Explore News: How to Raise Support as a Missionary

MISSIONARY LIFE

June 2023

Raising support is an important part of being a missionary. In many cases, if a missionary cannot raise support, they cannot go. In this month’s Explore News , our missionary panel shares their collective wisdom on what it takes to raise support.

This month's question was asked by Kae, an Explore News subscriber.

Relationships are Key

“Relationships are key. If they know you and have seen you do ministry, they are much more likely to support you to do ministry in a totally different place. I also think calling is an important part of this process. We focus on the missionary’s call to missions, which is critical for their work, but I also believe that we are called to give. And some are called to be primarily supporters in this way. Opening their eyes to this calling can also empower them to pray about and see this role as something from God. He will call the right people to support the work!”

Dependence on God

“For me it was key from the beginning to understand what it meant to 'live on support', to fully grasp that it was a dependence on God and he is the one who provides for me each day. God calls each and every one of us to be on mission, to make disciples in all nations. Whenever I share with people about my specific calling to young people in Spain, I invite them to join alongside me in that mission in prayer or financial giving, but knowing that it is God who will move people’s hearts. He has been very faithful in taking care of me and I am so grateful for the prayer and financial teammates I have. It is more than just fiscal support, but people who also have a passion for youth in Spain. While they might not be called to be in person here, they still are just as important and care as much as I do for the lives of these youth and it is a beautiful thing.”

Spread the Net Wide and Set Goals

“Reach out to as many populations as possible. Don’t rely strictly on churches. And don’t rely strictly on individuals. Take the time to reach out to people and schedule times to meet up. If they don’t respond on one form of communication like text, try another like Facebook or email.

Make small manageable goals in order to make it feel less daunting. For example, reach out to 20 people in a week or schedule two meetings per week.”

Be Passionate. Share Stories. Find Advocates. Focus on Prayer.

“There are a few things that have been very helpful for us in support raising, and I share these in no particular order of importance.

First, I think it helps for people to see both a passion for the people you are wanting to serve, as well as a vision or picture for how you will approach doing that. This isn't always easy, and does not need to have all the details, but if people can imagine what you want to do and who you want to reach, it is very helpful for them.

A second thing that is helpful is sharing stories to help people imagine the setting, to help them see how God is at work already, and to pray for what God will do in the future. These can be testimonies of what God has already done in an area or stories that focus on the need in the area, but it helps if these are told as stories and not just reports.

Thirdly, it is so helpful to have 'advocates' in different churches or among different groups. I struggle with feeling like I'm needing to promote myself during support raising, and that is where sharing stories can put the attention back on God, but advocates can also play a critical role. If you have someone in a church that understands your heart and God's heart, they can lead the way so that they are often the ones actually asking about your needs and helping others see the needs and even calling for people to fill those support needs.

Finally, I think it is important that we really put an emphasis on prayer. We all need financial support, and God faithfully brings what is needed, but we can't let the urgency of financial needs take away from the larger and more foundational need for prayer support for us and for the people we want to work among. God has faithfully brought us financial support as we have turned our support raising concentration on to finding and sharing with prayer supporters."