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.

Considering all that would go into a long trip back, the financial cost would be difficult, especially to maintain our home here.  We’d have to generate funds just to travel back to the States…so we could generate funds to return here.  Meanwhile, we’ve heard firsthand from quite a few missionaries that the economy is making churches understandably hesitant to commit to new missionary support.  Several have told us that their mission agencies have instructed those in early fundraising stages to stand down for at least a year or more; other agencies that fully fund their missionaries have had to request some to return due to lack of funds.  I fear that an intended short return would end up in a long cycle of trying to generate enough to get back here, and it would end up that we couldn’t return at all.

Secondly, our ministry here is at a tender stage.  In no way am I trying to say that we’re so special or indispensable, but our extended (and possibly open-ended) absence would mean that there’s no one available to handle even pulpit supply more than once a month.  The Christians here, already few and far between in this country, are still at the “milk” stage and cannot yet understand Christian service or ministry participation.  While it is our goal to encourage as many nationals as possible to take over increasing ministry responsibility, this is a very slow and long-term process.

Add to all of that our field’s deep skepticism about missionary commitment (due to unfortunate history), some American churches’ focus turning solely to short-term missions, some Christian attitudes that we’ve “done enough” in the foreign field, and the popularity of the 10/40 window, fundraising successfully doesn’t look good.  Initially I feared that I was compiling all of this to justify that I don’t enjoy fundraising (I’ve met few who do), but after much prayer and consideration I’m confident that this isn’t just an excuse.

After much prayer and consideration, to remain in the field uninterrupted it is clear that the tentmaking must increase as our support declines.  We are very, very blessed to already own a low-maintenance business in the States.  Because our part of Western Europe is so very expensive (and that Euro exchange rate doesn’t help), this business has supported up to half of our financial needs over our entire time here.  We had suspected that over time the business would pick up where the support left off, and this appears to be the case.  I have to admit that I’m encouraged about eventually stepping off of fundraised support completely.

I think we’ve given traditional fundraising a very thorough effort over the years, especially in the “maintaining communication” arena.  But it’s become increasingly clear that supporter expectation of both lifestyle and results within an assumed timeline is disappointingly unrealistic in Western Europe.  Our field requires a long-term approach with the realisation that paid church staff is a strange concept to the small congregations of Western Europe.  When some of our stateside supporting churches tell us they expect our church here to pay full time in a few years, these Americans are coming from churches that can afford to pay at minimum a secretary, janitor, and worship/youth pastor in addition to the main pastor.  The reality here is that the pastor does everything, and he usually isn’t paid much; he must tentmake to fill in the difference.  This mindset can be redirected, but this culture is slow in adopting change.  Putting an arbitrary two- or three-year expectation on these Christians will inevitably fail.

If we’re eventually supported by our business and Christians here, it means we don’t have to work so hard to maintain contact or be in a constant state of explaining ourselves to supporters who are 5,000 miles away.  Please know that I wholeheartedly welcome accountability to supporters.  I would one-hundred-percent welcome any supporter to review my finances, spending habits, and even walk an entire week with us through each and every one of our commitments.  But that’s the problem; if you’re not here you can’t fully understand how ministry works in this culture and why using the American-style of ministry expectations won’t get you big or amazing results.

So for the moment we’re still supported by both fundraising and tentmaking.  We find that God has granted us a specialised business to develop on the tentmaking side, and I am encouraged to see it through.  This may not be the way God chooses to provide for other missionaries in other situations, but I am thankful for this opportunity to continue on in our field.

Related posts:

1. Question Week: Tentmaking v. Fundraising?
2. Today’s Economy and The Fundraising Dilemma
3. Fundraising: The Extreme Edge of Faith

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:

We can’t dictate (or even predict) God’s provision
God gives according to how He sees fit.  It may not adhere to earthly standards or our ideas of what is fair.  By the way, just where do we get this concept of “fair” from?  Kids seem to understand it from such an early age.  We cry “unfair” all the time.  If you look at it, He owes us nothing.  We owe Him everything.  Yet He provides abundantly for us.  Seems pretty “unfair” by our definition.

It’s rough when your support drops the next month after a major catastrophe or when a supporter has decided to fund another missionary in another field.  But we’ve found that new or surprise financial gifts have often, but not always, shown around that time to make up the difference.  At no point has it put us in extreme jeopardy.

We must have faith despite appearances
Those hired last possibly expected a lesser wage for less of the day’s work.  By the reaction of the earlier hires, it appeared to them that they would receive more if the late workers received so much.  Though a cultural norm was present (and, indeed, wouldn’t we expect similar treatment today?), provision ignored the rules going both ways.  And the first workers still received what they were promised; their wage was not reduced from the original agreement.

