Friday, November 6, 2009

Asking for Support

I have always wanted to be like Hudson Taylor who trusted God for every penny and never asked others for a penny. As a missionary, you pretty much start out your career asking for money full time by presenting your ministry. So now that we are here, if we lack money, do we ask men or God? I was talking to a friend about this and said that I did not think that I had the faith to just trust God as Taylor did. He was in situations where he gave away his last coin. I have never been in a situation like that. God has always provided beforehand for me.
So the question I pose to you all is: at what point do you ask others for help, or should that point never happen because we are just supposed to trust God?

6 comments:

Aaron Marcelli said...

Perhaps how God will provide is through others. Give others the chance to be a blessing.

This is heavy on my heart too because we are about to start fund raising to church plant and I was giving quite a handsome figure as a goal to raise for the first two years and approaching people about money is just not me.

A book I just got on doing this is "people raising" by william dillon.

David and Sarah Carrel said...

ABWE actually had Dillon come in and do a course for us on that. It was interesting. He is right about the partnership and everything. I am like you though, and not like him. Bold. ha. Not a word that describes me. The thought of losing a relationship because I am asking too much scares me.

Jeff Selph said...

Hey, this sounds familiar! I say you ask of men as you ask of God, unless God lays on your heart otherwise. In the end, God is still providing, because He will put it on the hearts of some you do and some you don't ask to provide for you.

Matt said...

I think you should put the need out for sure. Many won't even know otherwise.

Asking specific people is more tough but if you ask with humility and grace, I can't see a good relationship going sideways.

Money is a weird subject for many Christians. Maybe it's because we like it too much.

Put the need out there, trust God that the result will give him glory.

sarah.joy said...

i know Jeff [Jewda] already said this, but God will provide in the end. we have had multiple occasions of tight finances, as many couples have had or still have. we've had offers of help, and have accepted them on just a few occasions. through our rough times, there were only a couple times in which we did not tithe - and that was because God gave us peace to wait a week so He could take care of us. and because of our faithfulness to Him, He was faithful to us. for a year, one source faithfully provided us support monthly, because God laid it on their hearts. and neither Jeff nor i had explained to them our situation.
God will not give you a will without the means. He has never personally let me down.

David and Sarah Carrel said...

Great advice guys. Matt you are right that the relationships probably would not go sideways. That is just what goes through my mind.
It is neat to see how God provides, sometimes from crazy places you never saw coming!