I’m way overdue for the next installment in this series of posts regarding support raising in the context of campus ministry.
I was re-reading a chapter in Scott Morton’s book Funding Your Ministry on 
attitudes. The first one that he covers is the idea that giving AND receiving are both vertical. We do not directly depend on donors for financial support. We depend on God. Those who give to any ministry or church should ultimately be giving to God. I found a great post by a fellow campus minister here who discusses this point and then reminds us of something the CCO sees as a core value: All things belong to God.
Fortunately, some great trainers and peers pointed this truth out early on in our transition into a donor-supported ministry. But the head trash continually resurfaces and changes your focus from the Provider (God) to the provision (supporters/money). Even in the 3 short weeks that we’ve been in this Spring support-raising emphasis (our “Fund” Drive), God has reminded us several times that He will usually provide in spite of us and in His own way and time. Just last week, after a particularly difficult night of making some phone calls and asking several people to consider financially supporting our ministry, I was disheartened by the negative responses. It’s tempting in those moments to become frustrated with individuals as well as the process. But the next day, out of the blue, we received word that someone had given a very generous amount of support. It’s not someone I called or even had on my radar for potentially supporting our ministry. Slowly but surely we’re learning. God is, by nature, a Provider. When we keep our eyes on Him as the Source (vertically) and don’t get caught up on the sources (horizontal) the provision is almost an afterthought.
And that brings me to our next favorite thing about support raising…
#2 The intense spiritual growth which comes as we TRUST God for our Daily Bread.
Never before have we been so utterly dependent on God for daily bread (or at least monthly). As we learn to trust God more quickly and deeply, we find a greater sense of faith and intimacy is being cultivated in our lives personally and also as a family. If we have to raise support for the rest of our lives in order to keep this attitude in check and in focus, so be it!
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