literature at low cost. You can send camera-ready copy, along with photographs and
artwork by mail (or e-mail) or you can have MCI do it for you. They will print, insert, address, and
mail everything. (www.missioncenterusa.com)
H. Prayer Letters is a Christian ministry seeking to help missionaries who are communicating
with their constituency. A totally online printing and mailing service, they focus on speed, simplicity,
and flexibility and can provide help with mailing list management, letter-writing tips, even
proofreading. (www.prayerletters.com)
I. Missions Linked is run by believers and provides a broad array of services including
customized design and printing of prayer cards, newsletters (hard copy and e-mail), brochures, flyers,
stationary, magnets, displays, websites, even ministry branding. (www.missionslinked.com)
J. Vista Print is a longstanding company designing and producing business cards,
invitations/announcements, postcards, address labels, brochures, checks, magnets, calendars,
signs/banners, websites, even custom T-shirts and embroidery. (www.vistaprint.com)
K. Cardstore allows you to create fun and simple cards, invitations, announcements, etc… right
from your computer, and can be personalized with your own greetings and favorite photos. Write
anything you want, and any card can be mailed directly to anywhere in the U.S. for just the cost of a
stamp. Cardstore can even add your signature digitally. (www.cardstore.com)
L. Shutterfly enables you to plug in and arrange your pictures and turn them into professionally
bound photo books printed on high-quality paper. They make for an excellent handheld ministry
portfolio. You can also create a free custom video-sharing website with a personalized web address
to share photos and videos with all of your supporters. (www.shutterfly.com)

PROGRAMS FOR MEDIA PRODUCTION

A. Prezi is similar to PowerPoint or Keynote, but with a lot more visuals and motion. It’s a
cloud-based (SaaS) presentation software and storytelling tool for exploring and sharing ideas on a
virtual canvas, allowing users to zoom in and out of their presentation. You can see samples, view
tutorials in English and Spanish, import PowerPoint slides, videos, and images, and create and show
your Prezi presentation on an iPad. (www.prezi.com)
B. Animoto is free and lets you easily select photos and video clips from Facebook, Flickr,
Picasa, Instagram (or upload from your computer), then add your own words and music to create a
personal and stirring video. You can select music from their collections or upload your own. Easily
share your video via Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube, e-mail, or from your phone app. You
can even download your video to a DVD. (www.animoto.com)
C. Eye Jot is mobile video mail and is a comprehensive online video-messaging platform ideal
for personal communications. You can create and send spam-free video messages to your entire
contact list, right from your laptop video cam. Nothing to install, use with any browser or platform,
has built-in support for iTunes, iPods, mobile devices (including iPhone and soon on Androids), and
social networks. Create and send Eyejot video mail from anywhere, anytime. (www.eyejot.com)
D. Beyond Bullet Points is a training website and offers online courses teaching you to use your
PowerPoint program (or any presentation tool) more effectively. There are blogs, live events,
monthly newsletters, and other resources available. Some free, some not.
(www.beyondbulletpoints.com)
E. Presentationzen is a fascinating website full of articles, resources, links, video clips, etc. on
how to make your ministry presentation more interesting and engaging to your potential supporters. It
eschews the lecture-style model and forces you to think through a variety of creative methods to get
your message and vision across to your hearers. (www.presentationzen.com)
F. Slide Shark is a free app for iPads allowing you to download, view, and share PowerPoint
presentations to use for support appointments. It preserves the transitions, animations, fonts, graphics,
and colors well, has a Team Edition for multiusers, and a voice-enriched online and mobile video
presentations options. (www.slideshark.com)

