One of our great passions is this: We want to flood the nations with spiritually healthy, vision driven, fully funded Great Commission workers. This type of worker is what we like to call a “God Asker”. My new book (entitled The God Ask) gives much more detail, but let’s try to break it down, and give some specifics to this first description—being “spiritually healthy.”

1. Looks to God as owner and supplier of all things
To be a spiritually healthy “God Asker” you must have the spirit of Nehemiah. Certainly he was tempted to lean on wealthy King Artaxerxes to provide all the resources needed for his Jerusalem restoration project, but the faithful servant instead looked up to the Person who really owned and supplied all things. When the King said to him, “What would you request”, the lowly cupbearer revealed the true source of his trust: “So I prayed to the God of heaven.” (Nehemiah 2:4)

Become a Matthew 6:33 worker and God will add, even multiply, good and godly things in your life.

2. Believes they are called of God, worthy of support
Having a deep conviction it is the Lord of the Universe who has placed you in this work is critical to spiritually healthy support raising. I am not asking you whether you have had an emotional experience “surrendering” to the ministry via tears and goose bumps. But I am probing to see if it is settled in your mind and heart that you are in the center of God’s will, doing God’s work, according to God’s word. If so, you are “worthy of the wage” according to Jesus in Luke 10:7. Believe it, and proceed with a humble confidence.

3. Understands biblical basis for raising support
Your brother, mother, friend, pastor, (everyone!) has strong opinions about support raising. But virtually no one you know has ever done a thorough, objective, inductive study of the Scriptures what God says about living and ministering on support. A spiritually healthy support raiser bases their perspective and practices not on the perceptions of others, or on fears or experiences from the past. No, they have replaced the old, worldly thinking with new, biblical truth, thus “taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.” (2 Corinthians 10:5)

4. Thrives in their relationship with Jesus
If the key to being fully funded is being vision driven, then the key to being vision driven is being spiritually healthy. Intimacy with the Savior should be the centerpiece of our lives. Why? Because “apart from Me, you can do nothing” Jesus informed us in John 15:5. Wouldn’t you agree we are only as close to God as we choose to be? Don’t be fooled, who we are in private…is who we are! When potential donors sense you are in love with Jesus, filled with the Holy Spirit, and walking in truth, they will count it a privilege to invest in you as a ministry partner.

5. Balances support raising with life and ministry
I was always amazed watching my daughter do her balance beam gymnastics routine. How could she possibly walk, turn, even flip, on that ultra-thin (and elevated!) piece of wood? It took a ton of courage, work, falling off, and getting back up. The same is true as we pursue a spiritually healthy equilibrium in our life between devotion to God, family, personal ministry, and ongoing support raising. The Lord has given each of us our own version of life’s “balance beam” to navigate. Become a Matthew 6:33 worker, by “seeking first His Kingdom and His righteousness”, and God will add, even multiply, good and godly things in your life. Don’t get to the end of your life and receive an “A” in funding, but an “F” in walk with God, time with family, or spiritually investing in others.