In order to raise your support to be in a country long term you must put together a realistic budget that includes monthly cost of living expenses as well as potential ministry costs that may come up while you are in country.
You then must begin to seek partnerships with local churches and individuals who will commit to supporting you monthly. A good rule of thumb is to have a list of at least 200 people you can contact, meet with 1-1 to share the vision, and ask for their ongoing support.
It’s important that you believe with your whole heart that support partnership is God’s plan for funding the work of cross-cultural ministry. By raising support through individuals and churches, those involved with you are able to share in the fruit of your ministry and the blessings that come from financial partnership.
I believe that there are three types of giving that all believers should be involved in: tithes, offerings, and alms. Missions giving falls into the category of offerings and alms (when it goes to a project helping the poor.) These three areas of giving work together to meet practical needs or God’s work in the world and bring a promised blessing from God on those who choose to trust Him in these critical areas of discipleship. In essence, missionaries give people back home the opportunity to participate in God’s global mission in ways they would not be able to participate otherwise.
Missionaries need true partnerships where people remember them as being just as much a part of the fellowship as anyone else. You may be willing to go forward overseas, but you need people who are willing to “hold the line.” This means you need people to support you through fervent prayer and consistent giving. Those who are called to partner with you will share in the burden, but they will also share in the eternal fruit that comes from your service.
In order to not be forgotten, and it is easy to be out of sight and out of mind, you need to communicate through consistent newsletters and updates. If you want people back home to benefit spiritually from the ministry that you are accomplishing with their help, you need to make a concerted effort to stay in touch. This is a part of your missionary assignment and you should be giving a good percentage of your time to the development of your partnerships.
Some might ask themselves
“Is all of the sacrifice, labor, and support raising worth it?”
The question needs to be asked, “If you don’t go, would there be people who weren’t around God’s throne that could have been”? If God may be calling you to go, that is the more important question.
When you think of the value of a human soul, all of the sacrifice, labor, and finance can’t compare. Jesus paid the ultimate price for us, so how could we give him less? Most American Church planters have already answered this question themselves before starting a local church in America. The cost of salaries, general upkeep, outreach, and buying land and building buildings are all part of planting a church in America.
In America, the cost can reach into the millions; and all of this in a land that has 24/7 access to the Gospel and multitudes of churches. How much more should the same sacrifice, labor, and finances be used to plant churches, especially among those who have little to no access to the Gospel?
