I'm going to dub these days Coffeeshop Productivity Days. Hours at Empresso with an iced caramella latte (I'm on my ninth stamp here. One more and I get a free drink!) with my laptop, Big Contacts, excel spreadsheets, and letters and letters and people and people working on fundraising for InterVarsity.
For those who don't know, IV is a non-profit and all its employees are required to raise a certain level of financial support, much like overseas missionaries do. As I'm going through this, it's this strange complicated net of contacting people, written communication, phone calls, prayer, questions, doubts, excitement, mission, vision, and calling all wrapped into this...life.
When we went to Fund Development training last month, we discussed how fundraising/support development is really a spiritual issue. You're inviting people into God's mission, you're trusting God for provision, you're believing that the calling he has given you is true and worth it.
And yet in writing all these letters and slowly moving towards inviting people to support the ministry, the mess of personal concerns and issues comes into play. Are they disappointed I'm not doing engineering? How do I respect cultural norms but not lose opportunity when I need to be direct? What if they're already supporting others? What if I'm not supported well enough by fall semester and can't be on campus?
I remind myself of several things during this time:
For those who don't know, IV is a non-profit and all its employees are required to raise a certain level of financial support, much like overseas missionaries do. As I'm going through this, it's this strange complicated net of contacting people, written communication, phone calls, prayer, questions, doubts, excitement, mission, vision, and calling all wrapped into this...life.
When we went to Fund Development training last month, we discussed how fundraising/support development is really a spiritual issue. You're inviting people into God's mission, you're trusting God for provision, you're believing that the calling he has given you is true and worth it.
And yet in writing all these letters and slowly moving towards inviting people to support the ministry, the mess of personal concerns and issues comes into play. Are they disappointed I'm not doing engineering? How do I respect cultural norms but not lose opportunity when I need to be direct? What if they're already supporting others? What if I'm not supported well enough by fall semester and can't be on campus?
I remind myself of several things during this time:
- As followers of Christ, we believe that he owns all and we are stewards of what he has given us.
- Not everyone is called to support everything. If their heart is for college ministry, cheers! If not, then other areas that they may be supporting are equally important (urban ministry, global missions, healthcare, etc).
- Don't take it personally. Don't take it personally. Don't take it personally.
- We are excited to find partners, people who will be praying for the campus, students, and ministry, whether they are alumni of a college ministry or simply excited for what God is doing
- I am encouraged by the people who have always loved and supported me and continue this through IV as well! Thank you, thank you--it's like a nice little foundation in this big mess of howdoIevenstartthis?
- Well, Jehovah Jireh, you've provided and stepped in so many times before. Who am I to doubt that you won't do so again?
And so, my afternoon at Empresso continues with a plethora of mini-tasks that I can't even cross off my to-do list. But I promise I'm being productive.
P.S. If you bring in your own tumbler for your beverage, you get 10 cents off!
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