Kylie and I have just started fundraising for The World Race, Part Deux: Squad Leading – the action movie title for the next chapter of our lives. Fundraising was the hardest part of my first World Race experience in 2013. It was also one of the most rewarding. As we step into the process a second time, asking people who already funded us once to understand and support us again, here are a few of the things I’ve learned that are key to thriving in the fundraising process.
1) Trust. There is one simple reason we don’t like fundraising: we have almost no control. Money is a form of control in our society. That is why we pursue it so vigorously. We want to earn money so that we don’t have to rely on anyone else, so that we can make the decisions, guide the directions, and control the outcomes. Fundraising is about laying ourselves bare and hoping someone else comes along to clothe us with sympathy and love. It is a frightening exercise in vulnerability. We have to trust in resources we have no control over. Is my calling affirmed by other believers? Does my community support my decisions? The Lord provides and he uses his people. We have to trust in something other than ourselves. A fundraising project is something that, without the Spirit of God at work, will not be possible. The Lord blesses such endeavors. We must trust Him.
2) Receiving. As Americans, we love to give, or we at least love to be in the position of the giver. Our pride feels the power of being able to help others. It makes us feel charitable and we like that. But we have a real hard time receiving. We don’t like being the charity. We don’t like not controlling which direction the help flows. This robs our brothers and sisters of their chance to be the givers God has called them to be. Kylie and I give to others every paycheck. We pray and discern where the money should go. We need to believe that if money comes our way, it is because the Spirit has guided people to us. For the good of the body, we’ve got to learn to receive.
3) Humility. If you are fundraising, two things must be true. First, God has called you to something and second, you cannot accomplish it alone. I’ve struggled with asking for money because there are so many other places (better than this) for money to be given. My mind is tricking me into a coup of control. We have to trust others and their discernment. They have Christ in them and can decide what is “worthy” of their giving. It is a false humility to say, “there are better places to give.” What is actually happening is my pride saying “I want to decide what is worthy of giving.” It is a fight for control. The Spirit works as it works. Let go of human understanding. If God has called you to something you don’t have resources for, he has called someone else to give. Get out of their way.
4) The Cloud. Hebrews talks about being surrounded by that great cloud of witnesses. The best part of my 2013 fundraising was realizing that this is not just my trip. Wherever I go and whatever I do, I carry the influence of my family, my friends, my home church, and the youth I have lived alongside. About halfway through the 2013 process, I stopped asking for money and started asking for partners. These people are not a bank, they are participants in the journey God has called me to and in the bigger Story of the Kingdom of God in the world. In Thailand last year, I sent out a desperate plea for more donations to help with our ministry to prostitutes. The cloud of witnesses back home came through and made an overwhelming ministry possible. It wouldn’t have happened without their participation! We would have been ministerially crippled. We’re not asking people to write a check, we’re asking people to go on this journey with us, to actively be a part of it. When I meet with Sunday School groups, missions committees, or individuals, I don’t go in with the mindset of asking for money. I go in with a joy at the chance to share what the Kingdom of Christ has yanked me into. Talking with people is a chance to celebrate what God is doing in our lives. People know we need money, not much needs to be said about it. Our genuine passion and excitement for the crazy awesome thing He has called us to is contagious and something people want to be a part of. The Body of Christ takes a village. It requires a community to be who God has called us to be.
5) Joy. Here is a deep truth: that you are doing something that you cannot do by yourself is amazing! It is awesome that your story requires more than you! It is by God’s design! You are living something outside of yourself, something bigger than your tiny little self can contain. Kylie and I are traveling the world to minister to young adults and experience what God is doing throughout the nations. That is way bigger than me. Way beyond my capacity. And that is not a reason for fear, but for celebration. Thank God I cannot do this alone. It is a good sign I might be doing something that matters. I want to try to not let the fundraising process stress me out. I want to use it to humbly worship God for inviting me into His Story. Like so many others who are living big stories (all of us, really), I need help. I need community. I need support. I need people to invest in my callings just as badly as I need to invest in the callings of others. We are all the body of Christ, a tapestry woven together for the glory of the One and Only God. And that is a reason for joy.