OTHER BOOKS AND RESOURCES (ALL THE BOOKS CAN

BE FOUND AT AMAZON.COM)
A. A Spirituality of Fund-raising by Henri Nouwen, Upper Room Publishing.
B . Getting Sent: A Relational Approach to Support Raising by Pete Sommer, InterVarsity
Press.
C. Friend Raising: Building a Missionary Support Team That Lasts by Betty Barnett, YWAM
Publishing.
D. Funding Your Ministry by Scott Morton, NavPress (Also Scott has an excellent website with
various resources: www.ScottMorton.net.)
E. More Than Money, More Than Faith by Paul I. Johnson, Pleasant Word Publishing.
F. People Raising: A Practical Guide to Raising Support by William P. Dillon, Moody
Publishers
G . Funding the Family Business: A Handbook for Raising Personal Support by Myles
Wilson (www.fundingthefamilybusiness.org)
H . ViewPoints: Fresh Perspectives on Personal Support Raising by Steve Shadrach, The
BodyBuilders Press.
I. How to Write Missionary Letters by Alvera Mickelsen, Media Associates International.
J. Cross-cultural Partnerships: Navigating the Complexities of Money and Missions by Mary
T. Lederleitner, IVP Books.
K. Global Mission Handbook: A Guide for Crosscultural Service by Steve Hoke and Bill
Taylor, IVP Books.
L. Biblical Financial Study by Crown Financial Ministries.
M. Your Money Counts: The Biblical Guide to Earning, Spending, Saving, Investing, Giving,
and Getting Out of Debt by Howard Dayton, Tyndale House Publishers.
N. The Third Conversion by R. Scott Rodin, Kingdom Life Publishing.
O. The Treasure Principle by Randy Alcorn, Multnomah Press.
P. Writing Exceptional Missionary Newsletters by Sandy Weyeneth, William Carey Library
Publishing.
Q. The Sower: Redefining the Ministry of Raising Kingdom Resources by R. Scott Rodin and
Gary G. Hoag, ECFA Press.
R . People Raising Monthly Newsletter. Free and full of excellent tips. (Sign up at
www.peopleraising.com).
S. Support Raising Solutions Monthly Newsletter. Free and written by several veteran support
trainers. (Sign up at www.supportraisingsolutions.org).

OTHER SUPPORT-RAISING TRAINING

A. KingdomCome Training is led by former Wycliffe missionaries who use videoconferencing
to train you in small groups how to prepare and give your support presentations. No travel involved
and they can spread their initial eighteen hours of training over three weeks. They also provide
ongoing coaching and accountability programs seeking to help their clients get to 100% funding.
(www.kingdomcometraining.com)
B. Campus Crusade for Christ support-raising helps (including excellent audiotaped messages
on having the right attitude) that are in English as well as several different languages.
(www.dmpdccc.org)
C. Friend Raising DVD by Betty Barnett, YWAM Publishing. (1 disc, 1 session).
D. People Raising DVDs by Bill Dillon, Moody Publishing. (5 discs, 5 sessions).
 ENDNOTES

