How to Raise Missionary Support During COVID-19

Jessica Purdy • Jul 08, 2020

Support raising is one of the most daunting parts of becoming a missionary — especially during an economic downturn. But according to TEAM stewardship coach Jennifer Nickels, it doesn’t have to be. With the right perspective, she says, raising missionary support can actually be a blessing. We sat down with Nickels to find out how to view support raising as a ministry and do it successfully in the midst of a global crisis. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Raising support is often one of the most intimidating parts of becoming a missionary. Why do you think that is?

I think a lot of people, they walk into this process with a lot of preconceive ideas … and they may fear just asking people for money. It can make you feel vulnerable. I think overall, it’s just a matter of recognizing that raising a partnership team should not be considered a daunting or intimidating task. It’s actually a privilege and it’s a blessing. You, as the missionary have this amazing opportunity and privilege of asking people to join in the Great Commission alongside you . Raising support and raising your team is part of your missionary calling. So I would just challenge you to take some time to reframe your thinking and your perspective and your attitude.

What are some practical ways to shift your perspective?

I think one is taking some time to just look at Scriptures, there’s a lot of great Bible studies out there just on helping you think through raising finances. But also what it looks like to have a partnership team support you in full-time ministry. There’s a lot of great books out there. One that I highly encourage is Henri Nouwen ’s Spirituality of Fundraising . It’s just a great book that helps you think through how this is a ministry and what this looks like.

I also just encourage people to have a prayer team. Have some people who are not only prayer warriors, but who maybe you can bounce this idea off of and kind of dig deeper together with as you think through it a little bit more.

In ideal circumstances, how do you advise people to raise missionary support?

First of all is just having the right perspective. I think when people enter into this time and their perspective is off, or it’s not biblical, or they’re just really dreading it, that comes across, and people sense that in you. So taking that time to just back up and to really have a strong biblical foundation , that, ‘Hey, this is a ministry I get to share with people what God’s doing in the corner of the world I’m called to!’ So that brings it to that next point of being personal. I think when you’re asking a very important question, you’re asking people to participate in the great commission alongside you , this is a big thing, and it’s an exciting thing!

So take the time to meet face to face. Obviously this is pre-COVID suggestions, but having those times where you can be very personal. Meet with people, take them out for coffee, have them to your house for dessert, be at a small group meeting, those kinds of things.

How can missionaries continue raising missionary support during times of social distancing?

It’s a little bit harder at the moment, as far as face to face. But I would say currently, there are a lot of great things that are working. I know currently, missionary appointees are finding ways to actively raise support and have meaningful conversations with potential donors. It can be hosting a Zoom call with either your missions committee or a small group, or just one-on-one or with another family that you want to interact with.

As countries start to open up, maybe you can meet someone in their front yard and we can social distance from the porch to the driveway. I think you can be sensitive to what people are comfortable doing. But there are a lot of ways that you can reach out and meet with people . Social media platforms have also been helpful for people to do things like hosting a live Facebook video to just share updates on your ministry and what’s happening, where you are.

How can missionaries sensitively ask for support during times of economic hardship, such as COVID-19?

I think what you said right there, being sensitive is key . I think right now is a great time to be sensitive and discerning. Use prayer and wisdom as to who you’re talking to and who you’re asking . One thing I encourage people to do if you’re thinking of reaching out to someone is to think about how you know that person. Are they in one of those categories that has been financially impacted? If they are, now’s the time to probably just call and check in, “Hey, how are you doing? Can I pray for you?”

However, as you look at that list of people that you want to reach out to, there’s definitely people on that list who have been impacted by this, but not impacted financially . So they probably still have their jobs, just got a stimulus check, tax return, things like that. Those are people that you could still reach out to.

Is there a way people who have been impacted by the economy can still support missionaries, even if they can’t manage financially?

