"We're Praying About How Much..."
I love to hear people say "we are praying about what level of support we can give." I love to hear it because it means a number of things:
Our potential supporters are also pray-ers. When we are in the midst of spiritual attack, discouraging moments in ministry, or plain ole loneliness, these are the folks we can rely on to bring us before God, who will bring us through the trial.
Our potential supporters understand sacrifice. Here's something I've learned in my own life: when I am selfish, or greedy, I don't ask God how much I should give. Sometimes I give the same amount I always give, or less - with excuses hanging on every dollar. Sometimes I give begrudgingly. Usually I don't give at all. But when I am willing to ask God how much I should give, I am usually setting myself up to give "more than I bargained for." The thing is, when we give cheerfully and sacrificially, Jesus gives more than we bargained for. Which leads us to the next blessing:
Our supporters will be blessed. God doesn't promise financial blessing when we are faithful in giving, but He does promise blessings. We love to connect with our supporters relationally, so we are looking forward to hearing how God is blessing them because they've blessed us.
Knowing our potential supporters are praying about their gifts adds meaning to one of our goals: having supporters engaged in what the fundraising world calls "transformational giving." That is, giving that is transformational for the donor, the fundraiser (missionary), and the recipient (a little church plant in Alcalá de Henares, Spain, in our case).