1. I got this from Scott Morton and The Navigators 4:10 Solution Support Raising Training
Sessions in Colorado Springs, March 2000. He called it the “Fund-raising Acceptance
Barometer.” Aptly named!
2. From an e-mail I exchanged with Tom Stickney, Nov. 12, 2012.
3. These two stats were taken from a quote from Dr. Ralph Winter in 1985. As I give seminars
around the country, I have taken the liberty of slightly increasing the number of inquirers to
20,000 because of the substantial increase in population, Christian organizations, and
opportunities available.
4. From an e-mail I exchanged with George Verwer in 2009.
5. Scott Morton, Funding Your Ministry (Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress, 2007), 5.
6. Charles Swindoll, Great Days with the Great Lives: Daily Insight from Great Lives of the
Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc, 2006).
7. Edward McKendree and Harold Chadwick, E M Bounds: The Classic Collection on Prayer
(Alachua, FL: Bridge Logos Foundation, 2002).
8. coSTART Manual for Support Raising by Andrew Knight, 8.
9. At the 2003, 2006, 2009 Urbana student mission conferences hosted by InterVarsity Christian
Fellowship, we had BodyBuilders staffers go from booth-to-booth asking the senior leader who
was present there this question. We may have made some progress because of the earlier
Urbana’s the average was closer to twenty-three months, while the 2009 survey revealed it was
closer to eighteen months!
10. For info on how to transition from part-time to full-time support raising—and still pay all your
bills—read chapter 22 of the book: ViewPoints: Fresh Perspectives on Personal Support
Raising by Steve Shadrach. The chapter is entitled: Full or Part-time Support Raising: Which
Approach Is Right for You?
11. Steven Furtick, Sun Stand Still: What Happens When You Dare to Ask God for the Impossible
(Random House Digital Inc., 2010), 7.
12. Some support-raising coaches will set up “Encourager Schedules” whereby they can affirm the
support raiser for reaching different milestones. For instance, if eight months was the projected
length of time to raise support:
• If after two months, they were at 25%, they were “off to a good start.”
• If after four months, they were at 50%, they should be encouraged because it “looks like they
will make it!”
• If after six months, they were at 75% they would share with the support raiser that God has
brought them this far, now it’s a matter of “finishing it off.” Not if they get to full support,
only when!
• If after eight months, they make it to the 100% figure, they get taken out for a steak dinner and
celebration! Of course, you want to celebrate with them whenever they get to full support,
whether it is ahead of (or behind!) schedule.
13. Rick Warren, Tweet, 12 August 2012,
 https://twitter.com/RickWarren/status/234817891684470785.
14. In February of 2006, Dr. Campolo spoke at the National Pastors’ Convention in San Diego, CA.
He formed his talk around a sociological study conducted with people over the age of ninety-
five and shared the results. He asked the survey group: “If you could do life over again, what
would you do differently?” Most responses fell into three categories: 1) Reflect more, 2) Risk
more, and 3) Do more that will live on after I’m gone.
15. John Eldredge, Dare to Desire: An Invitation to Fulfill Your Deepest Dreams (Nashville, TN:
Thomas Nelson Inc, 2002).
16. Ibid.
17. Howard Hendricks—From notes of his “Christian Home” class lecture I took in fall of 1982 at
Dallas Theological Seminary.
18. Ralph Blum, The Book of Runes (New York: Macmillan, 2008), 135.
19. For more extensive help on this read chapter 24 in ViewPoints.
20. Rick Warren, 10 Key Points to Remember in 2012, http://pastors.com/10-key-points-to-
remember-in-2012/.
21. From a 12/05/2012 email exchange with Mark Stephens, FCA Maryland State Director.
22. Mick Ukleja and Robert Lorber, Who Are You? What Do You Want?: Four Questions That Will
Change Your Life (New York: Penguin, 2009).
23. From conversations with Tim Howington, former campus staff person with Student
Mobilization, now Christian businessman and disciple in Northwest Arkansas.
24. From the “Have You Made the Wonderful Discovery of the Spirit-Filled Life” booklet at
www.cru.org.
25. Quote from Todd Ahrend, content editor for this book, who wrote this in his commentary on the
early manuscript.
26. Scott Morton,—From lecture notes of Scott teaching at the 4:10 Solution School support raising
training at Glen Eyrie, Navigators headquarters in October, 2000.
27. John C Maxwell, Tweet, 19 February 2012,
https://twitter.com/JohnCMaxwell/status/171217696627761152.
28. From lecture notes of Ellis teaching at the Campus Crusade MPD staff training in Daytona
Beach, FL in February, 2000.
29. Steve Shadrach, “Asking Non-Believers for Support: Is It Wrong?” Support Raising Solutions
Newsletter (September 2007): http://www.supportraisingsolutions.org/resources/newsletter-
viewer/itemid/65/asking-nonbelievers-for-support-is-it-wrong.
30. Steve Shadrach, The Fuel and the Flame (The BodyBuilders Press, 2012), 102.
31. Annual studies show about 75% of giving that goes on each year in the United States is done by
individuals. The other 25% is from corporations, foundations, and bequests. I would encourage
you to follow that rule of thumb—make at least 75% of your team from individuals. The rest can
come from churches, foundations, corporate matching funds, etc. Source is from Giving USA
Foundation. More information at www.givingUSAreports.org
32. Scott Morton, Funding Your Ministry (Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress, 2007), 40.
