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Development, Donor Relations, Major Donors

Form Your Own Invisible Force Prayer Team

by The Timothy Group
April 6, 2020

Famed Washington Post columnist, Art Buchwald  wrote, “Whether it’s the best of times or the worst of times…..it the only times we’ve got”. An invisible foe has literally shut down your community, your region, our nation and parts of the world.  We all agree these are difficult times!. FUD has impacted our world, fear of the unknown, uncertainty about the future, and doubt as to a cure. COVID-19 impacted our world and it has impacted our ministries as well. So how do we fight this Invisible Foe?

INVISIBLE FORCE

E.M. Bounds wrote “Men and women are needed whose prayers will give to the world the utmost power of God. True prayers are born of present trials and present needs”.

God is bigger than the virus, He is bigger than immediate trials and present needs. He has got this, but we need to commit ourselves to pray. To pray without ceasing. That is the invisible force that will defeat the fear, anxiety, and worry connected with this pandemic. A Salvation Army quote that I love is “We combat natural disasters with acts of God”. Our combat strategy is that we can all initiate today, right now is prayer. 

MINISTRY NEEDS

Yes, pray and stay busy doing what you can do under the existing guidelines.  All forms of communication are open to you and your ministry team and to your donors.  Oh yeah, our ministry partners our donors; those saints that help us with our ministry needs, They help us impact our world with the Gospel. How do we keep them informed, up to date and praying with us?  By the way, how do we keep them engaged and  giving? 

DATE YOUR DONORS

Yes, set a date, a specific time to call them and if possible, pray with them. You can use your cell, text, email, Zoom, Go To Meeting, Google Duo. There are a plethora of ways to contact them. They are probably at home and not on a cruise or touring Italy at the moment. Value-based communication. What if you began with your top 10-next 20 or 30 or 50 or even 100? Everyone in your organization from CEO to MGO, and even some board members could call and say thank you. Perhaps share a ministry update. Ask for prayer requests and pray with them over the phone. Then there is the ultimate of a dating relationship – a personal, hand-written note! Perhaps this “dating your donors” concept will be something you continue to  implement way past this pandemic. “Do you love me or do you not……you told me once but I forgot!) Some love and time via some quality electronic communication will keep you up to date with your key ministry partners. If appropriate, share a specific financial need, invite them to pray, and to give. 

SEASON OF RECOVERY

Yes, this pandemic will end and our world and our lives will begin a season of recovery. People will go back to work, the economy may sputter, but it will recover and our ministries will get back to work impacting peoples lives with the power of the Resurrected Jesus. When will this take place? No one knows, but it will happen. If you invested time with your key donors in some unique way with your donors during this down time, your Season of Recovery will be fast and fruitful. Plan your work and work your plan. Outline now as to how you want your organization to be ready to move when the time comes to move. Cast a vision for some new or renewed program that you want to see implemented in your first 30-60-90 days of recovery.

THE OTHER INVISIBLE FOE

In addition to FUD, there is another invisible foe: anxiety and a few of its synonyms (worry, nervousness, apprehension and concern). Let’s be honest for a moment. We have all been anxious during this crisis. Here are two applicable verses (OT and NT) and two prayers to Jehovah.

Isiah 40:31 – “But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.  They will soar on wings like eagles, they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint” (NIV).

Philippians 4:6-7 – “Do not be anxious about anything but in everything with prayer and petition, with thanksgiving present your requests to God.  And the peace of God that transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus”. (NIV)

God has got this, He has your back!  Just words until you begin to review hundreds of scripture that speak of renewal, casting cares on Him, comfort and strength.  He really does have all of this.  He never sleeps nor slumbers, God is bigger than COVID-19. 

Pray to Jehovah-Raphe, the God who heals. And Pray to Jehovah-Jireh, the God who provides. Combat these invisible forces with THE GREATEST INVISIBLE FORCE IN THE UNIVERSE, the God who loves us and who sent His son to die for us. 

Have an awesome Holy week. In light, remember wash your hands and say your prayers because Germs and Jesus are everywhere!

