I’ve been raising financial and prayer support for a little over two years now. It seems like a long time to be living complete interdependent on the rest of… well… whoever’s willing to donate. And quite honestly, while it seems like it would be a burden and a complete nightmare, it’s actually one of the greatest joys. I feel no pressure when I’m working for this ministry. I feel no expectation to perform. In fact, everything I do I find that I’m doing it with a lot of joy these days. It’s incredible how that works. But why does raising support even matter?
It’s community-driven
Being a support-raised missionary involves everybody. It’s true! It essentially requires the whole Body to make something happen. Take me for example. It might appear that only one person is doing a lot of the work, but that’s not that case. Glance at the network of people gathered behind me. This year alone, I’ve had a network of over 50 supporters. These are people that give to me financially and/or cover me in prayer. They each sow into me, I sow into those around me, those around me sow into those around them… and together we reach thousands. This isn’t a lie – it’s true!
It’s faith-based
Being a support-raised missionary takes a lot of faith. The crazy thing about faith though is that it isn’t a noun; it’s not something that you attain to or that you have. Faith is something that you do. It’s an action verb. And it’s precisely that way that missionaries raise support. They have incredible trust that God has called them to what they’re doing and that He’ll provide. In fact, the network and community behind them believes the same thing. And so, together, they work hard knowing that He’ll deliver.
It’s effective
Being a support-raised missionary is effective. I mentioned it before, but it’s sowing and reaping. A community sows into me, I sow into those under and around me, those under and around me sow into those around them… and together we reap a great harvest! Orphans are fed, prostitutes are freed, lepers are cleaned (literally) and the church expands around the globe. Support-raised missions have a ripple effect that a lot of other ministries lack.
In the meantime, I’m trying to raise support for 2010 so that I can continue in the ministry I’m a part of. So far I’ve got eleven prayer partners and nine financial partners. If you’d be interested in partnering with me in my ministry, send me an email here and let me know whether you want to be a prayer partner, financial partner, or both. If you’re willing to be a financial partner, please let me know how much you’d be willing to donate whether one time or monthly. It will help me in figuring out how well we’re doing in reaching my support goal. Thanks!