33. Ellis Goldstein, from a personal e-mail from Ellis in response to reading and evaluating this
manuscript.
34. For more info, go to page 383 in the New International Commentary on the New Testament,
 Second Epistles to the Corinthians by Philip E. Hughes from Eerdmans Publishing.
35. Taken from the preaching notes of Ken Wilson, Pastor of Conway’s Fellowship Bible Church.
Teaching through Romans in 2004 and 2012, he included this statement as the purpose of the
book on his book chart of Romans.
36. Steve Rentz, from lecture notes of Steve teaching at the Campus Crusade MPD staff training in
Daytona Beach, Florida, in February, 2000.
37. From Andrew Knight’s excellent coSTART support raising manual for Campus Outreach staff,
page 31.
38. From a 2/27/2013 email exchange with Mike Congrove, staff member with Empower Sudan
(www.empowersudan.org) who had been through one of our Boot Camps in 2005 and has been
at full support since.
39. For further reading on this controversial, but important subject, get a copy of Randy Alcorn’s
book Money, Possessions, and Eternity. Especially note pages 181–183 on “Grace, Law, and
Tithing.” He believes that some people use this concept of “grace giving” I describe as an
excuse to not give generously or consistently—or not at all!
40. David Platt, Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream (New York: Random
House Digital, Inc., 2010).
41. William P. Dillon, People Raising (Chicago: Moody Publishers, 1993), 60.
42. Part of the endorsement quote Ellis Goldstein provided for this book via email on 2/20/2013.
43. Andy Stanley, Visioneering: God’s Blueprint for Developing and Maintaining Personal
Vision (New York: Random House Digital, Inc., 2012).
44. A.W. Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy (Fig, 1961).
45. David J. Scott, The Pebble and the Tower (Xulon Press, 2007), 201.
46. Steve Shadrach “Asking Big: Does It Offend or Affirm?” Support Raising Solutions Newsletter
(March 2006):
http://www.supportraisingsolutions.org/resources/itemid/83/moduleid/4998/asking-big-does-it-
offend-or-affirm
47. Ron Dunn, Don’t Just Stand There, Pray Something (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2001), 38.
48. At least one of the times Jesus did this with the Twelve was just one chapter earlier in Mark
9:30-32.
49. Dan and Dave Davidson and George Verwer, God’s Great Ambition (Downers Grove, IL:
InterVarsity Press, 2004).
50. From www.thetravelingteam.org website of “World Christian” quotes.
51. Cleophus Jackson, Reprogram Your Mind for Success and Happiness (iUniverse, 2011), 152.
52. Some of Anderson’s books: The Bondage Breaker, Victory Over the Darkness, Steps to
Freedom in Christ, Who I Am in Christ, and others.
53. Neil Anderson and David Park, Ultimate Love (Eugene, OR: Harvest House, 2006), 214.
54. Albert Mehrabian, research scientist in Human Resource Development, has studied the
comparative impact of our words, voice, and nonverbal communication. Words alone account
for only 7% of the total communication effort. Voice inflection is 38%; nonverbal
communication, like gestures, facial expressions, body language, etc. account for 55%.
55. Actually, the ten unbelieving spies were struck down in the very next chapter: Numbers 14:36.
56. Marilee Zdenek, Inventing the Future (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1988).
57. Dr. Larry Crabb and Dr. Dan Allender, Encouragement; The Key to Caring (Grand Rapids, MI:
Zondervan, 1990).
58. Bill Hybels, Honest to God?: Becoming an Authentic Christian (Grand Rapids, MI:
Zondervan, 1992), 140.
59. From a talk Robert gave at Little Rock’s Fellowship Bible Church to lay and ministry leaders,
approximately fall of 2006.
60. From Andrew Knight’s excellent coSTART support raising manual for Campus Outreach staff,
page 15.
61. USA Giving Foundation annual statistics of Americans’ giving can be found at
www.givingUSAreports.org.
62. Rick Warren, Tweet, 6 August 2012,
https://twitter.com/RickWarren/status/232675836090785793.
63. Alan was a Crown Financial Ministry staff person when he went through one of our Boot
Camps. This quote is from the evaluation sheet he filled out.
64. From a 7-16-2012 e-mail from Donna where she reviewed and commented on the manuscript of
this book.
65. A recent government report found that a middle-income family will spend about $235,000 in
child-related expenses from birth to age seventeen. Implication? If you are going to have a
family, you better raise lots of support!
66. Scott Morton, Funding Your Ministry (Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress, 2007), 68.
67. For more information on what it means to “maximize the fruitfulness” for your family or ministry
go to ViewPoints, chapter 25 entitled: “Standard of Living: What Should It Be for Christian
Workers?”
68. These figures were taken from Campus Consultants President Kal Chany who wrote the book
Paying for College Without Going Broke (Published by Princeton Review, 2011). I plugged
my own figures in and found that if I had a newborn (in 2012) and wanted to someday fully fund
my child for four years at a public university (including room and board) I would have to be
setting aside $450 a month, every month, for the next eighteen years. These figures assume a 6%
annual inflation rate for college costs and an 8% annual return on my investments. More info at
www.campusconsultants.com.
69. According to George Barna’s book Revolution published by Tyndale House Publishers in
February 2006. Especially read chapter 2 about the new breed of revolutionaries attempting to