Watching others in ministry get a regular paycheck or receive considerable project funding can be discouraging at the time.  But that’s the result of comparing ourselves to others.  It’s not for me to question these things, and God is well aware of any needs I or my ministry have.  I must keep myself to the task He’s set before me, trusting that His timing is perfect.

A friend once said, “God is never early.  He’s never late, but He’s definitely never early.”

Related posts:

1. How I Became a Missionary, Part 4: You’re Nuts
2. Question Week: Tentmaking v. Fundraising?

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.

Related posts:

1. Top Five Myths in Support Raising
2. Obama Cost a Missionary Their Support
3. Today’s Economy and The Fundraising Dilemma

“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.

Alternating Between Two Cultures at the Same Time
I’ve written before about the paradox of being part of two different cultures in “The Double Life of the Missionary”, but that referenced the separation between the two.  I currently live in one and am originally from the other.  What I wasn’t prepared for was the dissonance in having people from my former life in the States temporarily become part of my very different life here in the mission field.  There were times that my mind felt off-balance when I would hear a voice or see a face that I had last seen in the States; it was an odd state of confusion that felt like, “Wait, you’re not supposed to be here…where am I?”  Having to remember the American word for something or trying to explain cultural context to our American friends was much more difficult than I had anticipated.

Always a Potential “Loose Cannon”
We noticed that less-travelled individuals had a harder time adapting to the temporary change in surroundings.  It was with our unexpected supporter visit that we quickly learned why some visitors should not be immediately introduced to our nationals until we can evaluate the situation; he seemed intent on insulting anyone or anything that was unlike his way of life back in the States.  And I remember witnessing an American mission team that was working at another church here.  A man dressed in a garish rainbow-striped shirt and suspenders walked up to a national in the church and said in a slow, deep Southern drawl: “Ya know, y’all tawk funn-ay he-ah.”  I wish I was making this up, but I’m not.  Even though we better knew the supporters we hosted this year and spent time prepping them for better cultural sensitivity, there was always a fear in the back of our minds that they’d say something innocently outlandish and/or insulting to those we minister to—and it could kill our ministry in this area of the field.

Despite the potential problems, these Reverse Furloughs have strengthened our bond with most of those who visited this year.  Two of the pastors of supporting churches have not only committed to longer financial support but have been interested in greater interaction between their churches and ours, planning future mission trips in a couple of years and informing their congregation about the spiritual need in our mission field.  I believe everyone has left with a greater and more complete understanding of just what it is we do here and why it will take so long to see a harvest of souls in such a spiritually dark nation.  Praise God for their faithfulness to continue the journey with us!

Related posts:

1. Reverse Furlough, Part 1: The Good Stuff
2. I’m a Missionary, Not a Travel Agent
3. Should Missionaries Take Vacations?

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:

Transparency
You can fool people in short bursts, but if we weren’t really doing what we’ve said we’re doing this whole time it would have become very obvious after about a day or so.  It’s also helpful for pastors of supporting churches to see a ministry item in use that their church has donated.

Clarity
Study and observation from a distance, while helpful, is no substitute for direct immersion in a culture.  As our visitors got to interact with and question those to whom we minister, you could see the understanding of the spiritual climate here starting to sink into our visitors.  Actual experience of the culture appeared to reinforce what we’ve been reporting all along and, though our supporters certainly believed our reports, you can tell that they “get it” now.  No amount of videos, writing or photos can replace experience.

Minimal Time Loss to Ministry
While each of these interactions interrupted some minor ministry details, overall we were not absent from regular church and ministry functions.  It’s not that we think we’re super-special, but our ministry is in too tender a stage at this time to deal with a 6 month to a year departure from us; it would only serve to reinforce the nationals’ suspicion that, like many others before us, we may not be fully committed here (which we are).  We don’t rule out a short-term (2-3 month) visit back to the States at some point in the future, but it’s very clear that now would not be the right time.

Demonstrate Accountability to Nationals
This point would have to be considered whether helpful within your mission field’s culture, but our nationals are typically suspicious of a Christian worker/missionary/pastor who shows up in their country, seemingly out of nowhere and unknown to anyone.  If they don’t have a prior relationship with your sending agency or church it takes much, much longer to establish trust.  Some unknown church donating equipment, through our nationals’ cultural lens, appears that something may be demanded of them later.  Since our nationals have been able to meet most of our visiting sponsors, it’s put faces and personalities to those who pay for us to be here, and it’s defused suspicion about perceived obligation over material donations.