There’s a lot of ways that people can still be involved. Obviously forming prayer teams are key . They can be a part of that, hearing the ministry, praying for the ministry, being involved in it. I guarantee there’s people, probably on your newsletter list or on your kind of donor list or potential donor list who have a lot of great skills and ministry skills who they’d love to use to help you . So there’s probably people who have the gift of hospitality, who would love to help you think about, Hey, as things start to open up, how can we host an event for you or on your behalf? There’s probably some people who are very organized, detailed people and are great writers. If you’re not a great writer, having someone who is help you with newsletters. Or, maybe someone’s just got a great gift for helping you put together videos.

So it’s just a matter of having conversations with people and asking and knowing who they are and kind of seeing where their gifts lie and how they can help you.

What do missionaries do if their timeline is uncertain? How do they still raise support when there are a lot of unknowns?

I think having a lot of unknowns is part of missionary life, so this is great training ground. But do continue to communicate and communicate well . I always suggest at least a monthly newsletter, and on top of that, if you are living in places where you can have social media to be active as updating people on that. Also if you’re in your home country you can call people, talk to people, Zoom. Even if you’re living overseas, you can still do those things. So I think just communicating well with people. If you’re in that process where you’re initially raising support and trying to get out by a certain date, remind people that this has not been canceled, you’re still called to this.

If you had hoped that you could leave this summer and it doesn’t look like that might be happening, just communicate I’m still raising support, because I knew I need to be at a 100 percent by , you know, and put a date there. Some of those timelines might’ve been pushed a little bit, but that doesn’t mean that it’s not going to happen.

Is there anything you would like to add?

I would say just keep that perspective that God is in control, and He’s called you to this, and He’s called people to join your team as a part of it . And that partnership development hasn’t stopped because of COVID. There are a lot of people who are right now raising very successful partnership teams, and they are making meaningful connections with people in this process. So know that it is being done, it can be done. It may look and feel a little different than maybe what you originally thought it would or have done in the past, but know that it is happening and that it is still working. And that God is still moving.

Watch Jennifer’s entire interview at our Facebook page.

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Bridging Dissonance: Finding Connection in Music and the Gospel

By Emily Sheddan • 18 Jul, 2024

TEAM worker Luke Standridge and his fellow musicians use music to build connections to faith in Japan. In music terms, dissonance creates movement or even suspense in a song. It invites tension. That tension is what helps grab our ear’s attention and the interchanging of these notes with pleasant melodious parts is what makes music such a delight. In a similar way, God is using music to grab people’s attention and catalyze Gospel impact in the largely unreached nation of Japan. TEAM Global Worker, Luke Standridge moved to Japan in 2019 with no clear direction on how he was going to use his passion for composing music while doing ministry. However, after Luke got involved with a local church and began developing deep friendships, the Lord opened unimaginable doors for Luke that in time, coordinating his creative skills with sharing the Word. “People Need to Come to Japan!” Growing up as one of ten kids in a family that was heavily involved in ministry and missions, Luke never considered that it would one day be a part of his own journey. In 2016, via a Japanese language learning class in Indiana, Luke and his brother had the opportunity to travel to Japan. Hearing, learning, and using the language in the context of Japanese culture was the goal. While it was Luke’s first international trip – even his first trip on a plane - it was also his first time hearing about the spiritual condition of the Japanese people. “And just through that, God did a huge 180 change on my heart,” says Luke. “More people should come here as global workers. People need to come to Japan!” The call God was laying on Luke’s heart is echoed when looking at the spiritual landscape of Japan. The nation is home to the second largest unreached people group in the world. It is one of the most difficult places for the Gospel to take hold and grow. Japan is also home to a deep and rich culture that prizes creative arts from pottery to ink to music to anime – a fact that would help Luke find his niche in life and ministry. God’s Guiding Hand In the short three-month timespan of that first trip, Luke found that opportunities came naturally to share about life, and people’s curiosity for Christianity grew. “I left Japan knowing I just had to come back,” Luke shares. “Even if I didn’t get back to the same area, I knew Japan was where God wanted me to be.” The Lord is good all the time and all the time the Lord is good. His plans do not fail. Luke returned to Japan in 2019, and less than a week after arriving, he was put in touch with a renowned composer in Japan. The composer saw some of Luke’s music and invited him to help write the music for a beloved in-country animated show. But God wasn’t finished yet! Fast forward a year, and more connections and opportunities allowed Luke to help with music for Pokémon - a franchise that has brand recognition around the world and was being developed into a TV series in Japan. Luke recalls how the Lord began using these connections in the production world to open doors for Gospel conversations. One night while having dinner in downtown Tokyo with famous artists and composers from all around the country, Luke was asked about his ministry-focused visa. This was a rare opportunity in a setting with people otherwise uninterested in Christianity. Luke shares, “The whole time I could see God’s hand in guiding the entire thing.”

