As long term missionaries in Youth With a Mission (YWAM), we raise all of our annual financial needs through fundraising and personal relationship. That’s right, no salary package with the role, no mission board or home office making up the shortfall, no furloughs with prearranged speaking engagements.
It’s YWAM value number 10: “Faith in God for finance.” It is a controversial value, both within and outside of YWAM, and that’s because it has both great strengths and glaring weaknesses. It is a strength because it challenges each YWAMer to keep faith at the centre of what we do, not becoming complacent or comfortable in our secure salaried job; it is a weakness (to some irresponsible) in that it allows young people with a sense of God’s calling to launch themselves into the mission field “long term” with as little backing as the cash for a one way flight. In the worst case, this can be a recipe for failure and embarrassment. In the best case, God demonstrates His faithful provision in miraculous ways and His sovereign name is glorified.
Needless to say, the big task each of us face is growing and nurturing a prayer-fuelled support team who give generously, regularly, and often sacrificially. Although the field each YWAMer is in varies with calling and annual budget, the challenge to raise support is constant. When it all comes together, it keeps us in the field in a sustainable and productive way, freeing us up to do the work we’ve been called to.
Despite its vital nature for YWAMers, raising support is one of my least favourite parts of the mission; this feeling in many ways exposes a weakness in my theological understanding and my view of God’s Kingdom economy. And still, over the years as I’ve learnt to trust God and follow His leadership, I’ve seen Him grow my support team from one generous family with a new baby who gave less than 10% of my need, to a squad of dozens who pray, give, and encourage every month.
Over time, I got to a point where I had my basic living costs met. There was a little extra for “wants” and being generous beyond my tithe. I guess it started to look like I knew what I was doing when one day, one of the many young people I’ve worked with asked me for some advice on fundraising, perhaps hoping that I might give them a practical formula which guaranteed results. Initially my answer was not what they hoped for when I said:
“Do what God says.”
They looked at me wondering if I was spouting some useless cultish cliche, so I expanded.
I explained that while every one of us is called to fundraise, each of us comes from a different culture, family context, and calling. I explained that in my observation this means that God will usually have a specific strategy for us in how we communicate the need, invite, and grow the relationships we need in our support teams. Because each of us might have a unique strategy from God, that would mean that the practicalities differ too.
I shared how in my early days as YWAM staff I wanted to do “tent making” where I earned money doing car repairs to pay my bills. Fairly soon I realised that God was not blessing those efforts, and in prayer I saw that I’d chosen this from a motivation of insecurity, not to honour God. That insecurity was rooted in what is arguably a good mindset: the idea that “if I want money, I should get off my butt and earn it, not bludge off other people.” I grappled poorly with the view that if I was being faithful to God I was worthy of the wages I needed to live, and that insecurity worked overtime as I wrote newsletters with a sense of panic around my need for cash. Unsurprisingly it didn’t work, so eventually I went to God in prayer and frustration asking Him what I should do. I was late to this praying approach, but it was the best choice I could have made! I felt Him asking me to change the focus of my newsletters to a specific, intentional focus on His glory, telling the stories of what He was doing around, through, and in me. Soon after, I felt His prompting to call a specific family and ask if they would give. They said “we’ve been waiting for your call, how do we do it?”
So the primary lesson from “do what God says” is about realising His wisdom for your particular situation, and following that in fundraising. Considering that He is the owner of literally everything and has all wisdom, we can be certain that He will lead us well.
But as I explained the big view of what I was trying to say, I went further, reminding my friend that God always provides for what He calls us to do. I talked about how He provides every time, when we are where we should be, when we should be, doing what He asks us to do. In the big picture, that means that the key to effective support raising is also the key to living as a Jesus-following disciple: do what God says! The bible says that when we are obedient, He is faithful and He will provide for our needs.
A couple of pointers if this “doing what God says” thing is new to you:
1-The first place to look is in the bible, God’s word is jammed with instructions on how to live a good life which brings Him glory.
2-If you’re the kind of person that hears His voice in your heart, mind, or ears, remember: His spoken (or felt) word will not undermine His written (bible) word or His character. If you think it does, look again, and seek wise counsel.
3-A prophetic word from a person should be a confirmation of something you’re already feeling Him saying; if it’s new information, avoid taking it as fact until you have peace that He has confirmed it in some other way.
4-If you’re unsure of something, seek advice from a God-honouring leader. A trusted pastor or elder is a good start if you have a healthy church connection.
So today, if you’re trying to raise $10 for your next meal, or $100,000 for your next home, my encouragement is the same:
Do what God tells you
and trust Him to take care of the rest.