financial support/fundraising/finances

I Wish I Could Explain. Or Understand: Videos for Your Missions Questions

Reading Time: 2 minutes

You’re at coffee with that potential donor of yours. You even ironed your shirt.

And then, right over a matcha latte, they launch the one question you didn’t prepare for.

Like, “So–why are you going with an agency and not on your own?”

Uh.

Well. You know. (At least you’re pretty sure?) But of all the answers in your mental deck, you keep drawing blanks.

How do I say, “Your question isn’t dumb. I just wish I could answer it”?

YouTube to the rescue

Two major missions orgs have released videos for just such an awkward time as this.

They tackle questions for you–with answers you can keep in your back pocket. Literally.

Pioneer’s videos explain questions like these:

Who are the lost? What’s the difference between that and the unreached? (Um. What does “unreached” mean, anyway?) Note: Keep in mind Jonathan Merritt’s assertion that “People who are ‘lost’ are precious, not pitiful.”* They’re sought after by God–not inferior.
What’s (cross-cultural) church planting? Why do we do it?
Are we all missionaries? What’s a missionary, specifically?
Why go with a mission agency, instead of on your own? (Aha!)
Why do I need a sending church? (This is a great one to communicate why you need people to send you.)

We also heart Global Frontier’s whiteboard videos, and their whole channel of global-worker goodness.

(BTW, one of our all-time faves to warm hearts about the task before us is still this video.)

Facts & Figures

One other tidbit we’ll slide in: For facts and even prayer requests about your host nation, don’t miss sites like Operation World, Joshua Project, and even the CIA World FactBook.

They, along with our post on 6 Killer Online Resources for Fundraising, can help you create compelling, unforgettable presentations–and be a little more ready for the questions lobbed your way.

Go forth and answer.

Source: Missions Catalyst

*Speaking God from Scratch: Why Sacred Words are Vanishing–and How We Can Revive Them. New York: Convergent Books (2018).

Go. Serve. Love

After seven years on staff with Cru, Janel and her husband packed up their family of six to--yup, Go. Serve. Love in Uganda with Engineering Ministries International (EMI). EMI focuses on poverty relief and development, providing structural design and construction management for Christian organizations in the developing world. After 5.5 years there in East Africa, Janel and her family recently schlepped back to the U.S., where they keep working on behalf of the poor. She writes and loves on her family from Colorado. You can find more of her ideas for practical spirituality and loving each other at AGenerousGrace.com.