Embracing Your Community in Ministry Partner Development

By on January 4, 2021   /   Communication and Relationships, Ethnic and Gender, Helpful Tips, Strategy and Planning   /   Leave a comment

Diwali. Lunar New Year. Cinco de Mayo. Eid al-Fitr. Passover. Christmas. Depending on your personal background and the community in which you were raised or currently reside, some of these words immediately bring to mind joyous gatherings filled with family, friends, and of course mountains of great food. These rich cultural celebrations bring out the best in their communities: a sense of connectedness, inclusion, deep familial relationships, honoring of others, and a recognition of something greater than the individuals who join these festivities. It is from – and into – these communities that we are beginning to see God draw […]

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Millennials and MPD: What I Have Learned Coaching New Staff in Support Raising

By on November 17, 2020   /   Appointments and Asking, Communication and Relationships, Culture, Follow-Through/Obstacles, Leadership, Preparation and Tools, Special Asks, Strategy and Planning   /   Leave a comment

Lysa, a young capable woman who loves Jesus and wants to serve Him overseas, joined our staff several years ago after college. She had never raised support, but was trained well. She plodded along among her college friends and home church with 3-5 appointments per week for several months, but was still only at about 10% of her goal. We had a deadline coming up in less than two weeks that required her to be at 80% of her actual (not pledged) support goal. If she did not make this, none of the rest of the team would launch and […]

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Support Raising and the Art of Storytelling

By on November 2, 2020   /   Communication and Relationships, Contacts and Referrals   /   Leave a comment

We all have stories worth telling. Be it our testimony for Jesus, the gospel story, or the awesome time we had with our friends last weekend, our stories help people walk in the shoes of others. It’s fairly easy for us all to share about a fun time we had, or a current struggle we’re experiencing in daily conversations, but writing them well is a different story! To help guide your writing and to help you create compelling stories, there are three words to remember: Inspire, Educate, and Navigate. Let’s take a look at how these three work together to […]

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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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What Makes The Difference?

By on October 13, 2020   /   Helpful Tips, Preparation and Tools   /   Leave a comment

When first appointed as a missionary it can feel like everyone has an opinion about the best beliefs and practices for raising your support. There’s a plethora of opinions on methodology and some people can be quite dogmatic about which one you use. Often, their advice comes from their personal experience and observation. For the rookie fundraiser it can feel overwhelming and confusing.  What really matters? What truly makes a difference? Many of us have heard the anecdotal statements: “It’s so much easier to raise if you’re going to the 10-40 window”, “people only want to give to social justice […]

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Finding Your People—How Friendship Contributes to Sanctification

By on October 9, 2020   /   Biblical Encouragement, Communication and Relationships   /   Leave a comment

One afternoon, I was coaching a small group as we did a team-building ropes course, and everyone (including me!) was frustrated. “Keep going, everyone. I am sure you are almost there!” I cheered half-heartedly. I was sure there was a point to our current challenge and believed onestaff member when he said it was possible to solve, but my patience had worn out along with my bug spray, and my cheering was waning in the afternoon sun.  The goal was to have two people, connected by their hands, balancing on two separate thin wires about a foot off the ground. […]

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Equipping Indigenous Workers

By on August 18, 2020   /   Coaching, Culture, Non-Westerners   /   Leave a comment

A note from SRS: Here is a story of a team that is making incredible strides in raising up international ministry workers. May their story inspire you to dream bigger for what is possible. The world is changing, but the gospel remains the same. And every day, God is at work in central and eastern Europe, as the message of Jesus Christ touches young people. Pockets of this reformation are being sparked by the dedication, sacrifice, and service of our missionary team, Josiah Venture.  Our goal in Josiah Venture is to walk young people through the process of disciple making […]

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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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8 Tips on Writing Newsletters that Rock

By on August 4, 2020   /   Basics, Communication and Relationships, Helpful Tips   /   Leave a comment

Layout & Language  I’ve observed that most missionaries struggle with one of two things when writing their prayer and update newsletters. Either they struggle to design a newsletter layout that is both attractive to the eye and easy to read, or they struggle to use language that speaks to the heart and inspires the reader. Here are 4 quick tips on the layout of your newsletter and 4 quick tips on the language in your newsletter.  4 Tips on Layout  Use your organization’s logo and branding You don’t want to know how many missionary newsletters I receive where it’s unclear […]

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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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Support Raising Solutions
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