Monthly Archive for March, 2011

My Top 5 Favorite Things About Raising Support: #3

Published on March 31, 2011 by Chris Bean in Calling, Campus Ministry and Finances.

We are in the midst of week 2 in our Spring “Fund” Drive…an effort to find 100 new ministry partners!  If we’re able to add 100 new ministry partners at $10/month…we’ll reach 80% of the needed funding to continue reaching students at the University of Cincinnati. If 100 new partners give $20/month…we will be at 100% and that would be amazing. We’re praying that God will provide the resources to reach that first goal by Memorial Day and the second goal by the end of the summer. We’d love to crank up our outreach on campus another notch or two in the Fall…and being fully funded would free up time and mental resources to do that for sure.

Each time I engage in the support-raising tasks which make for a successfully funded campus minister, I bump into an interesting form of resistance. Often, it’s from a campus ministry peer who laments that we have to overcome this hurdle (fund raising) in order to “do” ministry. Other times, it comes in the form of someone we have invited to support us who wonders why we don’t just find a church or organization who is willing to fully fund us. Those kinds of encounters tend to remind me of the things I love about raising support for campus ministry (no, I’m not joking). And that brings me to reason #3 in this little series of five posts.

#3 Raising financial support puts God in control of our finances.

From a theological understanding of God’s sovereignty, this seems like a moot point to some. But at least in the realm of self-perception, this biblical understanding of stewardship transforms the way that we live, give, and generally interact with money. The resources that God chooses to provide for us through the generosity of others seem more like God’s property than other paychecks we’ve received in the past. Obviously, whether someone gets a steady paycheck from a church, the government, or a private employer…the source is ultimately the same: God. However, since we pray daily for God’s provision through financial support, it seems that we are more intensely aware that God is in control.

From a different perspective, raising support also frees God up to provide as much or as little as He sees fit for us. Since we are not fully funded just yet, what we are living on now is less than I’ve earned in the past as a staff member at a church. Fortunately though, if God chooses and provides our full support, we’d actually receive a wage that is better than any church board has seen fit to “provide” in the past. That’s another way in which we feel like God is in control of our provision. So we feel a bit more like the Apostle Paul who could say,

“I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.”

So there you go…a third great reason that we love raising support in order to live out our mission of transforming college students to transform the world.

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My Top 5 Favorite Things About Raising Support: #4

Published on March 24, 2011 by Chris Bean in Campus Ministry, Celebration and Finances.

Someone suggested that I’m just trying to be optimistic about this. I often hear other campus ministers make comments like, “Yeah…support raising is the worst part of this gig.” Even a friend in my own organization suggested recently that he couldn’t wait to get a ‘steady’ paycheck again implying that he’d be moving on to other employment soon. Okay…I get it…raising support has its challenges. To me, that reinforces the need to look at this endeavor differently. That brings me to the next reason I actually enjoy having financial ministry partners and supporters rather than a paycheck from an institution.

#4            It gives us the opportunity to minister to our partners as well as college students.

About fundraising, Henri Nouwen says, “Fund-raising is proclaiming what we believe
in such a way that we offer other people an opportunity to participate with us in our vision and mission.” (You can find a copy of his booklet here).

When someone becomes a ministry partner through their financial support, a way has been opened for them to participate with God in His mission of reconciliation in the world.

“You will be enriched in every way for your great generosity…” (2 Cor. 9:11).

Beyond the blessing of being involved with our ministry and vision, ministry partners become people we pray for and serve whenever possible. Names of supporters often come to mind as I’m driving, praying, planning, or hanging out with college students. I love to pray for the financial partners who make this ministry possible and share stories with them about what God is doing to transform college students to transform the world. (The CCO’s Core Purpose)

Granted, overcoming anxiety and awkward moments to make a phone call, send an email, or have a face-to-face conversation is not my idea of a good time. But the relationship and shared mission that we enjoy with our supporters really is a blessing.

If you have questions, I’d love for you to explore more information on how to support our campus ministry here in Cincinnati.

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My Top 5 Favorite Things About Raising Support

Published on March 22, 2011 by Chris Bean in Campus Ministry, Faith and Finances.

In my last post, I began a series in a conversation about campus ministry and raising support. We are in the midst of that process in order to continue reaching out to students here in Cincinnati.

I’ll begin this “Top 5″ countdown with the low end of the ‘favorites’ but one that certainly brings us great joy.5 Countdown

#5  We become better stewards of our resources and more generous towards others.

Have you ever worked as a server?  (waiter/waitress)

During my freshman year of college, I worked at a Ponderosa Steakhouse near the Anderson University campus. (Back in the day, Ponderosa was a bit more of a preferred destination restaurant than it is today).This was the first time that my income was based on the generosity of others. I believe it’s the place where I first fell in love with the art of hospitality as I engaged customers and constantly tried to wow them with my service. There were some tables, of course, which left a huge mess with very little gratuity. Others would be very generous.

After having that job for about a year, I became much more aware of the service I received from other servers. I can remember several times that I would go eat to eat with my family and be embarrassed that my dad was notoriously stingy when it came to leaving a tip (sorry, Dad…you know it’s true!) So as the family was leaving, I’d make my way back to the table and double or triple the tip.

In the same way, being the recipient of our supporters’ generosity today makes us much more aware of others who have entrusted their livelihood and income to God and like-minded ministry supporters. That makes it very difficult not to respond in SOME way to those who approach us with a cause or ministry that we feel strongly about. We’re obviously not able to large amounts to everyone who is in need, but we sense that God has made us much more generous as a family because we TRUST daily in God’s provision.

If you have questions, I’d love for you to grab more information on how to support our campus ministry here in Cincinnati.

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