When I first was introduced into missions, I was very turned off by the idea of having to raise my own money. Who does that? That was not the way I was raised or the type of job I went to college for. I have a college degree and plenty of work experience. But, when I thought about it there was a deeper-rooted issue of independence. I thought that my way of earning money was better because I could do it, and I could control every step of the way: where I worked, how much I earned, how much I was able to give away, and what I bought. But that is not God’s heart for me. I had to give up every concept of earning that I was taught from a young age
The first year I was involved with YWAM I kind of ‘faked it ‘til I maked it,’ because I knew support raising was what the organization did and how it worked. I was taught the heart behind support raising, but I was stubborn enough to brush past it. Asking for money was really weird for me, but for the most part, people freely gave. I was able to raise more than I needed to serve for over 8 months in missions. This was just the beginning of how I saw God show up in support-raising. I wasn’t looking, but I kept seeing more and more of his generosity through finances.
The pieces started to click the second time I came back to serve as a staff. I really began seeing support raising less as ‘people giving me money to live’ and started understanding it as a way for people to invest in God’s work across the world. The whole point of missions is to see the Kingdom spread on earth. That’s the simple message; how I do that is completely up to me and God. He has me as a part of this organization that does support-raising for a reason. I have slowly learned that financial support is an opportunity for people to invest in what I am doing as a different way for them to serve the kingdom.
There are so many people who would love to be a part of the mission field as a career, but God has called them somewhere else with different circumstances. So, through support-raising, I provide an opportunity for others to be a part of the mission. It is just like tithing at a church. There really is no difference except, instead of giving to a larger church congregation, I am a church of one part of a unified body of Christ.
I love getting to enable people to be a part of the mission field. It is so much fun getting to create a network of people that want to see the world change for the better. Because people are invested financially, they are invested spiritually. Their money allows me to love people to the fullest extent, and they get to be a part of heaven coming to earth through their contribution. Plus, it allows me to give more freely. It is not “my money,” it is money entrusted to me by other people in order to serve.
This means I have to be a good steward of my money--I can’t have a tight grip because in the end, it’s not my money: it’s God’s. Freely I was given, freely I am able to give (Jesus was really onto something when He said that). It is the amazing irony of the fact that the less money I make, the more willing I am to give. I am learning God’s heart of generosity on a continual basis. Because I am seeking His heart and learning it with finances, it overflows into the way I see time, encouraging words, and the things I own.
It is amazing the freedom I have found in finances when I do not “earn it” through one avenue. I get to have a team of people that have my back and get to walk alongside me through the good, bad, and ugly of missions. God is such a generous giver and provides beautifully through His children.
