Posted by C. Holland on Apr 19, 2010
We’re finally at the fork in the road that we’d always suspected was ahead. After several years in the mission field, the fundraised portion of our finances are starting to dry up. It would be easy to blame it on the economy, and for a few supporters I believe it is the case. However, despite our best efforts to communicate, I’m afraid we’re becoming uninteresting. Most all of our possible support contacts have been tapped at several points throughout our time here, just a few remain that have not been contacted and we haven’t made any new contacts in the States since we’ve been in the field the entire time.
We were well-prepared for this reality by several former missionaries, so it’s no surprise. Though we’re not sent from a mission board, a lot of our Christian friends expect us to return around now to begin a year-long fundraising tour. But, like most aspects of ministry, we’re rethinking traditional wisdom on how to proceed. Read More…
Posted by C. Holland on Mar 18, 2010
As I recently listened to a sermon on the Parable of the Vineyard Labourers (Matthew 20:1-16) the focus was obviously on the aspect of some being rewarded unequally compared to the efforts of others. However, it was in the middle of the sermon (and the passage) that I realised a parallel between the workers hired later and the fundraised missionary: working without knowing exactly what you will be paid.
If you notice, Jesus explains that the first set of workers had an agreed wage. The second, third and fourth set of workers are told they will receive “whatever was right at the end of the day” in verse 4. The fifth set of workers are told to join the others in the vineyard with no description of an agreed amount. Essentially, they are working without a contract. And so are we.
I’ve mentioned before some of the things we’ve learned about living on fundraised support (we’re also tentmakers for two-thirds of it, thanks to the unfavourable exchange rate and the ridiculous cost of living). The biggest thing I’ve learned is that fundraised living is an extreme exercise of faith and probably one of the biggest reminders of our immediate dependence on God.
Here are a couple of concepts I see in the parable: Read More…
Posted by C. Holland on Feb 12, 2010
Over at TheBodyBuilders.net, the latest newsletter focuses on the Top Five Mistakes in Support Raising. I really identified with #5 “Jumped in Without Preparation” on the aspect of thinking I just knew who would give. Just because someone is a wealthy Christian who adores missions doesn’t mean God will provide financial support for me through them, and I’m wrong to pre-judge anyone’s desire to give—or not. #3 “I Asked Too Timidly” resonates more with me and God than with me and financial supporters. I think that our mission field is such a tough one both spiritually and financially, and I didn’t want to “get my hopes up”, so I’d ask God that just a few people would show for worship. Or I expected to not get access to the tools I needed for ministry or even day-to-day living, and God provided it anyway. I’m not suggesting the Prosperity Path, but I think sometimes we can get dejected and swing very far the other way as if God can’t do anything and won’t provide at all.
As always, would love to hear in the comments your input on this and additional mistakes you’ve learned from your fundraising experience.
Posted by C. Holland on Nov 20, 2009
“Reverse Furlough, Part 1: The Good Stuff” is available here.
Yet, like all things, there are some not-so-great things to consider about the Reverse Furlough:
Adapting to Different Expectations
Some sponsors just wanted a “look-see” and really didn’t need much in-depth information. Others wanted all the info, background and history we could provide. One group was more motivated to do repair work on our building than anything else. The difficult part of adapting was that it was almost impossible to tell what each of these groups wanted before they arrived, so we were learning on the fly as to what they wanted to see or experience.
Mission Field Also a Popular Tourist Destination
We didn’t realise with the first couple of guests how much this played into their expectation of the trip. You start figuring out quickly who came here to actually see/do ministry and who came on a vacation under the guise of a “mission trip”. Everyone seemed to suffer from the misconception that we were only engaged in ministry on Sunday for an hour, so we would certainly have the rest of the week to play tourist with them. “What sights do you want to see?” they’d ask. It was really, really hard not to have a snarky reply like, “This is your trip, not mine. I’ve already seen [tourist attraction], and I don’t spend my days wanting to see it week after week. I thought you were interested in ministry, not tourism.” Because no one wanted to drive or rent a car over here, it fell to us to chauffeur people around which took a huge chunk out of our days. I’m cool with people taking a couple of days out to see our country; just be upfront and tell us this, and don’t expect the entire “mission trip” to run like a tour package when you said you wanted to see/participate in ministry.
Costing Us More Than Planned
While a trip back to the States for a year would cost us considerably more cash, the earlier supporter visits quickly taught us to be upfront with our visitors about how much our budget could support them, too. The food, electric, petrol and heating bills all increase when we’re accommodating a visitor and, while we welcome visitors, it’s necessary to plan for these increases, asking for assistance from the visitor if necessary. We had a supporter surprise us with a visit a year and a half ago, who hadn’t understood the exchange rate or the high cost of basic living here, so he attempted to get us to pay for everything. We simply could not afford to do what he asked, and it ended up losing us his support. Had we known he (and his group of five) were coming over, we could have communicated and planned much better. Read More…
Posted by C. Holland on Nov 18, 2009
A few weeks ago another set of our supporters visited us for a week, making them the fifth group to visit us this year alone. Because they’ve somehow stacked within a few weeks of each other, most of this has happened over just a few months and has made for a lot of repetition in explaining what we do here. I’ve honestly forgotten who hadn’t heard which ministry story before—and who graciously heard it again for the second (or third) time.
I like to think of these as “Reverse Furloughs”. As long-time readers of this blog know, we are not sent by a mission agency and so do not have a required time that we must return to the States. We have chosen to remain in our field the entire time since entering the country for various reasons. So this means that, though we communicate exhaustively via online and print sources, the best way to find out about what we do in ministry here is to come and see it for yourself.
I’m not discounting any missionary’s need to return to the States for fundraising, training or even simple refreshing. It should be between you and God when/why you need to return and for how long. For a great article dealing with redefining the traditional furlough back to the States, check it out here at MissioMishmash. That being said, there are some great aspects to the Reverse Furlough: Read More…
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