A mission leader asked me a great question this week. One of his top staff turns in excellent fundraising plans—his funding goal is clearly identified, and his Top 25 prospects are listed. But he never seems to act on the good work he has done in planning. He is successful when he makes appeals—but he never gets around to it.

The leader was perplexed. What is going on here?

Donors just told me they are stopping support. What do I do now?

If Jesus was poor—how poor? Homeless? An itinerant beggar? Or was He wealthy?

I have been meditating on the Lord’s prayer the last few days. Have you noticed that the Lord’s prayer is primarily asking? It contains six requests:

Our Father who is in heaven...

This week I received a note saying:

“I feel charged after a funding appointment, love it. BUT the management of database, emailing, texting, phone calling to get one appointment, drains me.”

Our friend is not alone. Many gospel-workers long to accomplish big things, but little administrative things kill their joy. I get it. That’s when Zechariah 4:10 helps me...

What if you live in a country where the economy is going downhill? Can you still fundraise while your countrymen suffer?

During economic downturns I am tempted to:

• Freeze in fear and hope things will improve
• Hide finances from my spouse. “Everything is fine.”
• Eat chocolate ice cream out of the carton(s) late at night
• Blame the other political party

Instead, how about taking three action steps?

I skyped this morning with a Missions Director who had a problem that is common to all ministries—it went like this....

Today I received a question from a missionary originally from Venezuela ministering in Mexico. He asks a practical question. How would you answer him? Here is what I said:

Q:  Can you explain please how do you use the Top 25 Worksheet for potential giving candidates. Step by step please!

You have a secret weapon in fundraising. It is available 24/7. It doesn’t have an expiration date like a carton of milk. It does wonders in bringing gospel-workers to full funding.

I’m not talking about prayer—though that is indispensable. (I wish I were better at it.) Nor is it your passion for ministry. And it is not your sparkling personality—though you might underestimate the simple fact that “people like you!” They do!