Support Raising

I have recently started support-raising for a few upcoming missionary projects. For those of you not familiar with the lingo, support raising in this context is when you ask people for money to help fund your missionary work. It's an interesting concept in this American culture where everyone is conditioned from birth to have the desire to get a job and work hard and make as much money as you can. Support raising doesn't really fit with that way of thinking.

When I first start a support raising campaign for a particular project, I am filled with self-doubt. Is this really what God's called me to? Who should I send letters to and who will feel like I am annoying them or begging them? Will I be able to raise what I need? The funny part is that God has been extremely faithful to me in the past. I would estimate that I have probably raised about $25,000 for all the missionary work I've done in the past. And yet, despite the amount of money I've raised and the amount of times I've done this, the old doubt comes back.

This time, I am struggling a bit with the whole idea of leaving everything behind that I have built these last two years in Houston. I am going to miss my friends, family, students and the Young Life kids I mentor. These feelings combined with anxiety about support raising cause me to doubt what God's called me to. As of Friday, I'd only raised about $300 towards the almost $6000 I need. That afternoon, I went to the mailbox and the only thing I saw was what looked like one of those checks that credit card companies send you to try to trick you into becoming part of their identity theft program. I opened it up just to see what scam they were running this time. To my surprise it was actually a check for $1000 from some friends of mine. I was shocked. I actually jumped up and down. This little boost of confidence went a long way in assuaging some of my self-doubt. It felt like proof I was on the right track. All of this made me really think about support raising in general.

When I was teaching, I really enjoyed having a steady paycheck. There is a certain feeling of security afforded to one through a paycheck. Living on support does not provide that feeling of security. This is both a good and bad byproduct. It's bad because it is hard to plan things in advance or feel justified in buying things that are not simply daily necessities despite their overall usefulness to yourself or your mission. It is good because it is a tangible way to experience God's provision. You have to rely on God to supply what you need. This can be scary but also liberating.

One less obvious benefit to support raising is the bond created between supporter and suportee. I have found that people give for two main reasons. They either support you as a person or they support what you are doing.

I sent out support letters recently. My aunt gave me some money towards my projects. When I asked her if she had read about my mission trip this summer, she looked at me blankly and said she hadn't even read my letter. This is clearly an example of someone who supports me more for who I am than for what I am doing. This implies a level of confidence in me and my decisions that I find humbling. These are the kind of people who will stand by me and support me no matter what I do.

Another kind of supporter I have found is one who wants to support my particular cause more than they want to support me personally. My best example of this is when my mom's friend from work became a monthly supporter when I was working with YWAM full-time. I had never met this woman and yet she wanted to support me for a significant amount monthly. I think that is just so amazing! Since I have been out of the missionary field for the last two years, I have gotten to give financially to my friends who are still missionaries. It has been really fun to have money to give away. But, I do enjoy giving the money partly because it is to people I know and have worked with. It seems to me that giving to someone you don't even know is a much bigger deal and takes more faith in God.

Most supporters fall somewhere in between the two categories mentioned above. They are both supporting me and my cause. I love the connection I feel between my supporters and myself. If your money is where your heart is, than I know that I am near and dear to their hearts. They pray for me and I pray for them. It really is something special.

There are some missionary organizations that pay their missionaries. Sometimes this seems preferable as far as having a feeling of financial security. No one in YWAM is paid including the founder, who has been able to teach and preach in every country of the world while living on support. In the end, I am thankful for this policy and wouldn't want it any other way. I have learned so much from living on support. Never once has God failed to give me more than enough for what he has called me to. In fact, he usually directs people to give me more than enough so that I can tithe what I get to other missionaries around me. I consider it a huge privilege to represent my God and my supporters in my missionary work.