Raising Support: The call and the struggle

For many years I struggled with hearing from people "raising support," there always seemed a need and money always seemed limited. We have served on mission boards and mission committees at different churches and have heard every pitch there is. Many times, I became sinical towards individuals, not because of them, but because of my own heart. Now I find myself on that end of the line, asking others to support a cause that I passionately believe in. God worked in my heart to help me see and understand what I was once blind to. He used a friends, Dr. Alan Sawyer and Pradip Ayer, to unbind my heart to my bitterness and helped both Marcela and I see what we were missing.

While we were all having dinner one night at our house in Zambia. Dr. Sawyer asked us what we were struggling with, and we mentioned fund raising. He told us that he had been down that road too. After being a successful Dr for many years, his goal was to be a self-supported missionary. I agreed at to his point emphatically. Then he shocked me and said, "How selfish and prideful that was, thinking we could just do it on our own!" If we were so called "self-supported" then that means we were depriving others to opportunity for other to join the mission that we were called to. Others who may not be able to go but still would like to be a part of the mission. We were limiting what God could do by thinking we can just do it on our own without Him or other!

God is the great provider; He supplies all our needs, spiritually and monetarily. We just have to rely on Him.

Later that year, I was having lunch with Pradip Ayer while in Memphis, TN. Through our conversation the same topic came up. He said, very similar to the same thing but one point he made stuck with me the most. He mentioned that if we acted in such a way we would be limiting what we think God can do. It hit me hard; For a God who can do more than I can comprehend or imagine (Ephesians 3:20), I was limiting what I thought God could do.

God uses our failures, our blindness, our selfishness, even our pride to bring us closer to Him. He literally takes our insufficiencies and makes them great. God is the great provider; He supplies all our needs, spiritually and monetarily. We just have to rely on Him. The body of Christ has many parts but functions as one unit (Roman 12:4-8). We each have parts to play in fulfilling our true identity in Christ. Some pray, some go, some give. No one is greater than the other. All are needed!

Humbly,

Mark