Global Outreach

SHORT-TERM MINISTRY

 

GENERATING PRAYER

Appropriate Ways of Developing

a Short-Term Ministry Support Base

Some of us are senders and some are Goers. Neither is more important than the other.

Neither is possible without the other. David Sills

 

   

   

April  2014   i  

 

Golden  Hills  Church  Purpose:            

Our  purpose  is  to  glorify  God  by  making  disciples    who  will  impact  every  area  of  the  world  for  Christ.  

GHCC  Missions  Vision:    

Every  church  member  becomes  strategically    obedient  to  God’s  heart  for  the  world  by  being    goers  and  senders.  

 

 

 

 

Global  Outreach  

Golden  Hills  Community  Church  

2401  Shady  Willow  Lane  

Brentwood  CA  94513  

 

 

 

  ii  

Table of Contents  

A Faith Journey ............................................... 1

Support Letter ................................................. 2  

Ideas and Structure for Your Prayer Letter

Response Card

Overall Presentation

Additional Communications ........................... 6  

STM Generating Prayer Introduction Page 1

A Faith Journey

Exciting  news!  Fasten  your  seatbelts…because  you  are  about  to  take  off  on  a  remarkable  Faith  Journey  –  one  that  is  filled  with  adventure  and  wonder  as  you  place  your  complete  trust  in,  and  dependence  upon,  the  Lord.  It  will  be  an  amazing  opportunity  to  see  how  God  faithfully  provides,  and  to  witness  His  hand  at  work  in  very  real  ways.  As  we  step  out  in  faith  to  serve  cross-­‐‑culturally,  we  expect  to  be  stretched  and  challenged  –  we  want  to  grow!  We  trust  that  God  will  provide  for  us  in  incredible  ways  that  will  benefit  each  member  of  our  team.  We  trust  Him  to  bring  about  our  personal  growth  that  only  He  knows  how  to  produce.    

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight.

Proverbs 3:5-6

Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in Him. Jeremiah 17:7

This  is  our  assurance  –  just  as  God  has  called  you  to  this  ministry,  He  will    also  equip  you,  and  He  has  already  prepared  and  reserved  the  necessary  resources  for  you  to  complete  the  mission.    

Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see . Hebrews 11:1

God  is  our  Great  Provider,  and  yet  we  have  a  role  as  well.    Our  part,  with  God’s  guidance  and  through  the  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  is  to  faithfully    and  prayerfully  communicate  our  needs,  experiences  and  praises  to  those    He  will  choose  to  partner  with  us  in  this  ministry.    

Christ wants not nibblers of the possible, but grabbers of the impossible. C. T. Studd

What  follows  are  some  pointers  to  help  you  with  the  various  communication  efforts  that  you  will  need  to  take  part  in  throughout  your  ministry  experience.    

STM Generating Prayer Support Letter Page 2

Support Letter

Ideas and Structure for Your Prayer Letter

While  there  is  no  particular  way  that  you  need  to  write  your  letter,  there  are  some  really  good  principles  to  follow.    Before  you  begin,  and  throughout  your  letter  writing  process,  please  take  time  to  pray,  asking  for  God’s  guidance  and  blessing.  As  you  compose  your  letter,  be  sincere  and  genuine  –  make  it  sound  like  YOU.  You  might  find  the  ‘Fact  Sheet’  provided  by  your  team  leader  very  helpful  to  pull  necessary  information  that  you  need  to  complete  your  letter.  

Please  consider  the  following  sections  in  your  letter:  

Church Info − Include  the  GO  logo  and  mission  vision  statement  and  the  GHCC  

purpose  statement  (see  page  i).    This  suggests  that  you  are  part  of  a  bigger  picture,  and  that  your  ministry  is  part  of  an  overall  plan.    You  are  going  as  ambassadors  of  Christ,  represented  by  GHCC.      

Personal Info − Your  name,  address,  phone  number,  email  address.  

It’s  nice  to  write  all  dates  in  full,  i.e.  month,  day,  and  year.  (April  13,  2014)    

− Any  combination  of  the  following:  A  brief  greeting  An  inquiry  concerning  your  reader’s  welfare  Catching  up  on  the  latest  news  

Trip Info − A  brief  opening  statement.  

− A  statement  of  how  and  why  you  have  made  your  plans;  how  you  sense  God  calling  you  to  be  part  of  this  ministry  effort.    

− The  dates  of  the  ministry.  

STM Generating Prayer Support Letter Page 3

− A  little  bit  about  the  other  team  members,  how  many  etc.  − Where  the  team  will  be  serving  –  get  info  from  fact  sheet.  − Some  information  about  our  ministry  partners  –  again  check  with  team  

leader,  fact  sheet  and  partner’s  website.  − What  our  team  will  be  doing  while  on  the  field  –  check  fact  sheet.  − Share  some  info  about  what  we  are  praying  God  will  do  –  allow  people    

to  see  the  impact  of  our  ministry.  Share  what  we  hope  to  accomplish  through  the  power  of  God’s  Holy  Spirit.  

