After
your support letters go out, should you follow that letter up with a phone
call?I believe you should.
What
should you say in that phone call?Ask
them if they received your letter and let them know what you are going to be
doing.Let them hear from you why you
are going and why God placed this trip on your heart.Let them hear your passion.
Should
you ask them to give to this trip?Absolutely!Don't straight out
ask them but ask them to prayerfully considergiving to this cause.
Many
of you never realized that you needed to ASK people to give your cause. Most of
you think that once you sent out your support letter your part was
finished.That is not true, ASKING is a
necessary step.Always keep in mind
that you are not asking for money for yourself, but you are asking for money
for the poorest of poor all over the world.
How do
you feel about the asking?
Spiritual people don't ask for
money. They pray and God moves people to give.
AIM should raise the funds for
you.
Raise support? You have to be a
great salesman to succeed.
Christians should only give to
their local church.
There is a big fear factor is raising support.
Ninety-two percent of all Christian workers experience fear of asking for money
and the other eight percent are liars.
Here
are a couple Bible studies that will help you face some of those fears and help
give you the confidence in God that you need. They helped me when I first
started in the support raising process.
Deuteronomy
8: Moses Explanation of the Wilderness Journey
What are the Lord's main
commands in the chapter?
What did he want Israel to
learn by wandering in the desert? (vv. 2-6)
What does he now promise? (vv.
7-10)
What are his warnings? (vv.
11-20)
How are you in a similar
position to the Israelites?
1
Kings 17:1-16: The Lord's Provision During Depression
What would your reaction be if
you were Elijah when the brook went dry?
What happened as a result about
the Lord's care and power over "the economy"?
When were you sure of something
God called you to do, but it looked impossible? What did you do/ What
happened?
Please let your friends know about this amazing opportunity that they can experience!
Awaken to the Adventure
Disciples aren't born; they're made. It's a process that takes time,
discipline, and God. In reality, it looks more like waking up than
attending a class.
As part of The Awakening, you can undergo a discipleship program
like no other, experiencing four months of intense training in another
country to prepare you for the ministry that awaits you for the rest of
the year. Join The Awakening
Your
mornings will be spent in training and your afternoons ministering in
local communities, activating what you've learned. In the context of
experiential learning, you will be discipled by mentors who want to see
you grow deeply in your faith.
You will be part of a community of other individuals who share your
passion and desire to come alive in Christ. This time will challenge
and stretch you in new ways, and you will never be the same. Become a part of The Awakeningin either Latin America or Africa and discover your role in the kingdom of God.
You
were made for greatness, to experience the abundant life and freedom
that Jesus promised. As they awaken, current participants are saying:
I don't think that I will ever have such an opportunity to give up all of myself and all of my expectations as I do here. (Emily Tissot, Latin America) The
Bible study has... turned into a church. So, we have church at noon
Tuesday-Friday under the tree in front of the market. I love watching
as people just bring their stool/chair/water container... and join in
the singing. We are going through the book of Galatians, and it is cool
to see how freedom is effecting their hearts. (Denise Eckert, Africa)
In this age of technology, Facebook has become a great way of connecting with people, as many of you know. It can also be a great tool for sharing information with the masses. Many of us were mobilized to the cause of missions, because a friend told us about an opportunity to serve. You can be that same friend to someone else and help wake up a generation to its destiny. You can do this by visiting the sites below (if you have a Facebook account) and sharing them with others...
Since you are all going on a trip with us, you will soon be Alumni! We already have a Facebook alumni group, and this is a great place to keep in touch with people before and after your trip: AIM Alumni Page
Together, we can use technology to sound the call to our generation to fulfill the Great Commission in the nations! Be sure to share this with anyone else who might be interested in hearing more about AIM.
The prayer team is formed and
praying, the budget figured out, the support letter is written; the names are
in your database and ready to be sent out. What do you do now?
There are so many ways to go about
this. Which way is right? Which way is wrong? Let me try to address some
questions that you may have. But first, I want to say, there is not right or
wrong plan. Let God lead you, follow Him through it and He will show you the
plan to follow.
Q: When sending out your support
letter, do you say in the letter that you will be calling?
A: I don't think you should put it
in the letter, I think you should handwrite a P.S. at the bottom of your
support letter. You will not want to call each person you send your letter too.
Also, people read a handwritten P.S. first and then decide whether they will
read the rest of the letter.
