The Untapped Training Potential of Support-Raising

by Heather Ricks

For over seventeen years my husband and I had raised support and had seen both the victories and defeats. However, no matter how short or long it took, or how many struggles we faced along the way, God always provided what we needed in order for us to serve him in the places he led us.

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Two somber faces looked at my husband and me in an awkward meeting while one man alluded to the fact that we were not doing enough to raise our support. The numbers on a spreadsheet that reduced our lives to a few facts and figures were not totaling one hundred percent, and no matter how many phone calls we made or conversations we had, our support numbers were actually decreasing instead of reflecting any amount of effort we had put into it.

For over seventeen years my husband and I had raised support and had seen both the victories and defeats. However, no matter how short or long it took, or how many struggles we faced along the way, God always provided what we needed in order for us to serve him in the places he led us.

In this situation, God was doing something greater than what we understood in our struggle. As he rocked every area of our lives, including our finances, God was actually redirecting our steps and refining us to be used by him in ways beyond our realization. Once we surrendered to God’s will and chose to take another ministry direction, all of the doors opened and our support came into our new ministry account in an overwhelming fashion.

It was a wonderful example of how God was in control and always more concerned about where we were spiritually than where we were financially.

Unlike anything else in the Christian world, where the main concern is about spiritual growth, the definition of success while raising support is often centered on money. No matter what the latest trend may be, when the lingo is stripped away, the underlying theme is how fast someone can get his or her money and go.

I have sat in numerous meetings as a missionary where the biggest concern was how quickly Missionary A could be herded through the support-raising obstacle course and to the field. Stars were awarded to those who raised their money quickly, while heads would shake to the bemoaning fact of how long it was taking others to do the same.

Consequently, an exhaustive amount of time was then spent analyzing what methods could be gleaned from the first group that could be rubbed off onto these poor people stuck in the second category in order to help expedite their process.

Unfortunately, the ones who receive their money the quickest are not necessarily the ideal examples upon which to model efforts. In the support-raising arena, I have seen immature people lauded for their ‘success,’ while wise people were written-off for their ‘failure.’

I believe the issue as to why this system is so backwards is because the traditional view treats raising support as just a task needing to be performed in order to move people on to a ministry destination. When money and timelines are the centralized focus, then techniques are often developed that set the parameters for success around how quickly someone can get his or her money and leave. Some of these techniques have even been viewed as being offensive to both the asker and the receiver.

However, there is another way to view raising support that puts Christ back at its core and uses this journey as a means of preparing one’s heart for the field.

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In an attempt to hurry up and do good things for God, an important God-given opportunity to take an inward look at ourselves is skipped.

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This approach views support-raising through God’s perspective. He is not concerned about money or deadlines. If the characters in the Bible are to be our example, then when God calls someone to be a part of his work, he has a greater desire for obedience, personal growth, and a heart of worship than for worrying about the details that are already in his care.

God’s main objective in everything he takes us through is to transform us into the likeness of his Son. This includes the support-raising journey. In an attempt to hurry up and do good things for God, an important God-given opportunity to take an inward look at our own selves is skipped.

In light of this understanding, this faith-based journey holds far more potential for spiritual growth than viewing it as a menial task to be marked off before going to the field. It now becomes a God-ordained training tool with a means to see him at work and a stage to invite others into our own personal worship of him. The support-raising journey has three natural phases that are centered on worship, and at the foundation of this training is each person’s individualized story.

The first stage explores a person’s purpose. Ephesians 2:10 says, “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advanced for us to do.” Therefore, our purpose is to glorify God with the gifts he has given us. This should be the reason why people enter into ministry. However, many people neither take the time to consider how they were created for their various roles and worship God out of that, nor know how to articulate their passion to others.

On the support-raising journey, many conversations are going to happen. By taking the time to explore one’s own passion and purpose, this worship produces God-centered stories that will lead conversations. How differently the conversations will go if someone takes the time to worship God out of the understanding of how he has created them instead of sizing people up for money.

The second stage involves leading others into worship. This is when our personal stories connect with another’s soul and challenges them to be a part of God’s work. Certainly, there are disciplines that need to be learned in order to set up appointments and to follow through; however, the main focus is how to lead someone into a time of worship.

Entering worship means we lead out of humility with all other agendas set aside. Psalm 115:1 declares, “Not to us, LORD, not to us but to Your name be the glory, because of Your love and faithfulness.” God uses us through his grace alone, and it is to only him that all our thoughts need to be directed. A humble attitude allows the conversations to be directed by the Holy Spirit as he plays his role in moving people’s hearts to be a part of his ministry.

The third stage focuses on recognizing God’s work throughout the process. Contrary to what a systematic support-raising formula would lead people to believe, all people cannot just do certain steps and get the same exact result.

God has crafted everyone’s journey to be different, and his main purpose is for each person to be transformed into the likeness of Christ. Some may experience abundance, while others may encounter scarcity. No matter the circumstance or what led people to be there, God remains the same in his sovereignty, faithfulness, and goodness. This fact is the central learning point.

A mentor is vital—a mature and experienced support-raiser who is willing to walk alongside a person from the very first step. Not only are mentors there for accountability and truth speaking, but they are also there to draw people’s attention to how God is at work in their lives.

Mentorship even allows someone the closeness to recognize and confront sin areas in someone’s life—laziness, pride, busyness, etc.—which can become evident during this time period. They can then deal with them before these problems become challenges on the field. This approach is different from an agency assigning someone to make sure people mark off their to-do lists. It digs deeper in order to see the bigger picture of what God is doing.

Certainly, money-driven techniques get tangible results. That is why agencies use them. However, intangible lessons that result in spiritual life change should not be overlooked on this faith-based journey, because they produces greater fruit for the field.

My husband and I have never resorted to coercive conversations, and we have always seen God move in his timing. In the end, our walk with him has always been strengthened when we have taken the time to see him at work even in the midst of our struggles. When we were made to feel guilty about not being able to properly maintain our account, it became stressful and we struggled. Unfortunately, this is a common theme. It doesn’t have to be that way.

The support-raising journey has untapped training potential that can be missed if it is only seen as a money-driven task. God is more concerned about our heart as he uses every situation, direction, and conversation to transform us into the likeness of Christ.

This shift in the focus is not about slowing down the process or being timid in conversations. It is about using this journey to its fullest potential to mature people before they get to the field. Simply changing the approach and taking this time to be worshipful allows people in any category—whether fast or slow, lazy or prideful, receiver or giver—feel as though they have seen God at work, grown through the process, and prepared their hearts to be ready for however God chooses to use them. 

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Serving in various ministry capacities, Heather Ricks and her husband have been raising support for over eighteen years. When they returned from ministering in Ghana, God allowed her to use her passion for storytelling to train missionaries. This led her to author her book, God and Elephants: A Worshippers’ Guide to Raising Support, which puts God at the center of each person’s story as they lead others into worship while on the support-raising journey.

EMQ, Vol. 53, No. 1. Copyright  © 2016 Billy Graham Center for Evangelism.  All rights reserved. Not to be reproduced or copied in any form without written permission from EMQ editors.

 

Questions for Reflection 1. How can implementing the truth of Ephesians 2:10 during the support-raising journey impact not only the missionary, but his or her supporters as well? 2. What benefits are there to leading others into worship on the support-raising journey as opposed to focusing solely on the money aspect? 3. Second Corinthians 3:18 says that God is transforming us into the likeness of his Son in order to reflect his glory. How can every circumstance that arises during the support-raising journey be used to help people see the transforming work of Christ in their life?