become the Church Christ commissioned us to be.
70. To see various BAM models, and lay people, companies, pastors, etc. discussing and promoting
BAM, go to: businessasmissionnetwork.com.
71. I recommend TntMPD, the free software program developed to aid all the Campus Crusade staff
who raise their support. www.tntware.com. Download and install this fantastic tool to help you
record and track all of your contact and giving information.
72. For more help on this—and the reconnecting with friends from your past, go to ViewPoints
chapter 18: “How Old Friends Can Become New Supporters.”
73. Support of this concept comes from various texts, including the expression “in the beginning of
the gospel” (Philippians 4:15-16). It’s clearly referring to Paul’s first preaching of the gospel in
Macedonia, about ten years before the composition of that letter. These Philippian believers
 were long-term supporters of Paul and his ministry as he traveled around planting churches in
other regions. 2 Corinthians 11:9 describes how Silas and Timothy had come from Macedonia
to Corinth to bring Paul funds provided by the Philippian church so he could transition out of
part-time ministry to full-time work among the Corinthians (Acts 17:14–15). More info on pages
114-15 in Philippians: Triumph in Christ by John F. Walvoord.
74. My estimate is that well over half of the givers in America are not doing so via paper check.
They are giving via Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT) which is the same as a bank draft, or going
online to make their donations via credit card or debit card.
75. Stewart Levine, The Book of Agreement: 10 Essential Elements for Getting the Results You
Want (San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2002), 213.
76. Steve Shadrach, Tweet, 11 June 2012,
https://twitter.com/SteveShadrach/status/212295115304210438.
77. A.W. Tozer, Root of the Righteous (Wilder Publications, Limited, 2010), Chapter 39.
78. From a May 4, 2012 tweet by author and leadership expert John Maxwell. Moss is an author and
speaker (RichardMoss.com).
79. Steve Shadrach, “Front Door-Back Door: Why Do People Leave Your Organization?” Support
Raising Solutions Newsletter (April 2006),
http://www.supportraisingsolutions.org/resources/itemid/82/moduleid/4998/front-doorback-
door-why-do-people-leave-your-org.
80. Rick Warren, Tweet, July 2012,
http://tweetwood.com/RickWarren/tweet/213326161747517440.
81. Ellis got this initally from his support-raising training mentor, Steve Rentz, but is a quote that has
been all over the internet for years.
82. I grew up in a denominational church, came to Christ through a parachurch ministry, was
involved with both church and parachurch throughout college, attended a denominational and
later a nondenominational seminary, became a college and missions pastor for years at a
denominational church, then started a parachurch ministry, was an elder in planting a
nondenominational church, served in all kinds of church leadership roles along the way, started
and led several parachurch organizations, have consulted with hundreds of groups from both
churches and parachurches, and even starting and finishing a (seven-year long!) Doctorate of
Ministry track at Denver Seminary on “Church and Parachurch Executive Leadership.” My
conclusion is that so many of the divisions that exist between believers are man-made. My
ecclesiology is fairly broad: In the eyes of God, I believe there are only two groups on the
planet: those who are part of God’s family, and those who are not. The Holy Spirit is seeking to
mobilize one group to reach out and win the other group! For more information on this subject
you might read my article: “Church and Parachurch: Friend or Foe?” at
www.thetravelingteam.org/articles/church-and-para-church-friend-or-foe. Also, Dr. Ralph
Winter’s article on sodalities and modalities (“The Two Structures of God’s Redemptive
Mission” by Dr. Ralph Winter, in Perspectives on the World Christian Movement, published
by William Carey Library, 2010) will shed some light on the subject. I (and the Lord!) have a
great love for all believers, in all kinds of groups/identities. God yearns that we work together,
show the world what unity in Christ looks like, and be openhanded, sharing all the resources He
has entrusted to us.
 83. Ken Blanchard and Sheldon Bowles, Raving Fans: A Revolutionary Approach to Customer
Service (New York: HarperCollins, 1993).
84. Steve Shadrach, “Successful Support Raising in a Suffering Economy” Support Raising
Solutions Newsletter (December 2008),
http://www.supportraisingsolutions.org/resources/newsletter-viewer/itemid/47/successful-
support-raising-in-a-suffering-economy.
85. On average, charities receive 41% of their annual conbtributions between Thanksgiving and
New Years, according to a 2011 study by Charity Navigators Holiday Giving Guide.
86. Scott Morton, Funding Your Ministry (NavPress, 2007).
87. John Maxwell, Failing Forward (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2007), 1.
88. Betty Barnett, Friend Raising, (YWAM Publishing, 2002).
89. Go to NetPopResearch.com reports for more info.
90. Steve Shadrach “Do’s and Don’ts of Using Social Media in Support Raising” Support Raising
Solutions Newsletter (June 2011):
http://www.supportraisingsolutions.org/newsletter/itemid/1632/moduleid/
91. Donna Wilson, assistant director of development for InterVarsity, was quoting Shannon Marion,
a National Field Director for IVCF.
92. This list of benefits is primarily taken from Donna Wilson and the IVCF training material she
