Why Do Missionaries Raise Support?

Why Missionaries Need to Raise Support

When we read Jesus’ command to “go into all the world and preach the Gospel,” it’s easy to imagine missionaries simply packing their bags, saying their goodbyes, and heading off into the mission field.

But of course it's not that easy.

A lot of planning has to be done. What about rent, visas, ministry supplies, health care, furniture, airfare, child care, curricula, furloughs, emergency backup plans, immunizations, cultural integration training, schools for kids, transportation in country... and the list goes on.

And, of course, the big question - how are they going to pay for all of this?

Different Models For "Sending"🚶🏼‍➡️🚶🏽‍♂️‍➡️🚶🏻‍♀️‍➡️

There are as many Church "models" for supporting missionaries in the field as there are types of churches in the United States.

• A very small number of denominations and independent churches pay ALL expenses for any missionary they send into the field.
• Most denominations and Independent Churches pay a portion of a missionary's expenses and ask the missionary to raise the remainder.
• Some missionaries and missions groups are independent and not affiliated with any church in particular. Missionaries working for these groups typically must raise all of their own support.
• Some missionaries are bi-vocational and work secular jobs while in the mission field. These missionaries raise whatever extra money they need from friends, family, and churches back home.

Which model is best or most Biblical? We will leave that discussion up to you and your Church leadership. 🙂

It is generally agreed, though, that 80-90% of all missionaries in the field today had to raise at least some, if not all, of their own support for "going".

Why Don't Churches Just Fund the Missionaries They Send

The reasons most churches don't fully fund the missionaries they "send" are threefold:

• They Can't - According to Lifeway Research around 60% of churches average 60-100 worshipers, while around 35% average 100-500 worshipers. This results in an average yearly church budget of between $200-250,000 per year (sneucc study). It is easy to see, given these numbers, how supporting one missionary family at $60-80,000 a year would be a stretch while also paying their own staff locally, building expenses, and all their local programming.
• They Won't - But even when churches have the resources, missions is many times not their first choice for allocating funds. According to a study by The Gospel Coalition only about 6% of funds given to Christian causes go towards overseas missions in general, with an even smaller percentage (around 1%) going towards reaching "unreached" people groups.
• Uneven Distribution - Many times "Missions" is a Church DNA issue. When a church has this DNA of raising up missionaries in its blood, it typically sends out multiple families or individuals into the mission field. Too many missionaries for one church to fully fund on its own!

Whatever the reason though, the result is the same - Missionaries have to find individuals, organizations, and churches who have a heart for the work they are doing and will partner with them to "GO" and do this work.

Fellow-Workers and Partners in Christ

While raising support to go into the mission field may not sound like a lot of fun (imagine going to all your family and personal contacts and asking for $60,000), there are several positives that come out of this process:

• Support raising forces a missionary to find people of "like mind" with what he/she is doing. People of like mind often make the best teammates! This will be especially helpful when bumps happen along the mission road.
• Support raising creates a vital accountability link between the missionary and those who support him/her.
• Support raising can get new people involved in missions that might never have been involved if the church just paid 100%.
• Support raising helps a missionary build their faith as they see God answering prayers and raising up people who believe in and will help carry the mission forward.

And these are just a few of the positives that come from a missionary raising support for their own Ministry!

Summary

In the end, no mission is the work of just one person. It is a shared calling.

Shared hearts, shared prayers, and shared finances.

Just like the Apostle Paul depended upon multiple churches for support and encouragement as he spread the Gospel (See Philippians 4:15-18), so too do missionaries today.

The beauty of this, when missionaries raise support, they are inviting others to be part of a story that reaches far beyond what any of us could ever do alone.

And that's a good thing!