The Frustrations of Raising Support
Support raising isn't always easy. These last few weeks, Jennifer and I have experienced a lot of the difficulties that come with raising support for ministry. Here's a list of some of the things that can drive you bonkers while raising support:
1.) "We'll pray for you" (But not really)...These are the people that turn you down for an appointment, but feel guilty and convicted enough to say the common Christian catch phrase to sweep the situation under the rug. When we ask them about receiving our newsletter so they will know how to specifically pray for us, they say no. Hmm...somehow I don't think they are actually going to be praying for us!
2.) Go Away Money...This is characterised by an attitude of "oh, it's another missionary...give them a few dollars so they stop bugging us with phone calls." There is no sense of excitement about investing in Kingdom work. Fund raising makes these type of people uncomfortable. Give them just enough to make them go away so we can go back to comfort is the mentality.
3.) No Definitive Yes or No Answers...These are the people that you call each week to set up an appointment and they seem to "always be busy." They don't tell you straight out that they are not interested on the first phone call. Week after week we call, and finally around week 7 or 8 they realize how persistent we are. After all that trying, only then will we'll get a solid yes or no on meeting with them.
4.) The Caller ID watchers...These are the people that we talk to once on the phone, say they are really busy or to call them back, and then we can never get a hold of them again. Instead of just saying no to us, they watch the caller ID and just don't answer if we call. Solution to this problem though: Call from a different number. It's catches them off guard every time :-)
5.) Holiday Doldrums...Holidays are virtually impossible to schedule any appointments around. This includes the 3-4 days around the actual holiday date, because it is viewed as a holiday too.
6.) Seeing God's Money Tied Up in Debt and Temporal Things...God owns everything. We are called to be stewards of what He gives us. It's heartbreaking to see how debt can enslave and how easy it is for us all to gravitate toward materialism. I'm not perfect in this either by any means. At the end of the day though, I think God wants us to invest our time, labor, and finances in eternal things.
7.) The Collective "Somebody Else Will Support Them" Thought...This is the tendency to simply pass us along to the next group of people thinking that they will support us. We are offering a chance to invest in eternal things, a chance for people to give to God and see Him work in the lives of college students to bring them to Jesus. It's not about us getting the money, its about people gaining eternal perspective and a heart for giving to God. Don't pass us off.
Sorry if this seems like a rant or if I'm standing on a soap box. I just wanted to give you an no-nonsense, honest look into the negative things we see in raising support. Please join with us in consistent prayer asking the Lord to move in these areas.
Yes, there are positive things about raising support as well. I'll list some of those in the future. :-)
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