− What  you  hope  to  see  God  do  in  and  through  you  and  your  family  as  you  participate  in  this  ministry.  

Prayer Support

Place  a  high  priority  and  importance  on  your  request  for  prayer  support  and  prayer  partners.    

Include  Prayer  Requests    − for  those  we  will  be  ministering  to  − those  we  will  be  serving  alongside  on  the  field  − our  team,  and  then    − yourself.      

If  you  are  wondering  about  the  order  for  listing  your  prayer  requests,  it  is  intentional.  You  see,  we  want  our  surrendered  lives  to  be  reflected  in  our  communications  and  that’s  why  we  deliberately  place  ‘Christ  and  others  first’  and  ‘me’  last.  

Your  personal  prayer  requests  should  include:  − Practical  issues  (Time  concerns,  etc.)    − Heart  concerns  like  ‘Will  I  be  able  to  do  this?’  ‘I  feel  inadequate,’  ‘I  don’t  know  what  to  say  to  my  friends’  Will  I  be  able  to  connect  with  the  people  I’m  reaching  out  to?  etc.  

− Prayer  for  the  Lord’s  provision  of  required  funds  before  the  due  date.    State  the  exact  amount  needed  and  the  deadline  by  which  the  funds  are  needed.        

STM Generating Prayer Response Card Page 4

Response Card

Include  a  Response  Card  with  your  letter  –  your  team  leader  will  provide  this  to  you,  and  it’s  a  great  way  to:    

− Communicate  important  details  to  your  supporters  about  prayer  and  financial  contributions.  

− Collect  contact  information  from  your  supporters  so  you  can  stay  in  touch  with  them  to  send  out  ‘Thank  You’  notes  and  also  ‘praise  and  Prayer’  updates.  

Do  ask  supporters  to  return  the  Response  Card,  and  to  detach  and  keep  the  Prayer  Card;  this  is  a  handy  reminder  to  them  to  pray  for  you  and  your  team.  

STM Generating Prayer Overall Presentation Page 5

Overall Presentation

Sign  each  letter  personally,  perhaps  using  a  different  color  ink  from  the  ink  in  the  letter.    

Pray  about  using  a  Scripture.  

Consider  adding  a  photo.    

Add  brief  personal  P.S.  note.      

Allow  your  letter,  envelope  and  response  card  to  be  thoughtful  in  appearance  and  design.    This  sends  a  message  to  people  that  you  believe  that  this  ministry  is  important.  

Provide  a  stamped,  blank  envelope  with  a  separate  self-­‐‑adhesive  return  address  label.    Not  only  does  this  make  it  easier  for  a  person  to  respond,  it  lets  them  know  we  value  their  reply.    Our  readers  can  use  the  envelope  any  way  they  wish.  Either  way  the  stamp  isn’t  wasted  and  people  don’t  feel  guilty  or  pressured  into  replying.    Also,  this  communicates  good  stewardship  of  resources,  which  people  appreciate.    At  worst,  you  lose  the  cost  of  a  stamp,  and  at  best,  you  gain  a  partner.    

Send  your  letter  to  people  on  your  ‘Friends  and  Family  Mailing  List.’    In  other  words,  to  people  you  and  your  family  know.  You  can  either  mail  or  letter  or  you  can  hand  it  to  the  person.    

Most  importantly,  please  pray  over  each  letter  and  ask  God’s  blessings  on  those  who  will  receive  it,  and  on  the  prayer  and  contributions  it  will  generate  as  God  calls  others  to  partner  with  us  -­‐‑  for  the  praise  of  His  Glory,  and  the  expansion  of  His  Kingdom!  

STM Generating Prayer Additional Notes Page 6

Additional Communications

Congratulations  on  completing  your  prayer  support  letter,  but  please  ensure  that  is  not  the  only  letter  that  you  send!    Consider  the  following  additional  communications:  

− Send  at  least  one  or  more  ‘Praise  and  Prayer’  updates  before  going.      

− Be  diligent  about  responding  promptly  and  sending  a  sincere  ‘Thank  You’  card  to  those  who  desire  to  be  your  prayer  partners,  and  to  those  who  send  funds.      (You  will  receive  updates  with  the  names  of  your  partners  from  the  appropriate  Ministry  Secretary.)  

− When  you  return  remember  to  send  a  ‘Praise  and  Prayer’  report.    Consider  including  a  personal  ‘Thank-­‐‑You’  card  or  a  photo  keep-­‐‑sake  to  encourage  further  prayer.  

Developing  and  maintaining  a  support-­‐‑base  is  all  part  of  partnership  in  ministry.  Our  desire  is  that  through  this  experience:  

− Each  team  member  will  get  a  good  feel  for  what  long-­‐‑term  ministry  is  like.  

− Each  person  we  partner  with  will  have  a  positive  experience  that  will  fuel  their  enthusiasm  for  God’s  heart  for  the  nations.  

Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine,

according to His power at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ

Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever! Amen Ephesians 3:20 & 21

   

   

 

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                         www.goldenhills.org