CALVARY MISSIONS RESOURCE CONNECTION

BOOKS:

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Serving as Senders Today by Neal Pirolo

Pirolo describes the need for a strong support team for missionaries, not just in terms of finances and prayer support, but in moral support, logistical support, communication support, and re-entry support. Written primarily to those who will form the support team, instructing them how to most effectively support their missionaries, the book is also excellent for missionaries who are developing their support team, helping them to anticipate their needs and plan accordingly by building a team that will support them in all these areas. (Available from www.eri.org.)

 

Never Do Fundraising Again: A Paradigm Shift from Donors to Lifelong Partners by Ken Williams, Ph.D. and Gaylyn R. Williams

Williams and Williams, a father and daughter team, focus on creating and maintaining partnerships with donors by ministering to them, expressing gratitude, encouraging and praying for them, and communicating with them through personal notes, letters, email, social media, phone calls, and personal visits. They stress the importance of building relationships and caring for partners as a part of one's ministry, based on Paul's relationship with the church at Philippi.

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Friend Raising: Building a Missionary Support Team that Lasts by Betty Barnett

Barnett explains how to build a support team by developing relationships which are based on generosity, communication, and mutual prayer. Her book combines principles of support raising with personal testimonies and practical tips and includes a list of related resources and various forms for self-evaluation, budgeting, and record-keeping.

 

The God Ask by Steve Shadrach

Shadrach, the Executive Director of the Center for Mission Mobilization, which sponsors Support Raising Solutions Bootcamps, guides prospective missionaries through the process of support raising, first examining the biblical foundation for raising support to work in ministry, then discussing all the steps to work through to raise full support. His strategy is based on being confident of one's calling and having a right perspective, keeping focus on the vision for the ministry, then dealing with the nitty-gritty of setting aside several months of full-time work namestorming, developing a presentation, and arranging for face-to-face appointments with those you are asking onto your support team. He closes the book with a short description of the ongoing responsibility to maintain relationships with one's supporters. Included in the appendix are Bible study suggestions and support-raising worksheets and templates.

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People Raising: A Practical Guide to Raising Funds by William P. Dillon

Dillon, the founder of Inner City Impact and People Raising, a ministry that provides fundraising training for missionaries, begins by helping his readers to develop a healthy attitude toward fundraising. The bulk of the book explains the twelve steps of fundraising which include identifying prospective donors, keeping records, making appointments, conducting visits, and mainting contact. He concludes the book by giving a donor's perspective, discussing the role of a coach in fundraising, and stressing the importance of prayer in the process.

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Funding Your Ministry: An In-depth Biblical Guide for Successfully Raising Personal Support by Scott Morton

In Funding Your Ministry Morton begins by considering obstacles that held people back from effective fundraising, the correct attitude and values, the biblical basis for fundraising, myths about fundraising, common fundraising mistakes, and principles of good financial management. He then goes on to discuss how to establish and implement a fundraising strategy from making the initial phone call to the meeting to follow-up and writing newsletters, and closes by addressing specific groups: ministry leaders, pastors, mission committees, overseas missionaries, beginners, single women, and ethnic minorities. The appendix contains a Bible study on ministry funding as well as worksheets and report forms.

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A Spirituality of Fundraising by Henri Nouwen

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When Money Goes on Mission: Fundraising and Giving in the 21st Century by Rob Martin

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God and Elephants: A Worshipper's Guide to Raising Support by Heather Ricks

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