Connecting in a New Kind of “Neighborhood”

By Lorena de la Rosa and Suzanne Pearson • 13 Jun, 2024

Through creative arts and other forms of innovative outreach, “The Neighborhood” is creating connections to the Gospel and the love of Jesus. CONNECTION. It’s a common word with powerful implications. Dictionary.com defines connection as a joining or linking together; a relationship between people or objects that unites or binds them together. God has created each of us with a deep need for connection with Him as well as connection with others. Hebrews 10:24-25 speaks to this, as the writer exhorts, “Let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” This God-given need for connection lies at the heart of a creative and innovative ministry in Japan known as “The Neighborhood.” TEAM Japan global worker, Kelly and her family created The Neighborhood as a place where connections are formed through creative arts, educational opportunities, and simply just providing a space for people to be together. A Family Calling The journey to the creation of The Neighborhood began over 5,000 miles away from Tokyo, in California where Kelly, her husband Jeff, and their five children were living. The kids were the first to sense God’s calling to missions, and asked why their family wasn’t serving in this way. How Kelly and her family came to TEAM is a God-story in and of itself. “God placed a TEAM Japan worker at our lunch table the same week that the kids posed that question to us,” Kelly recalls. “We had never heard of TEAM and so we thought, ‘let’s check this out.’ After that, God just kept confirming that we were supposed to be here.” After a period of fundraising and with much excitement, the family of seven moved to Japan in 2014. For the first five years, Kelly and Jeff served as a part of other TEAM ministry initiatives, but they began to sense a stirring for something new. Creating The Neighborhood Kelly and her family truly have a deep gift for hospitality, and regularly opened up their home to others they met in Tokyo. They saw a great need for people to have a place to gather and connect, and they wondered what doors the Lord might be opening for them to meet that need. “About a year before we were to return the States on home assignment, we were just really thinking about our future in Japan,” Kelly says. “We saw a need for people to have a ‘third place’ – a place that’s not home and it’s not work. They didn’t have a church community or any other place where they could meet people and just connect.” Kelly goes on to explain that in Japan, the culture is such that people don’t generally invite each other into their homes, but as her family did so, people embraced that opportunity. “This idea formed in all of our hearts of a student ministry center – a place where we can create community and learning,” says Kelly. “It was born out of what we were already doing in our home, but seeing how we could expand it and have better space.” God’s Provision What happened next is a true testament to God’s provision. Kelly, Jeff, and the kids returned to the States and began sharing their vision for The Neighborhood with their supporters and churches who responded generously. Upon returning to Japan, the search was on for the right space. “We had a Christian realtor that we told our dream to, and he just went looking for it,” Kelly recalls. When the realtor found a 5-story apartment building, he said, “It’s kind of out of your budget but it has what you need and want.” The Lord provided the funds and the family moved into the space in November 2019. They now occupy all but the ground floor, with living space for their family as well as classrooms, areas to study or hang out, and guest rooms for exchange students or others who need a place to stay overnight. The first floor is occupied by a pizza shop – a welcome amenity for the many groups and students who visit The Neighborhood. “It’s very convenient!” Kelly says with a laugh. The Neighborhood began to see lots of activity right away until the pandemic hit in early 2020. During the height of the quarantine, Kelly and Jeff used the time to redecorate the space and plant gardens outside the building. Then as the restrictions eased, they invited individual students or families over for meals and fellowship. It wasn’t until March 2023 that The Neighborhood was able to fully open again as intended. Kelly shares that despite the setbacks of COVID, the Lord continued to provide the funds to pay the rent.