First, securing personal time with each person or couple you want to invite onto your support team is critical. After securing the time and place, the priority becomes preparing for that appointment. Here are six pillars that will serve as the basis for making the most effective presentation possible. Read, enjoy, apply!
- Prayer
Corrie Ten Boom once said, “Don’t pray when you feel like it. Have an appointment with the Lord and keep it. A man is powerful on his knees.” Prayer is a powerful weapon that we must use when entering support raising. Ephesians 6:12 says, “For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.” Before we even begin to design our presentation, we must acknowledge that all of our appointments are a God ask and not a man ask!
- Preparation
We need to recognize our total dependence on God first, but also see that He asks us to do our part. Some entering ministry might have the philosophy, “I signed up to go on my mission, so now I’m just going to sit back and watch the money roll in.” That kind of faith is lazy, unbiblical, and seldom reaps results. James 2:26 says, “Just as the body is dead without breath, so also faith is dead without good works.” How much time we spend in thinking through every single detail of our support presentation has a direct effect on the results we get in our appointments. Thorough and excellent preparation definitely takes work, but it will be well worth it!
- Power of Face-to-Face
Important people and important topics surely warrant “in-person” appointments. When a man proposes to his future wife, it is done face-to-face. World treaties are negotiated face-to-face. If the majority of communication is non-verbal, then sitting down across from someone is essential. Scott Morton, in his book, Funding Your Ministry, includes a survey he did of 100 Navigator staff who made 7,471 appeals using four different approaches. Here are the percentages of those appeals who said yes to regular giving:
- Face to face – 46%
- Phone call and letter – 27%
- Personal Letter – 14%
- Group Meeting – 9%
The face-to-face approach not only has the best immediate results, but also the most lasting too. Some may be tempted to take the short cut and just call, send letters, emails, or texts, but the people who take to time to meet face-to-face are more likely to keep their supporters over the long haul. Steve Shadrach, author of The God Ask, raised his full support in 6 weeks back in 1986 and 30 years later close to 90% of those ministry partners he met with in person are still supporting his ministry today.
- Planning Your Outline
Having a great presentation can dramatically impact the results you receive in your face-to-face appointment. Below are five crucial components as you outline your plan:
- Build Rapport:
Laying a relational foundation at the beginning of your appointment is very important. Without good rapport, the rest of your time with them can seem disconnected, even awkward. I love to ask my potential supporter to share with me “their story”. It could be their personal testimony, their work success or even about their family. The more they share about themselves, the more they are open to what I have to say!
- Share your testimony and calling:
Potential ministry partners have many different good causes they can give their money to. Betty Barnett with YWAM and author of Friend Raising said that “People give to people justified by a cause.” When you briefly share how you came to Christ and were called into this ministry, it gives your potential supporter the opportunity to believe in you and the work you are asking them to invest in.
- Share your ministry vision:
Always lead with vision and not your needs. Give an example of a life that’s been transformed through your ministry. Highlight the vision and strategy God has given you and the plans He has given you to impact even more lives through the power of Jesus Christ.
- Transition into The Ask:
Appropriately shifting to your inviting them to invest should not be awkward or abrupt. One way I let them know The Ask is coming is I first share the value of our automatic monthly partnership program and the significant impact the monthly partners have on the ministry. I’m not being presumptuous when I do this, I just want to be positive, as well as let them know a request to partner with me is coming soon!
- The Ask:
The main reason why people say they give is because they were asked. James 4:2 says “You have not because you ask not.” A common mistake that many make is to not have a clear ask that includes a specific amount or range. Some do ask, but then keep talking and never give the potential supporter a chance to respond. Be sure to make a clear ask—and then zip the lip. Give them enough honor and dignity to allow them to respond!
- Practice
Aristotle once said, “For the things we have to learn before we can do them, we learn by doing them.” The more you practice your presentation the more natural it will be. Grab your spouse, best friend, co-worker (even your dad!) and go through multiple mock appointments with them, until it flows naturally from you with conviction and passion.
- Passion:
I remember doing my first support appointment role play at an SRS Bootcamp in 2010. Even though I am typically a very enthusiastic person, my evaluator told me that I needed more passion as I progressed through the appointment. Remember this: Having an average presentation with passion is always better than having a great presentation without passion! Conveying to your potential supporter just how deeply you feel about the calling and ministry God has given you will be the main reason they choose to partner with you.
