What is the scariest part of accepting God’s calling to the World Race? Is it leaving the comfort of America behind? Is it the separation from your family and friends? Is it traveling into third world countries full of poverty and disease? Nope. The scariest part of the Race can be summed up in one word. Fundraising. The single scariest endeavor that every Racer must confront.
Why does fundraising strike fear into the heart of every Racer? Well, I believe there are various reasons. First, it is a matter of trust. We, as Christians, are familiar with what the bible says about trusting God in every aspect of our lives.
“Trust in the Lord with all of your heart. Lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6
I would venture to guess that this verse is probably one of several verses in the bible that both every believer and unbeliever has heard various times throughout life. Often times those types of verses become cliché in the hearts and minds of Christians because we see them so often that we begin to glaze over them and never really stop to think about their depth and beauty. The Father literally provides unending hope in this verse. He will take care of every aspect of our lives if we just trust that He is willing to do what He promises.
Trust is one of the hardest things to do as Christians because it’s a natural human instinct to want to take control of a problem. We want to fix it and typically we want to fix it utilizing the techniques we feel are best in order to garner the answer or end state we desire. When you reach a place in your Walk where you recognize the only choice you have is to leave everything at the foot of the cross it is absolutely the most liberating feeling. I can speak from experience. It is still a daily struggle to give every situation to the Lord and it will be for the rest of our lives because…instinct. However, it is an instinct worth fighting against.
Second, it is a matter of dependence. Humans want to believe they are independent, and especially those of us who have been financially independent for a decade (that’s me!). The process of fundraising forces us to depend on God and people. We depend on God to provide giving hearts to those in our lives. We depend on people, some we know and some we do not, to listen for the Lord’s calling to give to this ministry. There are countless examples of depending on God in the bible but the one that comes to mind is Elijah. The Lord sends Elijah to live in a ravine after telling him that a great drought is approaching. He promises Elijah water from a brook and food brought by ravens. What?!? You want to talk about being completely dependent on God for subsistence. Once the brook runs dry the Lord sends Elijah to Zarephath where he meets a widow and asks for some water and a piece of bread. Prior to Elijah’s arrival the Father directed the widow to provide the food and water to Elijah. The widow only has enough flour and oil to make bread for her and her son but Elijah promises she will not run out of flour and oil if she first feeds him. True to His promise, God never allows the woman to run out of the ingredients needed for the bread. This story is a beautiful example of trust and dependence on both God and the people He places in our lives.
Third, it is a matter of pride. Human beings are prideful. I am prideful. Asking for prayer is hard; asking for financial support is hard; heck, even asking for help moving is hard! I think to myself “How is this going to make me look? What if I get told no? Don’t I look weak to all of these people?” Pride is a dangerous thing, though. It serves only to create a divide between us and our God.
“The LORD detests all the proud of heart. Be sure of this: They will not go unpunished.” Proverbs 16:5
One only need to look as far as Lucifer and his fall from heaven to understand the detriment of pride. Pride goes against everything Christ stands for. It is all about “me, myself, and I”, the complete opposite of the lifestyle a servant should lead.
So why write about the hurdles associated with fundraising? It is not meant to sound like a complaint or an unachievable task. I honestly believe all of the Racers’ supporters deserve to understand what goes through our heads and that this is not an easy thing for us to do. This is something we are being called to do. There is a calling in the Bible for supporters as well. The giving of your resources in order to benefit the Kingdom of God is biblical. Look no further than the story of King David in 1 Chronicles 29:1-9.
“Then King David said to the whole assembly: “My son Solomon, the one whom God has chosen, is young and inexperienced. The task is great, because this palatial structure is not for man but for the Lord God. With all my resources I have provided for the temple of my God—gold for the gold work, silver for the silver, bronze for the bronze, iron for the iron and wood for the wood, as well as onyx for the settings, turquoise, stones of various colors, and all kinds of fine stone and marble—all of these in large quantities. Besides, in my devotion to the temple of my God I now give my personal treasures of gold and silver for the temple of my God, over and above everything I have provided for this holy temple: three thousand talents of gold (gold of Ophir) and seven thousand talents of refined silver, for the overlaying of the walls of the buildings, for the gold work and the silver work, and for all the work to be done by the craftsmen. Now, who is willing to consecrate themselves to the Lord today?”
Then the leaders of families, the officers of the tribes of Israel, the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds, and the officials in charge of the king’s work gave willingly. They gave toward the work on the temple of God five thousand talents and ten thousand darics of gold, ten thousand talents of silver, eighteen thousand talents of bronze and a hundred thousand talents of iron. Anyone who had precious stones gave them to the treasury of the temple of the Lord in the custody of Jehiel the Gershonite. The people rejoiced at the willing response of their leaders, for they had given freely and wholeheartedly to the Lord. David the king also rejoiced greatly.”
While this is a rather lengthy passage I purposefully placed eight verses in here because it not only highlights David’s willingness to give but the willingness of so many members of the community to give to the construction of the temple. David goes on to speak to God, highlighting that it is the Lord who provides all of our earthly resources and what better way to give back than to invest into something that is eternal?
This process of fundraising has absolutely strengthened both my trust and dependence on God and is simultaneously decreasing the pride that is totally unnecessary and exists only to widen the gap between me and my Father. Each time I log on to my fundraising account I am humbled and quite frankly extremely overwhelmed by the people in my life who have made the decision to walk beside me on this journey. Make no mistake, every single person who lifts me up in prayer or makes a donation to the Race IS with me every step of the way. You are with me now as I prepare, you will be with me at training camp in July, you will be with me at launch in Atlanta in September, and you will be with me in 11 different countries as my squad goes into the darkest regions shining Christ’s light brighter than any darkness that can possibly exist.
Including the monthly donations that people have promised me for the next twelve months I am approximately 50% funded! I have prayed since day one of my acceptance onto the Race that I would be completely funded by September when I launch and I am on track to meet that deadline.
I ask that you would take time to consider supporting me in any way you can. Below is an opportunity to do just that. There is a map that holds 100 squares numbered 1 to 100. It‘s very simple. Choose a square and the number listed on that square is your donation. Email me at [email protected] or message me on Facebook and let me know which square(s) you have chosen and I will remove the squares as they are taken. Go to the left side of my blog, click “Please Support Me”, and you can make either a one-time donation or set up a monthly donation with a start and end date. Should you prefer to write a check please inform me and I will be happy to walk you through the steps. If all 100 squares get claimed this will provide an additional $5,050 and I will be over 75% funded! I truly appreciate you taking the time to consider standing by me in this endeavor.
To my supporters thus far: your willingness to partner with me is such a blessing and I assure you I appreciate it more than you will ever know. You are in my prayers and should you have a specific prayer request or would even like to get together for a cup of coffee please do not hesitate to reach out!
