How do you keep the church’s passion for ministry from deflating?

My husband, Mark, and I hadn’t even graduated from college when we began raising our support in 1995. What we lacked in training and coaching we made up for in enthusiasm and youthfulness.

A number of years ago, someone put a copy of Henri Nouwen’s booklet “A Spirituality of Fundraising” in my hands. Near the beginning of the piece, Nouwen says, “From the perspective of the gospel, fund-raising is not a response to a crisis. Fund-raising is, first and foremost, a form of ministry.”