Q: What if I said that I would
call, then I did not?
A: You have just told them that
they really do not matter to you. If you say you are going to call, you must
call.
Q: Do I really need to follow up
each letter with a phone call?
A: Maybe not all, but the
majority. Do not expect people to give by just receiving your letter. It takes
the personal contact to get people to give to your ministry. People need to
hear your passion for it. They need to feel a part of it.
Q: Should I call someone who I
have not given a heads up that I was going to call?
A: Absolutely not! People need to
have time to pray and time to process. If you call without warning to talk about
them giving to your ministry they will feel like you are a telemarketer.
Q: How long after I send my letter
should I call?
A: Usually a week. If you wait
longer then they probably have thrown the letter away.
Q: What should I do?
A: This is the plan that is used
by some in the office here. Please keep in mind that you need to develop a plan
that will work for your personality. The biggest part is being obedient to God
in your plan.
They sent our support letters out
in batches. They handwrote a personal note on the bottom of each letter and
told them they would be calling to answer any questions they may have. The
following week they sent out another batch of letters and followed up each
letter that they sent the week before with a phone call. The phone call was not
to bring them to a decision, they wanted them to hear their passion for the
work God has placed on their hearts and they wanted to answer any of their
questions. These phone calls proved to be such a necessary step. The calls were
hard to make but when it was over, they were encouraged.
After everyone received a support
letter, then they went through their data base again. Praying over each name
and asking God to show them who they needed to set up appointments with. When
they came up with our list they sent out pre-call letters. In the letter they
let them know that they would like to have the opportunity to sit down with
them and tell them about their ministry. Two things they found out about this
step. First, that people are more willing to talk over the phone then to set up
a meeting over coffee at a coffee shop. It takes less time and they can talk to
you while at little Joe's soccer game. Second, that people appreciated having
warning that you will be calling them. Think about it, they need to have time
to pray about it also. People don't like to be caught off guard, do you?
At the meeting or phone call
meeting, bring people to a decision. This is a hard one but so important. You
need to bring people to a decision. You need to ask straight out. When they
have been given time to pray about it, you can expect people to come to a
decision.
This is what they did and it
worked for them. Please do keep in mind that you need to come up with a plan
that works for you. Spend time praying about how God wants you to go forward
from here. By the end of the week, I want you to leave a comment and let me
know what your plan is.
I pray that no one gets
discouraged. Keep lifting each other up in prayer.
Philippians 3:6&7 "Don't
worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need
and thank Him for all He has done. Then you will experience God's peace, which
exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds
as you live in Christ Jesus."
Time to
prepare a list of people you are going to send your letter too.There are three common mistakes that people
make as they prepare their list.ONE: You list only those who you think will give.TWO: You
make your list mentally rather than with pen or keyboard.THREE: You
build your list alone.
People can be put into three groups.They are people who care about: YOU
YOUR ORGANIZATION
YOUR CAUSE
Who are the people who
care about YOU?
Family
Friends of family
Peer group members
People in the churches you have attended
Sunday-school classes or small groups you have
been in
Older believers who have taken an interest in
you
Who are the
people who care about YOUR ORGANIZATION?
Students who have gone on an AIM trip
Youth pastors or adults who have taken their
group on an AIM trip
Who are the
people who care about YOUR CAUSE?
Anyone who has gone on a missions trip or has a
heart for missions.
Building
prospect lists must be done ethically.Make sure you do not cross the line.Send only to people who you know or those who you have some kind of
connection.If you are going to send to
everyone in the church directory, check with your pastor first.If you cannot build a support team
ethically, God does not want you to be a missionary.Let your conscience be captive to the Word
of God.
The time is coming and before you know it you will be here in Gainesville for training camp. I'm so excited to see all of you and be able to spend some time with you at training camp before you get ready to leave for Madagascar. Since that time is coming soon I want to give you another reminder about paperwork.
On April 15th all of your paperwork has to be turned in! Let's not put this off! The longer you wait to do it the more stress you are going to be putting on yourself. If we don't have all of these documents turned in to us you will NOT be able to go on the trip! Please call me if you have any questions about the paperwork that needs to be turned in.
Here is the paperwork that needs to be turned in:
Copy of Passport (in not already turned in)
Medical Release (second page needs to be notarized)
Hey guys!