Top Five Fears in Fundraising
Posted by C. Holland on Jul 06, 2009The 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.
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July 7th, 2009 at 1:37 am
I believe it is God responsibility to provide for His children. He says so in His word. His only requirement is that we seek Him first. Obedience is our job, provision is His job. We do our job, He will do His.
I look at investor raising as an opportunity for ministry. My missionary work is an opportunity for someone to fulfill the Great Commission through their giving. As the missionary, you are giving them the opportunity to reap their inheritance in the nations. You are giving them the opportunity to be a part of something amazing. You are giving them the opportunity to be a blessing and to reap a blessing.
July 7th, 2009 at 7:36 am
@David: Thank you for the refreshing positivity on this subject! You are right, and it took us a while to shake off most of the fears that were listed in the Top Five. I believe our supporters see it as you do (partnering in a ministry), but not every Christian sees it that way.
July 7th, 2009 at 11:46 pm
My biggest fear was definitely #4: Fear of the appearance of weakness. I have always despised “moochers” and those that never pull their own weight and my whole life have been taught to take care of myself. So, that being said, learning dependency on God was (and still is) very difficult for me. I’ve had to re-wire my thinking from the American “pull yourself up from your bootstraps” mentality – not to mention the “American Dream/Keep Up With the Jonses” mentality.
Living by faith must be like walking the high wire – when one relaxes and just takes it a step at a time it’s pretty exhilarating but when one gets uptight and looks at how far the ground is down there (no net!) then, well, it’s scary as crap.
July 8th, 2009 at 10:06 am
@Greg: I would agree that our cultural background can make the aspect of accepting help a difficult one. The high wire analogy is very fitting!