When Should You Drop Someone From Your List?
In our early days of ministry, my husband Timm and I bought our first car, at a bargain we attributed to God’s providence. We were excited that it would enhance our ministry. For example, young people could attend evening Bible studies without worrying about how to get back home, as we could now drop them home safely. Also, we could visit people for one-on-one discipling more easily and get more accomplished in a shorter time than struggling with public transport.
Little did we know that this “transport blessing” would greatly disappoint a donor!
At a lunch appointment we told a faithful giving partner about our car purchase, and he surprised us by saying, “You do not need my money anymore!”
What? We were crushed! And also confused. That which we considered a blessing from God to help in ministry made him think we were wealthy and not in need of donor income.
I got really upset. My immediate reaction was to remove him from our mailing list, but that was just the hurt speaking. Thank God for Timm who had been in ministry longer and had gone through similar situations. He told me we must never take people off our mailing list unless they request it themselves.
So we kept him on, and he continued receiving our updates.
Well, 15 years later, we were raising money for a specific ministry project and included “Mr You-don’t-need-my-money-guy” in our appeal. If you had asked me if this was wise, I would have said no.
But “Mr You-don’t-need-my-money-guy” responded to our letter appeal with a note saying how much he appreciated reading our updates [over the years] and seeing all God was doing. And, he wanted to give to the special project—yes, you heard me right, he wanted to give! And he did give—generously.
Lessons learnt:
Don’t give up on people. God is at work in their hearts and as we continue communicating with them, He speaks to them.
Share your ministry vision. Through your ministry news updates, people catch on and grow over time to realize it is not their money but God’s money, and they give to His purposes.
Don’t remove people from your mailing list—even if they are distant or you “sense” they are unhappy with you. God is always at work in them and sometimes partnerships take time to build. People give to what is true, and look forward to participating in what God is doing.
We serve a good God, and through fundraising in God’s way, both the partner and the laborer grow toward Christlikeness.
“We are confident that God is able to orchestrate everything to work toward something good and beautiful when we love Him and accept His invitation to live according to His plan.”
Final Word: God is always at work so don’t delete anyone!
