Join Michele as she talks through what it looks like to raise support for New Staff orientation.
Join Michele as she talks through what it looks like to raise support for New Staff orientation.
Welcome to the Cru MPD podcast with Katie Johnson and Michele Davis. We love that the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel. We are driven to equip and inspire Christian workers to be Christ centered, fully funded and financially faithful, so that missionary staff can come alongside all people to help them to know Jesus. This process is more widely known as ministry partner development, or MPD, for short. Hey, everyone, today, we have our very own Michele Davis, talking about Cru's New Staff Orientation, and what it looks like to raise support for New Staff Orientation. Enjoy.
Michele Davis:Look, I get it, you finally wrapped your mind around the idea that you'll be raising monthly support in order to get your ongoing paychecks. You're compelled by the ministry, and are taking a step of faith because God is great, able and good. But then they tell you, you need to raise a giant lump sum of money to pay for the training, the same training where they teach you to raise the support. Like before they tell you how. This moment right here puts a new resolve to trust God with your finances and ministry to the test. What you do next builds a response habit that you will take into the rest of your MPD your step of faith, or your retreat from defeat will be your very first MPD memory. You are not alone at this moment. And you're not the first to face this task. So here's some perspective that can help you build a good MPD habit that will be the foundation of your support raising journey. First of all, the God who will provide through his people for your ongoing support, can and will also provide for this first empirical. Secondly, have you ever raised support for a mission trip. So start thinking about this goal like that one. This is an important experience in your ministry journey that will train and equip you for the future just like that mission trip did. Thirdly, getting people on board to give to your MPD training will actually help set the stage for when you want to ask them for ongoing support. They are with you right from the beginning with vested interest in your success in this endeavor. And fourthly, you will need a prayer team as you enter this process of MPD. The people who give to your MPD training will be the most natural group to do this. Okay, now some practical tips. For this MPD goal, you will do well to use a letter telephone strategy. For Cru staff, you will find sample letters and more details in your NSO pre training assignments. This letter will briefly highlight your call to ministry and be the first introduction to your organization and ongoing work. You will also want to include a self addressed stamped envelope, clear instructions for who to make the check to and a link for online giving people like options and also for the process to be as easy as possible. And yes, you can send this to people who you plan to ask later for ongoing support. For many people a one time gift like this, and an ongoing gift commitment are two different lines on the budget. And this is especially true for churches. Like keep this letter brief, because you're hoping to talk to these people later to invite them to partner monthly with your ministry. So this line can help preview that, quote, there's so much more I'm excited to tell you about this ministry after I returned from a training. I'll be in touch via email during the training, and then connect personally afterwards. Okay, if you say that you actually do need to send an email from the training. I mean, it can be short, don't worry, just include a picture of you with your training group and maybe a couple of highlights a couple prayer requests. That's sufficient. Now after you send this letter to raise support for NSO, you will want to follow up with a phone call about a week after it said in this call, you'll catch up ask if they got your letter and then say I was just calling to see if you were in a position to give towards my upcoming training. Be ready to explain giving over the phone. Maybe have an email already written that includes the giving link So you can just send it over and they can click and get straight from their computer. If they don't answer, it's okay to send a brief text message letting them know who it is, and asking if they can talk later. Some people don't answer their phone if they don't have your number already saved in their contacts. So a text like this will help them know who called. And similarly, if you can't get ahold of them by phone, just send an email explaining briefly why you are calling. You're following up with your letter about your upcoming training. Attach the letter to that email because there's a chance they didn't get it and have the given link in your email signature. Also mentioned that you'd love to talk more to catch up and answer any questions that they have. Remember, we serve a God who is capable of immeasurably more than we could ever ask or imagine. He can handle this. All of MPD while involved taking steps of faith, and trusting God with the results. Good work getting off to a good start. Thanks for listening to the Cru MPD podcast. Please help others find our show by liking, sharing and rating us on Apple iTunes and wherever you listen to podcasts. You can find us on social media by searching for The Cru MPD podcast. Check out the show notes for more information including the various resources we mentioned in this episode. Till next time, we encourage you to be faithful and full of faith in all things, especially in MPD