FUNDING YOUR MINISTRY is an in-depth, Biblical guide for the successful raising of personal support. It is a book written by Scott for everyone who longs to see their journey in ministry not being held back by the slow lack of understanding, whether they are gifted or not. Scott points out that we often feel secular when trying to raise money in our ministry journey. We criticize ourselves wondering why we can’t be like those great missioners of 1800 –George Mueller or Hudson Taylor-who saw the money pour in only by telling God in prayer. Most of the time, we view discipling as the only “real” ministry and we gladly gravitate towards it, running away from money matters.
Sure, we might get butterflies when we pick up that phone to make appointments and commitments with the various partners, but we need to view PD as a ministry rather than as a burden. Scott recommends that before raising any fundraising efforts-stop! Examine yourself and answer this question: Assuming that God has called you to vocational Christian ministry, what specific obstacles are keeping you from gaining 100% of your approved budget? Scott identifies a number of barriers that hold us back when funding our ministry; leading to the danger of developing a shallow financial plan and gives a comprehensive solution we can apply whenever we experience those obstacles when raising our ministry funds. Some of these obstacles are:
- No potential givers – Most of the time, missioners find themselves saying that they have run out of partners. Scott advises that missioners should never run out of prospective partners! Instead, they should anticipate their future funding by building friendships, creating interests, and genuinely making acquaintances with as many people as they can adding them to their lists.
- Fear- Most of the missioners raise ”theological reasons” for not raising support simply as cover-ups for deep-down fears. Perhaps, the fear of rejection. If you are really fearful, call it that and work towards ridding it intentionally. Don’t describe hesitancy as a philosophical reservation.
- Lack of diligence – Most of the missioners are hard workers except in the area of money. Raising support is hard work. It takes energy, creativity, risk, and long hours.
- Time – Many missioners fill their year with ministry activities and try to do fundraising during their “free time.” How can I add fundraising to the top of an already-too-busy schedule? Ask yourself: What will I cut out of my to-do list to create time for raising my fundraising.
- Fuzzy vision – If you are not sure of your vision or if you no longer believe fervently in the importance of your ministry, you will find it awkward to invite others to support you. Until you clarify your calling, you’ll have difficulty raising money or even communicating confidently with your partners.
Scott clarifies that the first step in overcoming these obstacles is admitting they are there and steering towards overcoming them by not asking” who will support me” or “ Only God knows about that, instead ask,” who ought to hear about my ministry.”Scott gives his final thoughts by saying that becoming fully funded can be a long haul, but if you are called by God, and if you do your part, you can be confident that he will do his part, as well.