Someone recently asked me what the hardest part of being a church planter is. It is hard to answer for everyone, but for me this answer was simple and easy. It was not the recruiting of people, starting with nothing, being in a new city, or researching models. For me it came down to one thing that immediately came to my mind: ASKING FOR MONEY!
I am not good at asking for money. It makes me feel weird and I am always afraid of what people think about me when I ask them for money. Now, please understand that I am trying to raise money for Baypointe, not my personal income. I know that God has placed us here, He has opened doors for us, sent people to help, yet when it comes to trusting Him to move on people’s hearts to help us financially, I somehow think it is all on me. In reality, the funds needed to start a healthy church are His and He will find a way to get them to us. Why can’t I trust this? Because it is where the rubber meets the road. It is a massive faith issue, and sometimes that is where life gets the hardest. I hate asking for money!
Why am I afraid to ask for money to help bring Christ to a community, but am not afraid to do anything else for the same cause? Because I, like most, hate rejection. I know the state of the economy, and that many people would love to help, but simply can’t. Then I feel bad for making them feel bad. AHHHHHH! I hate asking for money!
I am a minimum of 10 grand away from getting all the supplies we need to open the doors for our first preview service. Did I mention I have less than a month to get most of that? I know God has a plan to make it happen, but I just wish He would let me in on that little divine secret so I could sleep a little! I will have to do the one thing I hate…yep you guessed it…I will have to ask for money!! I hate asking for money!!!
So yes, some of you reading this will be getting a phone call from me. I have learned that the only way this will happen is for God to move on your and many other’s hearts to make Baypointe a reality. So, I am asking you to pray now. To see if God will use you to change the face of a city. To plant into something you may never see with your own eyes, but will be rewarded for. I am asking you for help.
Okay, I did it. I asked for help. I asked for money.
Yep, I still feel the same way…I HATE ASKING FOR MONEY!
Grace.
Ben
Years ago I led the Missions program of a church we attended. I HATED asking for money as well. I hated being rejected as well. I prayed about it long and hard asking the Lord to help me with the issue.
He told me that people were making an investment into the Kingdom. The investment in helping souls come to Christ. When a person is invested into something – it means something to them: they pray over it and nurture it, they become part of it.
I presented the needs for funds for Missions to the church as the Lord showed me. As time went by the whole church got involved – from the children to the adults. The church received an award for the largest growth in Missions giving that year from the denomination for a church of its size in the conference (district). It wasn’t because of anything I did – it was because the Lord showed us we had the wrong concept towards giving. When our heart attitude changed from “I have to give – to I am making an investment” – what a precious move of God began to take place in the church. It continued on from that point.
I’ll pray about this for you and Bay Pointe.