True Confession: I Hate Fundraising

I've been meaning to write this post for a long time, but for a variety of reasons never got around to it. So here goes.

True confession: I hate fundraising.

The more I'm in this fundraising process, the more I dislike it. I know it's a necessary evil for being in my current ministry role. And I know even in your dream job, there will always be stuff you dislike about it. And while I've learnt important lessons like not taking for granted anything you have because people have sacrificed so you can have your next meal, and the humility that comes with asking for partnerships, I still hate the process. And here's why:

1) I hate walking the fine line between celebrating what God is doing and making a splash with a "success story" to "win" support. I love stories, and I love telling stories, but I have often felt compelled to simply share "successful" statistics, or moving stories of major transformation. I see life change happening everyday in baby steps, but they don't make for fantastic success stories to tell. I want to celebrate the spectacular things God is doing, even if only in baby steps, but the pressure of the fundraising process often weighs so heavy that I feel obligated to only tell "success stories". And I hate that because it disrespects the life story for what it is--a journey in process, not a successful statistic.

2) I hate talking about myself or what I am doing, and the fundraising process often feels like we have to "market" ourselves. Amber and I had this discussion a little while ago that missionaries should fundraise in pairs because it's easier for us to talk each other up than for us to talk about ourselves and our ministries. Which leads me to the main point of today's blog post.

3) I hate that fundraising sometimes feels like a competition. Some of my favourite people whom I have journeyed with and have a great deal of respect for are stuck in the same fundraising rut that I am. I've been thinking about writing this post since my dear, dear friends Dan, Christy and Sofie Kihm, and Jenny, Bobby and Moore Mihsill were still in their fundraising process. These two families have finally finished their fundraising process, and the Kihms are now in the Netherlands and the Mihsills are at language school in France, preparing to move to Cote d'Ivore.

I wanted to tell you why you should support them financially and why you should believe in their ministry.
And I want to tell you why you should support Zach and Audrey Langford and their involvement in 3Worlds, particularly because of Audrey's role with missionary kids. Because I *get* why it's a challenge trying to raise support to go somewhere that is a part of the developed world when it's often easier to get folks to give compassionately to a mission in the developing world.
And I want to tell you why you should support Rebecca, Ryan and Ashton Hodges because I truly believe God has called them to Kenya--and not just because we should feel compassion for the poor, starving children of Africa.
And I want to tell you why you should support Emily Clark and the Place of Promise on Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. Because it's a ministry that is near and dear to my heart having been on the reservation myself seven years ago.
And I want to tell you why you should support Amber Livermore, and help her get back to Aotearoa New Zealand for another two years to build on all the good work she has started here. Because I love watching her interact with the youths across all the churches in the Wesleyan Methodist Church of New Zealand, and the way she's earned the respect of the local pastors here.

But in my completely selfish internal dialogue, I find myself thinking, "If I advocate for them, who's advocating for me? And will there be any funds left for me?"

And this is what I hate most about fundraising. I truly believe that God has called each one of us, and that there will be enough resources in the Kingdom so that all who are called will be taken care of. But through a few unfortunate conversations along the way, I've come to realise that if we're not careful about the way we view the process, we're going to feel like we're competing against one another when we're really all playing for the same team.

And I am completely aware that churches and missions committees sometimes have to make difficult decisions about which ministries to support because they are all worthy causes--to which I sincerely applaud you for taking the time to pray and discern. But all I'm asking is that in your process of prayer and discernment, please be gentle with us who are in this aggravating fundraising process when you tell us you've decided to go in a different direction. While I truly believe there is enough for everyone, the process of knocking on doors asking for support can be very discouraging. Help us to not have to feel like we're in a competition against people whom we love and respect dearly.

From the depths of my heart, thank you for giving sacrificially so that Kingdom work can keep happening all around the world.

I just... still hate fundraising.