Next Post: “Reverse Furlough, Part 2: The Not-So-Great Stuff”

Related posts:

1. Reverse Furlough, Part 2: The Not-So-Great Stuff
2. Reverse Culture Shock, Kid-Style
3. Missionary Presentation Training

The latest issue of “Support Raising Solutions” from TheBodyBuilders.net focuses on the Top Five Myths in Support Raising. We certainly suffered from Number 2 early on (“I can do this alone”), partly because of our tentmaking ability with our business in the States. God quickly convicted us that, even if we could completely fund our ministry, prayer support and communication is really the most important part.

Number 3 (“Everybody’s already tapped out”) reminds me of my work in advertising. The sales manager always emphasised that the sales people had to approach everyone regardless of whether it appeared that their business could afford promotion; stop making the decision for potential advertisers, he’d say, and let them make it. You’d be absolutely shocked to know who our biggest and most consistent financial supporter is—and where they live.

Finally, Number 5 (“I will have to scrape by the rest of my life”) reminds me that, while prosperity gospel is not our goal, neither should be poverty theology; the whole attitude seems defeatist. However, I believe that non-missionary Christians are just as guilty at perpetuating this myth with this odd expectation of missionary life—but not for them, their Christian friends or their pastor. If the funding ultimately comes from God, then differentiating lifestyle by parts of The Body doesn’t really make sense.

Check it out here: Top Five Myths in Support Raising

Related posts:

1. Top Five Mistakes in Support Raising
2. Top Five Fears in Fundraising
3. Obama Cost a Missionary Their Support

If you write a blog, run a website or are some form of IT professional, then you already know that you have access to a staggering amount of statistics about your website. While these can vary, nowadays you usually can view how many people viewed your blog or site from certain countries or see which search engines (such as Google) they used to find you. Additionally, you can also see what search term or phrase they used right before they clicked on your site address.

You can probably figure out what most of the search terms/phrases would be for Missionary Confidential, but as I reviewed the list from the entire life of this blog thus far, I started noticing trends. Some are good points, some are confusing, some cause concern, and a few even made me laugh, though I doubt they were meant that way.

I’ve grouped the most interesting ones for your review:

Curiosity
People want to know these things, evidently. Some of these may be answered in future posts.

Doubts About Continuing
I was heartbroken over how many and how often these terms showed up. There are obviously a lot of missionaries that are conflicted about their next step. Or some missionaries are trying to avoid leaving.

Financial Issues Are Popular
The only answer I can give is, “depends on the situation and the missionary.”

When Things Start Getting Serious
I appreciate the candour of these search terms.

There Are Some Problems
It appears these are from people who had unfortunate interactions with a missionary. Or it’s missionaries trying to understand the bad reputation in some circles.

Made Me Laugh, Mostly
Some of these I’m just not sure what they were thinking.

Questions That Should Be Asked More
I hope in future that more Christians start seriously asking these questions amongst themselves and in their churches.

Related posts:

1. When Missionaries Leave on Bad Terms
2. What is the Difference Between Missionary and Missional?
3. The Best of Intentions: Missionary Superhero

The current issue of “Support Raising Solutions” from TheBodyBuilders.net expounds on familiar territory for us and, I suspect, for most missionaries: fears in fundraising. The author lists his top five fears, and, while all five are familiar to us, I believe number 2 (“Rejection By Family”) and number 5 (“Financial Instability”) resonated the most. Biggest shock statistic: 200,000 Americans inquire yearly about becoming missionaries; 1% make it to long-term service. Ouch.

Top Five Fears in Support Raising

Missionaries: what fundraising fears would you add to this top five? List them in the comments.

Related posts:

1. Top Five Myths in Support Raising
2. Thank You For Communicating
3. Fundraising Through Facebook?

Perhaps because we live in a mission field that also is a popular tourist destination, we tend to receive an email every so often that looks like the one I received last week. It read, in part:

“We’re friends of [someone I actually know], and we’re coming very soon to [your mission field] for a week vacation. Would you email me the Top 10 things to see in your country? Should we drive, take a tour, get a taxi or use the train when we go to all these places you suggest? And we need to find a very good Bed and Breakfast; here’s our dates that we’ll need one. Offer any advice that you have.”

I wanted to honestly answer her very last sentence, but it wouldn’t have been a very polite response.

There’s a few things wrong with this kind of contact that I wish to address. First, I don’t know this person, although it is true we have a friend in common. We’ve never interacted before. Even if I were living here for a secular job, I’m just not very motivated to do heavy research and the essential work of a tour guide or travel agent, especially for someone I don’t know who is arriving very, very soon.

