Support raising! Sound fun? If you think anything like one-year-ago me, probably not. I saw support raising as a necessary task I had to perform to get on with the real work of ministry. I didn’t think it had any of its own inherent value. Boy was I wrong! Now, having been through most of the process, I want to share some of the things that I have learned and gained from my support raising experience. This blog is particularly intended for any future goers who might be worried about the prospect of support raising or questioning whether or not this is something that God would have them do. I’ll give the conclusion up front: Don’t worry; God intends support raising for our good, and his glory.
One of the most practically helpful things I have learned is that support raising is about inviting others into what I am doing, and more accurately, what God is doing, in my place of ministry. It is not just asking people for money. It is a way to mobilize believers to participate in the great commission and give them practical ways to steward their resources for the kingdom. It is a way to call people deeper into God’s heart for the nations and his good, gracious story of redemption among all peoples. Additionally, it builds up the body by providing occasion for the members to stir one another up to good works and care for each another in them. Overall, support raising is a conduit for God’s blessing – blessing for individual believers that choose to store up their treasure in heaven, blessing for the church as it is knitted together in partnership over the gospel, and blessing for those reached by the prayers and generosity of others.
Support raising has also been a huge blessing for me personally. The people that I have met with have consistently poured encouragement and wisdom and joy into my heart. They have affirmed my sense of calling, they have rejoiced with me over God’s work in my life, they have prayed for me, and they have shared precious truths garnered from their own experiences of the Lord that I will be able to carry with me into my time overseas. God speaks through his people, and I have found that the more I share my heart with other believers, the more I open myself to hear from God in them. It has also been extremely life-giving to constantly remind myself of how God has worked in my life and what he has called me to. I have not just been speaking these things to others, but to myself. This has only served to grow my confidence in Jesus and who I am in him.
Throughout support raising I have experienced what Isaiah 26:3 declares to be true: “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.” God is a good shepherd who leads us in the way we should go, and a provider who cares for our every need. Thus, I have been able to trust that as he has called me to this work, he will provide me with everything I need to do it. I haven’t had to worry about each little detail, like whether this person or that person might be able to give. I have only needed to be diligent in my work, and trust that God will arrange the right outcomes, in his own perfect way, with his own perfect timing. This has left me with so much peace and rest and has freed me to focus on connecting personally (not just transactionally) with those I meet with.
Evidence of God’s grace is abundant in my experience. God hasn’t just brought me to my final goal; he has granted me everything that I have needed along the way. When I have felt especially tired or drained, he has either given me energy by means of an uplifting meeting or offered me rest through people rescheduling for later dates. His timing for when I began to approach my final goal has also been outstanding. Around week 5, something unexpected in my personal life began to take a lot of my attention. But this was no surprise to God. In his providence, I was already most of the way to my goal, and my support raising work began to get significantly lighter, allowing me time and space to focus on other things. Surely, we have a gracious God.
All of this is to say, support raising is important and valuable work that bring blessing to everyone involved. Isn’t it an honor that the Lord has invited us to join him in his purposes? Who are we to say that his ways of accomplishing them are just not our cup of tea?
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6
- Hope