I don’t want your money!

I doubt you’ve ever heard a missionary say that before! It might be more accurate to simply say “I don’t want to raise funds anymore!”

Ministry is much more satisfying that fundraising!

Most missionaries hate the part of missions which requires us to raise funds. We have to trust that our monthly support will meet the monthly expenses. We need faith to believe God will move someone’s heart to give money to help build a church, train a pastor, or feed a hungry child. We see overwhelming needs and underwhelming amounts of cash.

I was talking to God the other day (well, more like complaining). I was thinking that it would be wonderful to have enough money to help all the projects and ministries that I see. Wouldn’t it be great to not have to spend a year traveling and speaking to hundreds of churches, raising pledges and cash for the needs in Moldova?

Wouldn’t it be nice to be an independently wealthy missionary?!

Then God reminded me of Gideon, a man who had too much. God asked Gideon to fight and deliver Israel from the Midianites. After a lot of hemming and hawing, Gideon finally agreed to the task. He rallied an enormous army of his fellow Israelites, 32,000 to be exact, but God said that is was too much. He had Gideon trim that number by two-thirds, but it was still too many, so God helped him reduce it to only 300 men.

Not the best odds-three hundred versus tens of thousands! But God had them right where He wanted them-in a position of dependence on Him. The victory was a sure thing because God had already done the work.

I’ve decided that I won’t be coming into millions of dollars any time soon. But I am thankful for the supporting army of 300 that God raised for Moldova, people with a heart for Moldova. Every month, they give to the work here, whether $5 or $50, large or small. Others have given to build a church, construct a home for grandmas, and buy Bibles. They are our “Gideon’s Army.”

We face a battle of enormous proportions. I see the enormous challenge of a $25,000 church building in the north, the $100,000 needed to build a church in Chisinau, the $50,000 needed to finish the ministry center/church, the Teen Challenge building that we need to develop, the dozens of small church buildings to buy and repair, and the list goes on. Some are small battles ($1000) and some are large ($200,000)!

The battle is not just a financial battle. I have seen the effect of AIDS on a face of a 5-year-old girl with dying parents. I have read the stories of trafficked women, see the vice of alcoholism and drug use, and daily look into the faces of hopeless people lost without Christ.

But the size of the enemy really is not significant. Gideon won the battle with a few people and no physical weapons. He had some lamps, made some noise, and God did the rest. The abilities of our God far outweigh the challenges we encounter.

I’m far from being independently wealthy! We don’t have unlimited resources or hundreds of thousands of dollars pouring into my account.

We don’t have a blank check for new equipment, new buildings, and new ministries.

But we have the Lord, and YOU, the army He has raised. Thanks.

Confidently Overwhelmed in Moldova,

Andy Raatz