Secondly, I’m a missionary, not a travel agent. While I have had the opportunity to travel a bit and see some of the sites, I pretty much stay in my neck of the woods and travel about six miles away from my house. I don’t live in a part of the country that has many tourist attractions. Any of the places to suggest would be listed on any decent travel website’s “Top Ten” for my country, though to see all ten would take more than a week’s visit due to distance. And because our fact-finding trips were so long ago, it’s been ages since we would have stayed in a hotel, and we don’t keep up on current rates or quality levels, especially in other parts of the country where these sites would be. 

Thirdly, I’m a missionary, not a tourist. No where in the email did the writer acknowledge that coming up with the detailed information she required might inconvenience me, nor that I might be too busy to respond to her considering how quickly she was flying over. While my schedule is not as “locked-in” as a desk job, I still work with a busy ministry that requires weekly planning, secured dates for meetings, and deadlines. Meanwhile, we’re currently juggling three, possibly four, mission teams from the States who are going to help us with construction and specific ministry needs. One group will be here in just over a month. When mission teams show up, we don’t just sit back during the time they are here. Our part in each group is to coordinate travel, accommodation, food, and scheduling of supplies or people for each day. For these people, I have no problem offering travel agent-like advice. We’ll make sure each team, though they’ve emphasised they are here for work, will get a “tourist day” to relax and see some of the local sites. But this is because they are helping us out, and, more importantly, they have communicated far ahead and built a relationship with us.

Lastly, because our friend-in-common is also a financial supporter, it put me in an awkward position. I have to be honest; if this person did not know me through a friend and just found me on the Internet, I wouldn’t even have responded. But because of my supporter-friend, it gave me pause to think. If I don’t do all this stranger asks of me, would she “report” me to my supporter? It took me a bit of time, but I realised that I wasn’t going to be motivated by money.

I did respond in this case, politely directing her to check out travel websites that might help her and explaining that we don’t really travel much in our country. I have not heard back and do not expect any response.

Related posts:

1. Thank You For Communicating
2. Reverse Furlough, Part 2: The Not-So-Great Stuff
3. “I Can’t Call You a Missionary”—ouch

We got an email from one of our supporters recently, notifying us that she must reduce her support commitment.

This actually made me happy.

Why? It’s not because we’re losing a portion of our monthly support from our largest, and most regular, contributor. And it’s definitely not because our supporter has received an unfortunate reduction in pay due to the economic downturn. I truly wish this weren’t the case on both aspects.

The reason I’m happy is because our supporter took the time to briefly explain this situation, making sure to include how much less this would be, when we would begin seeing this change in our budget, and why this was happening. We would have understood if she couldn’t afford any further support, considering the situation. We’re thankful that she was thoughtful of both our budgeting needs and our feelings. Now, if we could get the rest of our supporters to be as forthcoming with info.

Communication between the missionary and their supporters in today’s age should be a breeze. We personally maintain: a phone number in the States that rings to our field, Skype accounts, email addresses, a stateside postal address, and a constantly-updated mission blog that contains all the above contact info. Additionally, we send all of our supporters a monthly email newsletter and quarterly print newsletter, all with updates on our ministry, prayer requests and praises, and the various ways to contact us. Financial supporters also receive periodical handwritten letters, postcards and thank you notes. Despite multiple methods of communication, and our efforts to keep communication going, we rarely hear from any of our supporters in the States.

I suspect our situation isn’t that unusual, as evidenced by this post from the missionary kids perspective. And when our sending church pastor in the States emphasized during Missions Week that people should “adopt” a missionary because “they become forgotten”, he sure wasn’t kidding. To be fair, I realise people like our supporters are very busy, and we’re certainly not high-maintenance types who need loads of adoring, attentive people around us. But interaction of any sort from the States has been incredibly absent, and you notice these things especially around birthdays and holidays. I can’t imagine how isolated missionary kids must feel.

Meanwhile, we’ve been in the mission field for several years, and our recent exchange about funds with our supporter was the first of this kind we’ve received. Usually, the money from a supporter stops appearing, and we have no idea why. Did we offend them? Maybe they fell on hard times and need prayer? Do they rotate support to differing missionaries on a yearly basis? And sometimes a surprise shows in the account (which is much appreciated), but we never know if it will return. Rarely it does. Many times it does not.

We even noticed this during our initial round of fundraising. Not one of our current supporters a) notified us they would be doing so, b) gave us a general idea of how much to expect for budgeting purposes, or c) let us know how often this would occur (monthly, yearly, one-time, etc.).

Despite the ups and downs in the current economic climate, we’ve received provision and have been blessed. But communication, both on the financial end and even just a “hey, how are you”, can really be a breath of fresh air when you’re in a spiritual wasteland.

Related posts:

1. Top Five Fears in Fundraising
2. Top Five Myths in Support Raising
3. Fundraising Through Facebook?