Raising ministry support: My experience

Last year, as I contemplated resigning from my job and commencing a ministry traineeship, few ideas filled me with more dread and uncertainty than the idea of raising financial support. I knew it was a helpful part of the traineeship, however I was reluctant to do it.

But what was the big deal? I’d been raised in a Christian family that delights in being generous to others, and had financially supported several people over my own working life. I had no doubt about the value of having people in paid full-time ministry, or enabling them to do that through financial support. So why was I hesitating? It was, if I’m honest, the idea of me being the recipient of that support. My parents had worked up from nothing and raised me to be not only self-sufficient, but a blessing to others. I’d been working as a health professional for seven years—everyone knew that I earned enough money to support myself. Shouldn’t I just keep working part-time so that others weren’t burdened by my choice to do full-time ministry? Was I worth the sacrifice of others?

The set task was to invite people to partner with me by sharing the vision for gospel ministry and the opportunity to get involved. I needed to raise $52,000 for the two-year traineeship, but somehow the other campus staff never seemed to think of it in terms of ‘fundraising’ the way I did. Rather, they challenged me to work out what the Bible actually said about supporting those in ministry.

So off I went. I’ll admit, the first few verses that came to my mind did not exactly quieten my suspicions:

For you remember, brothers, our labour and toil: we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God. (1 Thess 2:9) 

But I have made no use of any of these rights, nor am I writing these things to secure any such provision. For I would rather die than have anyone deprive me of my ground for boasting. (1 Cor 9:15)

If anything, I was now even more hesitant to ask people to support me! Unable to reconcile my scepticism with my trust in the godliness of the campus staff, I was all ears for someone to show me where the missing link was. 

What followed next was a rollercoaster of emotions as I struggled with the biblical basis of supporting those in full-time ministry. The campus staff were kind as I (and the other trainees-to-be) struggled through the Scriptures and saw that there was a consistent theme of partnership for the sake of the gospel between gospel workers (such as the apostle Paul) and the churches that they wrote to.

I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. (Phil 1:3-6)

I saw that the earlier verses I’d found, the ones that seemed to discourage full-time ministers from accepting support, were really an indictment on Christians who thought that full-time ministers were taking what they did not deserve. Rather, the theme of the apostles and churches working in partnership together for the mutual aim of spreading the gospel was consistent throughout the New Testament. In fact, the provision for the Old Testament priests was in the same vein as what Jesus himself commanded for gospel workers, immediately before that verse in 1 Corinthians that had so convinced me it was better to avoid accepting financial support:

Do you not know that those who are employed in the temple service get their food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar share in the sacrificial offerings? In the same way, the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel. (1 Cor 9:13-14).

So what now? I could see the biblical framework for supporting gospel workers, but I still wasn’t comfortable with it. I was still terrified of standing in front of my friends and asking for their support. However, a good friend was really encouraging in sharing her own experience: an old friend of hers who she’d lost contact with was genuinely grateful that she’d been given the opportunity to partner with my friend. Another friend in ministry training pointed out that she was now in full-time paid ministry—but we are all full-time ministers wherever God has placed us, as we are all sharing the gospel of Jesus with people. I was starting to see that I’d been viewing the traineeship as a chance to train myself for my future ministry, rather than being a fellow worker in God’s harvest field.

In the end, it became clear to me that pride was at the heart of my uncertainty. I held a double standard of being willing to support others but not to have others support me, because I was proud of my ability to support myself—even for seemingly ‘gospel-minded’ work—rather than needing to rely on others. I had completely missed the concept of true gospel partnership! I’d been too proud to really believe that we are all equal partners with a common aim of proclaiming Jesus. And I could see that even though it was disguised as being gospel-driven, I’d been storing up earthly riches instead of working for heavenly riches. 

So, with a humble heart and a lot of tears, I stood in front of my friends and invited them to partner with me. Having seen my proud heart unravel, I was able to honestly say that their prayers for me were of so much more value than any finances they might pledge. But I won’t quickly forget the feeling of helplessness when facing such a large pledge target that I needed to rely on others, rather than myself, to reach.

In God’s kindness, I experienced amazing generosity and encouragement from his people. At this stage, the pledges for financial support exceed my original target. I’m now in my second semester on campus, and am being constantly reminded that God is in control and I am not. God has been teaching me that my pride extends beyond financial stability, and I’m regularly seeing how I naturally (incorrectly) assume that I need to be able to produce answers to any problem I come across. I’m still learning to be reliable in sending through prayer support newsletters and sharing my experiences with my supporters. But despite all this, I’m so encouraged by the endless ways I’m seeing the true riches of God’s word proclaimed on campus, and thankful for a God who knows our needs and provides abundantly.

This guide was originally published in Magnolia, and has been edited and republished with the author’s permission.