After being named National Director, Alphonse quickly realized that he needed unrestricted cash to help his staff with emergencies and to seize ministry opportunities. The General Fund was crucial for ministry health.

So, we reviewed the list of general fund donors name by name for the past five years. Didn’t take long!

Okike Offia sent a forthright appeal letter to 100 people on the Nigerian National Mailing List. Many National Directors consider this too “pushy” and are uncomfortable to say anything except to provide “How to Give” information…

I love finding easy ways to remember ministry guidelines.  So, here’s LPC  – mental triggers for effective coaching.

I hear ministry-leaders say: “I don’t worry about the funding of conventional-income staff… they fund their own ministries.”

Let’s go back 2400 years to Nehemiah, the Wall-builder, for a second lesson on leadership and money. You know Nehemiah’s first lesson: Timber for his workers!

It happened again yesterday. I was having supper with a field missionary (J) who was lamenting his poor funding. 

May I speak to you frankly about a blind spot in leadership? It popped up last week, but the story I am about to tell occurs frequently.

My assistant and I met with a missionary couple (Joe and Vicki—not their real names) last Monday. They had been in town five weeks and they had a problem—they were only 50% supported. But Joe said, “That’s not the real problem. I am not afraid of fundraising, but I don’t have time to do it. The real problem is that my supervisor expects me to catch up on my fundraising while I open a local office here—now!”

Vicki chimed in. “How can we launch a new office and do major funding simultaneously! It feels like we are being set up for failure.”