takes staff through. She is an excellent trainer and has two articles in the appendix—one on
“Support Raising and Emotions,” and the other, “Raising Support in Communities of Color.”
93. This pair of questions as well as the script to ask for an increase comes primarily from Sean
Vollendorf, the campus director for Student Mobilization who got excited after one of our
Personal Support Raising Boot Camps and immediately started calling his supporters for
appointments in order to ask for increases. A week later he had over $1200 in new monthly
support!
94. Some churches will require you to fill out extensive annual reports to continue to receive
support, or travel from your field of service to their annual missions conference, or sometimes
act as an adjunct staff person, taking on church responsibilities. Use discernment!
95. Taken from staff discussions within the Center for Mission Mobilization.
96. Over the course of a year or month, when all the dust clears, you will have spent roughly 10% of
your time focused on your supporters… i.e. praying for them, visiting, calling, newsletters, etc.
For example, if you put in a fifty-hour week this week, then approximately five hours could be
dedicated to your ministry partners in some form or fashion.
97. Steve Shadrach, “Evangelism: The Cutting Edge of Your Ministry” Campus Ministry Blog
(February 2012), www.campusministrytoolbox.org/campus-ministry-blog/evangelism-the-
cutting-edge-of-your-ministry/.
98. Grateful to Rachel Turner and Kyle Mathews with the Center for Mission Mobilization for
putting together this list. Excellent job!
99. Grateful to Scott Morton with The Navigators for permission to adapt some of his materials from
the 2010 version of “Biblically Funding the Work of God” Navigator staff training manual.
100. Some concepts here adapted from The Navigator’s Scott Morton and 4:10 Solution School
support training for staff.
101. Have seen versions of this over the years from Campus Crusade and The Navigators.
102. With permission, adapted from Andrew Knight’s coSTART support raising training manual.
103. Adapted from The Navigators iNFO School support raising manual, Section 7, p 33.
104. Adapted from John Patton, Operations Director for the Center for Mission Mobilization.
105. Some ideas here are borrowed from the MPD Accountability Covenant used by Ellis Goldstein
and Campus Crusade for Christ.
 ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dr. Steve Shadrach was born and raised in Dallas , Texas, where he received Christ at age eighteen
through the ministries of Athletes in Action and Fellowship of Christian Athletes. He attended
Highland Park Presbyterian and First Baptist Churches growing up. Steve enrolled in the University
of Arkansas in the fall of 1973, joining and moving into the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity. He was
involved with Campus Crusade, The Navigators, and University Baptist Church during college. He
worked at Missouri’s Kanakuk Kamps during the summers as a counselor and head counselor. After
graduation he attended Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, before transferring to Dallas
Theological Seminary, finishing in 1983. That spring he married Carol Vahey, also from Dallas. They
moved to Fayetteville, where Steve became the Collegiate Pastor at University Baptist Church,
serving under H.D. McCarty. He and Carol had four children while living and ministering next to the
University of Arkansas campus. They also began the Kaleo Summer Training Projects, brought
Perspectives on the World Christian Movement to Arkansas, and organized the Student Mobilization
(StuMo) campus ministry.
In 1986, Steve transitioned off the church staff to go full-time with StuMo. Steve and Carol and
the founding staff started ministries on campuses across Arkansas, Oklahoma, Misissippi, and in
Kharkov, Ukraine. In 1995, the Shadrachs spent a year in Ukraine helping establish a long-term
campus ministry there, then brought home a baby girl from an orphanage to join their family. In the
late 90s, Steve and Todd Ahrend launched The Traveling Team ministry and the Day of Discovery
(now NVision) mission seminars. Turning the StuMo leadership over to the next generation in 2000,
Steve and John Patton started The Body Builders to offer practical training and resources to Christian
ministries, agencies, and churches around the world. In addition to NVision, the tools they offered
included the Boot Camps for Personal Support Raising and The Fuel and the Flame book for
campus ministry staff and student leaders.
In 2004, Steve also became Director of Mobilization for the U.S. Center for World Mission, and
along with Dave Flynn, for eight years oversaw the expansion of the Perspectives on the World
Christian Movement course around the U.S. and globe. During that time, Steve helped launch the
Every Ethne campus mobilization ministry with Andy Kampman, the SevenNine international
mobilization ministry with Casey Morgan, and the Campus Ministry Toolbox ministry with John
Allert. In 2012, the various ministries Steve was serving consolidated under The Body Builders
Ministry. The organization was renamed Center for Mission Mobilization with the goal of engaging,
equipping, and connecting believers worldwide to their most strategic role in completing the Great
Commission.
 Steve has a Masters in Biblical Studies from Dallas Seminary and a Doctorate in Church and
Para-Church Executive Leadership from Denver Seminary. He and Carol have five grown children,
one grandson, and still reside next to the Arkansas campus; continuing to house and minister to
college students.

