A Roadmap to Navigate the Pitfall of Getting Overwhelmed

By on June 10, 2022   /   Biblical Encouragement, Fear and Perspective, Strategy and Planning   /   Leave a comment

We have all been there, haven’t we? We start our support-raising journey full of faith, motivation, momentum, and eager anticipation. And then a couple of prospective partners say “No” and others don’t respond to our calls. Even worse, our closest friends and family express doubt about the Lord’s call to mission in our lives. Suddenly, we find ourselves discouraged and unmotivated, with our faith wavering. We feel stuck, fearful, and overwhelmed. During all this, even the most experienced missionary can lose confidence and may begin to lose hope and feel tempted to despair. But this is normal! Every missionary, in […]

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Passionate Persistence

By on April 19, 2022   /   Biblical Encouragement, Communication and Relationships, Fear and Perspective   /   Leave a comment

The relational world we live in is governed by social norms and etiquette that shape our decisions more than I think we care to admit. Is it too late to call? Did I just cut them off? Were they waiting for that parking spot? Will they be mad if I take the last tortilla chip? We care about, for good reason, what other people think and we want to carry ourselves in a manner that reflects well on us, our family and even our Heavenly Father. (Philippians 1:27) Every once in a while, our lives include circumstances, crises, or problems […]

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Transformational Heart Change Through MPD

By on April 5, 2022   /   Communication and Relationships, Fear and Perspective   /   Leave a comment

Raising up a team of partners is a journey and process, not just a process of connecting with people and sharing about your ministry, but a process of personal growth. MPD (ministry partner development) has a transformational effect on those in ministry. You are put in this place of depending on God for provision and then seeing him provide in ways you weren’t expected and weren’t looking for. Again and again God reshapes what you think should or will happen to what His plan is. In the end, we aren’t raising up a team of people that we like, we […]

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In Defense of Second-Class Missionaries

By on February 15, 2022   /   Fear and Perspective   /   Leave a comment

Imagine what it would look like if western churches hired their staff with the same priorities that they choose overseas missionaries to financially support. First of all, a Children’s Pastor would definitely be out.  Not strategic enough; he’s only supporting the children of believers.  Youth Pastor?  Also out, unless he targets neighborhood kids. How about a Music Pastor?  Or Pastoral Counselor?  Nope.  Those are just support roles.  Not enough front-line ministry. Administrative Pastor?  Receptionist?  Good heavens.  We could never dream of paying someone for those kind of inconsequential jobs. How about a Preaching Pastor?  Well…..that’s if-y, but he probably doesn’t make the cut either.  After […]

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Ethnic Minority Support Raising is an Untapped Goldmine for Your MPD!

By on October 20, 2020   /   Communication and Relationships, Ethnic and Gender, Fear and Perspective, Non-Westerners, Training   /   Leave a comment

Support Raising for ethnic minorities usually conjures up words like shame and honor. But no longer are these terms relegated to ethnic minorities. Honor and shame categories are more relevant than ever and apply to all missionaries regardless of ethnic or cultural background. Consider the shame dynamics brought on by the onslaught of social media, articles like Christianity Today’s “The Return of Shame” and the popularity of best-selling author and shame researcher Brené Brown. Smartphones and Facebook have put honor-shame dynamics into everyone’s pocket, especially Gen Z, the first digitally native generation and the incoming missionary force. This current pandemic […]

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Why Should I Raise Financial Support For Church Planting

By on August 13, 2020   /   Basics, Biblical Encouragement, Culture, Fear and Perspective   /   Leave a comment

Dr. Steve Shadrach is a guest on Danny Parmelee’s show “101 Questions Church Planters Ask” to look at the WHY behind raising financial support. This looks at some of the biblical reasons and examples of raising financial support along with some of the pragmatic benefits of raising personal funds for church planting.

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Learned Helplessness

By on July 21, 2020   /   Coaching, Culture, Fear and Perspective, Training   /   Leave a comment

Dread. That’s what I felt before my weekly check-in as an MPD coach with this staff. The litany of excuses, hopelessness, and futility I felt each meeting sucked me right into their vortex of despair, transforming a great day into a dreary one. I worked hard as a coach, asking reflective questions designed to help them arrive at a new insight or behavior change that would move them to some measure of success. Nearly every time my questions were answered with some form of “I have tried it all and people just don’t want to support me. I don’t even […]

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Taking a Step of Faith Into the Unknown

By on April 7, 2020   /   Ethnic and Gender, Fear and Perspective   /   Leave a comment

A Chinese Ministry Worker Takes on the New Frontier of Raising Support My name is MeiLin, and I would like to share with you the work that God has done in me, personally, and my ministry partners throughout my journey of raising and living on support. I am from China and work in full-time ministry. Four years ago, I was working as a Chinese teacher to foreign students when I met a family that was serving in China. After we had gotten to know each other more they invited me to join them in their work of mobilizing the Chinese […]

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Setting Your Focus

By on April 2, 2020   /   Communication and Relationships, COVID-19, Culture, Fear and Perspective, Leadership   /   Leave a comment

What to do about what you can’t control for you and your team My wife homeschooled our children for a few years. She did a great job motivating our kids. She set an end of the year reward for the kids to go to an amusement park if they hit their weekly and semester goals. The kids hit their goals and the day trip was planned. One of my children had their heart set on riding one particular ride for months.  The day came and the excitement grew as we stood in line to buy tickets. The gates opened and […]

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Survival Guide to Raising Support During the Coronavirus – Part 1

By on March 19, 2020   /   Communication and Relationships, COVID-19, Fear and Perspective   /   Leave a comment

(This is Part 1 in our series as we look at heart postures and strategies for connecting with ministry partners during the coronavirus pandemic.) No battle plan survives first contact.  It is a strategic fact that the best made plans won’t last after meeting reality, one must adapt to the circumstances presented. This is true in partnership development too. The internet goes out, it’s suddenly Christmas and no one is available, you have a family emergency, or maybe there is a global pandemic.  So then, what must we do? Before unpacking some really practical suggestions about communication and adaptation—let’s start […]

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Support Raising Solutions
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