Cru is a nonprofit ministry where staff members and missions participants raise support. We do not have a central fund for distributing aid. The resource below is about how we trust God to provide for our ministry needs and may help you on your support raising journey.
Going on a mission trip or being part of a ministry sounds exciting – until we start talking about costs.
Raising support requires taking a step of faith. We at Cru believe raising support means we need to have a different, God-based perspective about finances.
» TRUTH #1: God sends you and God provides for You.
“Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass,” says I Thessalonians 5:24. God sends people into the world (Matthew 9:37-38, Romans 10:14-15) to make a significant change in the world (Matthew 9: 36; Romans 3:23, 6:23, Matthew 11:28-30, John 3:19b , John 11:25-26). Not only does God call you to go, but He provides for you because His resources are infinite (Psalm 50:10-12) and He can abundantly provide (Ephesians 3:20). It's part of God's character to provide for your needs - especially financial and especially when on his mission (Philippians 4:19, Genesis 22:14).
» TRUTH #2: On God's Mission, you are God's ambassador.
2 Corinthians 5:20 says, “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, 'Be reconciled to God.'” You don't just represent yourself, but rather God, His gospel and all of God's people to whomever you reach.
» TRUTH #3: God provides for His ambassadors through His people.
God's people want to invest in God’s mission. Seriously! People work hard for 40-60 hours per week. They use a lot of that money to provide for their needs and their family, but they want their money to affect the world too. So God's people are looking for ways to support God's work in this world. In fact, He commands that His people give to His mission like the church, ministers and missionaries to help spread the gospel and help those in need. God loves working through His people to provide for His causes.
» MYTH #1: Your missions trip or ministry is really an extracurricular activity or personal educational experience or vacation.
Yes, you will be doing something amazing and cool. But it's not a vacation. The person mostly benefiting from this trip won't be yourself, but those who receive the gospel. In that sense, going on a mission trip or doing ministry is completely unlike the car washes, fund-raisers, and parents-paying trip that you might have done when you were younger. Instead, this is God sending a missionary – you!
» MYTH #2: You are begging for money.
When you invite someone to partner with your ministry, you are giving God's people a chance to invest their hard-earned finances into something that impacts the world as well as eternity. If God calls you to raise support, you do so as an act of faith in Him. You are trusting in God when you invite others to participate in the greatest cause of all time through their prayers and/or their finances, not begging for money.
Not everyone you ask is supposed to partner with you. If you are meant to go on that trip or be a part of that ministry God will provide for you. He has entrusted finances, time and talents to each of us – including you – to steward in a way that honors Him and brings His kingdom here on earth. You are giving people a chance to do that by inviting them to be a part of what God has called you to.
» MYTH #3: God doesn't know who is going to support you.
God already has your team of prayer and financial supporters lined up for you! Yes, now, right at this point, months before you even pack your suitcase or start your ministry. God already knows who is going to give. It's your job as the one raising support to then pray and go find those people and be amazed at His provision when you do find them.
» MYTH #4: I can raise the support from my own pocket.
If we're talking just about financial support, then yes – you probably could find the finances yourself. But who's going to pray for you? Who's going to be rooting for you? Who's going to be excited to hear about what God does through your work because they invested in something great? Your bank account (or your parent's bank account) cannot pray for you when you're in the middle of the gospel conversation. Only people can do that – people who are on your “prayer and financial support team”.
» MYTH #5: Cru staff members call it “Support Raising.”
Actually, Cru staff don't often use the phrase “support raising”. We call it “Ministry Partner Development” or “MPD”, for short. Why? Because we want supporters to truly partner with us, like Paul said in Philippians 1:3-5, “I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.” In addition to partnering with our ministry, we want to develop our relationship with them and experience mutual encouragement through ministry updates and prayer requests.
You will need communication skills, hard work and faith to raise support.
God is your provider, but support doesn't raise itself. It will take some time and energy. Sometimes when we try to raise support it doesn’t happen, but faith is trusting that God will provide. We can’t control the outcome, but we can work hard and trust God.
Prayer is a big part of trusting God. Perhaps you'd like to even pray right now as you think about going on a missions trip or raising support for your ministry,
“Lord, I thank you that You are a God who sends and a God who provides. As I consider being an Ambassador for you, I pray that I would have a right and Biblical attitude about raising support – that it's You providing through Your people for Your mission. Help me overcome any fears in raising my prayer and financial support team so that I can fulfill your calling in my life to follow You wherever you want me to go with Your Gospel. Amen.”
Ellis Goldstein: Biblical perspective on raising support (MP3)
Ellis is the Director of Ministry Partnership Development (MPD) for our US Staff serving worldwide. He and his team help train and equip our staff to successfully build partnerships with others who desire to impact eternity by giving and praying. It is important and encouraging to know what God has to say about MPD, so listen in as Ellis shares about this from scripture.
Dave Dickens: Practical tips on how to raise support successfully (MP3)
Dave oversees MPD for our US Campus Ministry staff. Listen in as Dave shares some things you will want to keep in mind as you begin to raise up partners for your summer.
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