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.”
I’ve done support raising a couple times before so this is my third time. I mainly send out letters to people at church that love God and are interested in the ministry God has called me into. I started with about 120 people 3 years ago and now I have a group of about 50 people that I know are willing to donate money so I sent letters to them. Also in that group are other family and friends of my family and my church- most churches will support you with a good amount of money, and if they ask you to make a presentation for it…do it…it gets people thinking of what they can do if you really put your heart into it.
I did call people last year after 2 weeks and it helped to get a solid view of how support raising was going. I ended up with a lot of extra money I think that was because of calls, but mainly because of the letters that I sent out after the first one.
I try to send out one letter per month after the original support letter. I share what God has been doing in my life, teaching me through studying his word, reading books, and listening to what God has to say through the ways he pulls my heart towards certain things.
These letters help to remind people to give if they are still considering it and even if they aren’t giving money you can keep them updated about the trip and ways to pray for the team and yourself. The best thing about sending out follow up letters is that it shows people that you are dedicated to what you do and that you aren’t out just to get money. Sending out letters is just as much of a ministry as the trip itself if you really share what God has done in your life.
I like to write and God’s gifted me in that way..so if anyone reads this and wants some advice I would say this…find what you are good at and use that means to let people know what you are doing and that you need their help and prayers so that God can use you.
Blessings with support raising!
-Rob