Ministry Links
• stumo.org
• perspectives.org
• cmtbox.org
• thetravelingteam.org
• everyethne.org
• 79online.org
• mobilization.org
• supportraisingsolutions.org
• cmmpress.org
 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I have nowhere else to go to and no one else to go to but Jesus Christ Himself. I acknowledge Him
as the centerpiece and sustainer of my life and future. I am one of the most blessed men on the planet
to have my wife, Carol, and our family at my side. My wealth far surpasses any monetary value.
Thanks for your patience with me as I struggled through writing this book the last five years. All the
staff of the Center for Mission Mobilization are a pure joy to work with. God is at work through each
of you, and all of you. I am simply hanging on for dear life! I acknowledge Scott Morton with The
Navigators and Ellis Goldstein with Cru as two of my support-raising training mentors. They shoot
straight with me and that is my definition of friendship. A big thank you to Tim Howington, who held
my feet to the fire each week to finish this book. I am so grateful for Todd Ahrend who carved this
manuscript up like a Thanksgiving turkey. I call him “the Slasher” and I love him for it! Other
volunteer editors who gave great input were John Patton, Christina Jerrett, Kyle Mathews, Andrew
Knight, Micah May, and a host of other readers whose suggested changes were taken. I acknowledge
my friend and Kenyan missionary Tom Stickney as the one who came up with the God Ask name for
this book. At first it sounded strange, then fascinating, and finally… profound. Thanks to my trusted
assistants Laura McDowell and Rachel Turner for their tireless serving. I am grateful to Joe Michie
and Ian Frasier for their ideation and creativity in crafting this book’s identity. May God multiply
your hard work and excellence. Appreciation goes out to Karen Pickering with BookVillages for her
patient shepherding of this book through the various stages to completion. To those who are publicly
endorsing this book, thanks. I respect each of you immensely. To the thousands of “Boot Campers”
we’ve had the privilege of training from ministries all over the world: I have learned more from you
than you ever did from me! Lastly, to our own personal-support team: You are truly lifelong ministry
partners to Carol and me. You have stuck with us, sacrificed, prayed, and made it possible to do all
that we do. When we launched out to raise support in 1986, we, too, made the “The God Ask,” that
He would give us a team like you that would last clear into eternity. The Lord answered our prayers
—big time! We are going to have one huge party together in heaven celebrating all the fruit that Jesus
bore in and through us all. You will receive just as much a reward as anyone. Thanks!
PRAISE FOR THE GOD ASK
“Steve Shadrach’s The God Ask is destined to be one of the classic rock-solid books on raising
personal support. Every Christian worker and missions executive needs to include this book in their
support-raising training curriculum. As Steve says, we are mobilizing people, not money. The God
Ask will help you adjust your lens of faith so that you can clearly see that God’s net worth has not
changed since the day of creation, and He is committed to funding His mission.”
ELLIS F. GOLDSTEIN – National Director, Ministry Partner Development for Cru, the U.S.
ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ

