Mission Partner Development

One of the most important things that I will be doing for the next few years is Mission Partner Development, or fundraising. A lot of people misunderstand why FOCUS Missionaries raise their salaries, and I am just now beginning to learn the true blessing of being able to rely fully on God's grace.

The truth is that all blessings come from God (James 1:17). This includes money. When someone works for a living, their salary still comes from God, it is just a little bit more difficult to recognize. When we live purely off of the generosity of others, it is easier to see that our financial blessings come directly from (and belong to) the Lord.

The primary purpose of doing Mission Partner Development is not to get money or to put our trust in God alone (although these are necessary effects.) The primary purpose is to be able to share our mission with a team of supporters who can participate in the New Evangelization in radical ways by praying for us and supporting us financially. A lot of people are able to see the need for Jesus' transforming love in our culture, and they want to do something about it, they just don't know where to begin.

I am so excited to invite my team to come with me on my mission to spread the Gospel to the ends of the earth by teaching others to teach (2 Timothy 2:2) and by living and communicating the fullness of Truth.

A few weeks ago, I made my first round of phone calls. It was much more difficult (and emotional) than I had anticipated, but I had a few good conversations and I thanked God for the triumphs and the failures.

A few things that I learned about myself on the first official day of MPD:
I am afraid of rejection.
My pride controls too many of my actions.
I do not trust God as much as He's asking me to trust Him, He's asking for complete abandonment.
God picks me up after I fail, over and over again, if I allow Him.
I am determined and resolute, and I know that I am called to be here.
Satan is real, and he doesn't want me to be a missionary.

Now, I am still making phone calls to set up appointments to share my mission with people. It's so exciting to get to give people this hope. God wants so desperately to draw His people back to Himself, and He wants to use me and my mission partners to do it! There IS a future of Christianity, and it begins with people dedicated to the fullness of life in the Church.


St. Joseph the Worker, Pray for us!