A small part of the Invisible Force Prayer Team,

Patrick McLaughlin

Development, Donor Relations

A Message Of Hope

by The Timothy Group
March 30, 2020

I was watching Fox News yesterday from home and Lt. Col. Dan Rooney was on as a guest (view video news clip). His non-profit organization, “Folds of Honor,” started in 2007 and their mission is to  provide educational scholarships to spouses and children of America’s fallen and disabled service members. Perhaps you have heard of them. One of many quality non-profits serving out veterans and their families.

Anyway, Lt. Col. Rooney told a story about a fellow veteran, U.S. Marine Sergeant Rocky Sickmann and how his situation could teach us lessons during this COVID-19 crisis. Sergeant Sickmann was one of 52 marines and other Americans who were captured by radical Islamic terrorists at the embassy in Iran in 1979. We, who were around then remember that terrible day in history. Over the next 444 days, He and his fellow hostages endured privation, mental, physical and psychological torture as officials sought their release. That finally came in January 1980.

Sickmann describes life in a foreign country 7,000 miles from home. You’re not allowed to talk to anybody. Your mind plays games with you. You lose hope not knowing if you will live or die. You keep thinking. “this has to end soon.” He describes being literally chained to a chair for the first 30 days. He describes being handcuffed with his hands behind his back for days at a time and spending an entire week tied to a bed. He went outside a total of seven times, 15 minutes total, in those 444 days.

When asked what carried him through, he mentioned three things: 1) his faith in God, 2) his few friends who were there with him and 3) keeping control of his mind and his thoughts – staying focused on what little he could actually do in the circumstances.

We are facing a similar enemy today – COVID-19. It has changed our lives. For a couple of weeks now, we have been largely “home bound.” We have been ordered by government authorities to stay home. We can’t go to work, visit our friends, eat dinner out or entertain ourselves as normal. I don’t know about you, but it is starting to get to me. I am bored, easily frustrated, short tempered, angry, you name it. And then I pause after hearing a story like that of Lt. Col. Sickmann, and I want to repent to God for my thoughts.

My hardship is NOTHING compared to what he and other have endured. And, think about what got him through – we can still exercise our faith, we still have our family and we can exercise our minds and stay alert. Oh – we can even go outside for a walk on a nice day, as long as we practice “social distancing.” For me, maybe it’s a good time to pick up that book I never finished, play a board game or do a jigsaw puzzle with my family, or learn a new skill or hobby. Our “prison” is only temporary and will hopefully end shortly (I hear references to Easter Sunday being a significant marker). Let’s pray, love, give, support, encourage and serve those God has placed in our lives.

In God’s Love, Kent

Fundraising, Fundraising Verse of the Week, Major Donors

Favorably Disposed

by Ron Haas
January 19, 2020

“The Israelites did as Moses instructed and asked the Egyptians for articles of silver and gold and for clothing. 36 The Lord had made the Egyptians favorably disposed toward the people, and they gave them what they asked for” Exodus 12:35-36

God’s plan to provide for the Children of Israel involved asking, but it’s wasn’t just asking. God worked in the Egyptians’ hearts to make them favorably disposed toward Israel. Asking and giving is a divine-human cooperative. As the asker, we must present the need and ask – but God must work in the hearts of your donors to prompt them to respond.

After 400 years of slavery Israel had nothing. God instructed Moses, “when you leave you will not go empty-handed. 22 Every woman is to ask her neighbor and any woman living in her house for articles of silver and gold and for clothing, which you will put on your sons and daughters” (Exodus 3:21-22). Later, God would ask the Israelites to be generous with what they had received to build the Tabernacle.

The Children of Israel could have just taken what they wanted out of a sense of entitlement that their captors owed them for generations of work, but they weren’t rude or demanding. They simply asked. A major donor shared that a ministry representative once told him, “You have this big house and a lot of money, you ought to give to our project.” Do not equate the courage to ask boldly with rudeness or presumption. God knows your need and if he chooses, he can move in your donor’s heart to meet your need. Ask by faith with confidence and leave the results with God.

God bless,
Ron

 Ron Haas, current Vice President for The Timothy Group has also served the Lord as a pastor, the vice president of advancement of a Bible college, a Christian foundation director, a board member and a fundraising consultant. He’s authored two books: Ask for a Fish – Bold Faith-Based Fundraising and Simply Share – Bold, Grace-Based Giving. He regularly presents fundraising workshops at ministry conferences and has written fundraising articles for At the Center magazine and Christian Leadership Alliance’s Outcomes magazine.

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