Awkward Moments in Support Raising

Hello again!

I have had my fair share of awkward conversations surrounding the topic of support raising as a missionary. I'm talking about the idea of inviting others to pay part of your salary because they believe in you/your work. "How can you raise a family on that kind of pay?" "There's not financial security in that." "That isn't a real job." But perhaps the most awkward and discouraging conversations go unsaid: "Are you trying to monetize our relationship?" "You want me to put a dollar amount on our friendship?" I understand these reactions as support raising too often misused by many. This grieves me because the rampant misuse of support raising hurts people. It damages relationships and can even destroys entire ministries. After enough bad experiences many people simply disengage from that kind of giving.

Here is my perspective, whether someone is inviting me to support them or I am doing the inviting. Support raising is part of our God designed the modern missions movement to run ("goers" and "senders"). The partnership between the missionaries and the funders creates a shared experience of the missions movement. Support raising is not a popularity contest because the missions movement is not a popularity contest. Rather, the partnership of the goers and senders is about fostering one thing: OBEDIENCE. The missionary has to be obedient to be willing to do the work that God has called him/her to do, and the senders have to be obedient to give their finances where God leads them to give. Therefore, the invitation to support a missionary is not an attempt to monetize your relationship or take advantage of your income, but it should be an invitation to seek the Lord and find out how/if He would lead you to give. If we understood that, so many awkward conversations and relationships would be saved! My best friend could ask me to support him but if God told me to give somewhere else, I would be obedient because obedience is the goal! "Yes" or "No" doesn't matter! Obedience matters.

That may or may not make sense, but I'll leave you with one other thought. I hear a lot of advertisements about getting a "guaranteed income for life" and "complete financial security." Americans are obsessed with that stuff, but the truth is there is only ONE PLACE where you can expect to have a guaranteed income or total financial security: radical obedience to Jesus. I don't care how rich or poor your are, all of that can change in the blink of His eye. "Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well" (Matthew 6:33).

Practical Tip: In the event that someone does ask you to support them but you do not feel led to do so, please don't ignore them. It isn't personal, it's obedience. Just tell them "no" and they will thank you for it!