There are so many things about church planting that I am totally sold out for. I am excited to see the people that God will bring into His new work. I am excited to move to a new place and meet new people. I could go on and on about all of the things that are so exciting about church planting, but I feel I need to talk about the one aspect I cannot get around. Funding.
Let me first say about this, I wish that God did not want me to do this. I asked Him to allow His work to happen without this step. But, He said no. So even when I don't want to, I will obey. Money and church has got to be one of the most uncomfortable things for a pastor/planter. I believe that I can do all of things on my own. I have a superhero mentality when it comes to all of the things that I can and cannot do. But, I am not Superman. So the church plant needs help. Financially.
The hard truth is that the Gospel is free, but getting this free thing out there is not. Probably dozens of times I have written support letters, read them, thought it was stupid, and deleted it. A friend gave me some good advice. He said, "all support letters are cheesy, that's just the way it is." Thanks Steven. So I sat back down and wrote out a support letter. Sounded less cheesy. Prayed over it, and am now printing it and preparing it. We are starting tonight to have families over to talk about the church plant and financial support.
The exciting thing is, we get to see the prayer support in this. Which I think is infinitely more important. We get to talk to people about praying for God's kingdom.
So while this might really be, "the icky stuff." It is part of God's design. We don't need to feel manipulative, or like beggars with cardboard signs on the street. We get to be blessed with what God has for us. That is truly exciting. That is why I can ask for support. It's God's support, and not anyone else.
In Him,
Pastor Cam
By letting others support your amazing willingness to do God's work, you are allowing them in their way to be a part of His plan. Your part is clear as you pray continuously for direction. Others part may not be as dramatic as packing up and moving across country but will matter just as much as they pray for guidance of which ministries to support with their tithes.
ReplyDeleteAsking and receiving funding is uncomfortable but in reality it is allowing others to get behind God's plan not just with unending prayer but also with the undeniable reality that in life even ministry costs money.