“Full of practical tools and biblical foundations, The God Ask turns our focus away from our fears
and toward faith in God’s abundance. Shadrach inspires us toward excellence, courage, and humility.
A must-have resource for anyone engaged in support raising!”
TOM LIN – Vice President and Director of Urbana, InterVarsity Christian Fellowship

“Myself and hundreds of our FCA staff have been impacted by Steve’s inspiring ways to raise funds
to advance God’s Kingdom. Unlock the vault for God’s blessings for you and your ministry. Read this
book!”
COACH LES STECKEL – President/CEO, Fellowship of Christian Athletes

“Asking for support is an aspect of ministry many Christian workers don’t look forward to. Steve
Shadrach takes the edge off of what may be the tensest moment for a future servant of God. It is
biblical and influenced by his many years in ministry.”
TOMMY NELSON – Senior Pastor, Denton Bible Church

“After twenty-five years of living on support, I finally got trained by Steve in this material and
realized how much I was doing wrong! Steve’s practical suggestions and challenging perspectives
produce results. I always recommend his Boot Camp for those going into full-time Christian work.
Now it’s in written form! This is a must read for every person who seeks to raise their support to
serve the King!
BOB SJOGREN – President, UnveilinGLORY

“Steve Shadrach’s The God Ask is outstanding and engaging. He builds a sound biblical basis for
raising personal support for ministry. Shadrach’s own study and experience as a “faith missionary”
makes the book captivating. The God Ask is integral to the vision of funding and clearly practical in
what our part is and how it works. Everyone in ministry needs to read this book. If every Christian
read this book, there would be plenty of money to support God’s purposes throughout the world.”
DENNIS GAYLOR – National Director, Chi Alpha Campus Ministries, USA

“A must-read for every missionary. Steve trumpets the clear truth that God will fully fund every bit of
your calling you are willing to trust Him for. Then he shows you how. He gives the deep, biblical
foundation for realizing God’s provision, but also the proven, practical steps to enable anyone—even
an introvert like me—to do their part in confidently seeing that provision become a reality.”
MIKE D. RIGGINS – Missionary Deployment Coordinator, North American Mission Board, SBC

“The God Ask is biblical, practical, and relevant. It will revolutionize your walk and your work in
building and sustaining your partnership development team so you can have maximum impact in your
life, family, and ministry!”
DAVE MEYERS – Director of Development, New Tribes Mission USA

“I have known Steve Shadrach for over twenty-five years, and he has always focused on getting the
gospel to more and more people around the world. He has a passion and commitment to train workers
with excellent God-centered tools for funding their ministry. These tools have benefited Christian
workers around the world, including many with Campus Outreach. The God Ask is one excellent
resource.”
MIKE HEARON – Global Resource Team, Campus Outreach

“We send all our church planters to Steve’s personal support-raising training. In The God Ask, Steve
equips, empowers, and inspires you. He’s thought through every detail of what you need to do. If
you’re only going to read one book on support raising, The God Ask is a must-read!”
DR. BOB ROWLEY – Evangelical Free Church of America

“I have read this book twice already. I can’t get enough. You will walk away saying, Please Lord,
allow me the honor of raising support.”
DR. TODD AHREND – International Director, The Traveling Team

“Every person on earth needs to encounter Jesus Christ and the salvation He alone offers. This means
the world needs workers for the harvest who are fully converted, fully trained and fully funded. Steve
Shadrach, in The God Ask, provides a deeply biblical and powerfully convincing call for those who
are sent into mission to never go alone. Called by God and accompanied by Him, we will be fully
equipped when we have the prayers and full financial support we need to share the gospel without
reserve.”
CURTIS MARTIN – Founder & President, FOCUS-Fellowship of Catholic University Students
THE GOD ASK
© 2013 by Steve Shadrach
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without written
permission from CMM Press Inc., P.O. Box 3556, Fayetteville, AR 72702. www.cmmpress.org

ISBN: 978-0-9825107-3-5

Published by: CMM Press

P.O. Box 3556
Fayetteville, AR 72702

Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references taken from New American Standard Bible (NASB)
Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman
Foundation. Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House
Foundation. New Living Translation (NLT) Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc.,
Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All
rights reserved. New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved
worldwide. New International Version 1984 (NIV1984) Holy Bible, New International Version®,
NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved
worldwide. New King James Version (NKJV) The Holy Bible, New King James Version Copyright
© 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1946, 1952, and
1971 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the
United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, 10th ed. Copyright © 2002 by

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Printed in the United States of America

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Printing / Year 17 16 15 14 13
 Dedicated to my friends and co-laborers:

SCOTT MORTON
of The Navigators

ELLIS GOLDSTEIN
of Cru, the U.S. Ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ

DONNA WILSON
of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship

BETTY BARNETT
of Youth With A Mission

MIKE RIGGINS
of North American Mission Board (SBC)

A host of other faithful men and women who have helped fulfill the Great Commission by training
generations of Christian workers how to launch their ministries and raise their personal support.
“Oh God, for Your glory,
flood the nations
with spiritually healthy,
vision-driven,
fully funded,
Great Commission workers.”