Support Raising is a process many ministries and individuals use by which they rely completely on the generosity of individuals, churches and organizations to provide for their financial needs. As nonprofits, these donations are tax-deductible. While the process can seem intimidating, a lot of ministries use this model and many have found it to be a huge blessing even apart from the financial benefit.

The Prayer Model
Within the support raising world, their are two camps. The first says you should rely completely on God for support and never talk to supporters or potential supporters about money. You just need to pray about your support. Currently I am taking the Perspectives Course. Although I don’t know Perspectives official policy, many of the speakers they have brought in from multiple organizations, have shared that this has been how they raised support.

The Ask Model
On the other side, is the belief that you not just talk about money to supporters, but that you sit down face to face to ask for support. This involves challenging a potential supporter to give a specific amount, in the form of a question, and then remaining silent while they respond. I am about to finish The God Ask by Steve Shadrach. He outlines how to go about asking for support.

I will talk more about these two models in upcoming posts. It should be noted that magnificent ministries have been supported using these two models. Both have validity. From a Biblical perspective, both are “correct.” However I think there are some negative tendencies in both. I will highlight the pros and cons soon.

In the meantime, what are your initial thoughts on support raising? Which camp do you lean toward? Please join the conversation in the comments section or on social media. I would love to hear from support raisers, donors and casual observers alike. Thank you.