Refresh: Just keep networking

"Good news refreshes the bones." - Proverbs 15:30b

This is part of an ongoing series called "Refresh" which highlight tales of God providing, especially in amazing, fun and unexpected ways. Details may be modified to protect privacy. May this tale help refresh your bones!

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I attended a really solid church while in college. I loved it! It was the kind you’re excited to bring lots of friends to. Lots of others felt the same way, so when I went into full-time ministry and began fundraising, I expected to meet a ton of eager supporters there!

However... without going into the details, no one in the church gave despite my very best efforts. (The church itself didn't give either.) It took me several months before I finally realized that nothing there was panning out, which of course was ridiculously discouraging to say the least.

However... I had met one encouraging couple there who seemed interested (though they never gave), and they introduced me to a lady at another church who received me warmly when I followed up. I had an appointment, asked her to give, and several weeks later got my answer: no.

However... that lady did end up giving me the number of a pastor she knew. I was excited about getting into another church network, but - you guessed it - neither the pastor nor anyone in that church ever gave even a dollar.

However... that pastor referred me to a foundation that support missionaries.

That foundation now gives fully one-sixth of my total support need every month.

Today's lesson?  Just... keep... networking!!!

Submitted by "Rebecca"

Refresh: The best support appointment ever

"Good news refreshes the bones." - Proverbs 15:30b

This is part of an ongoing series called Refresh, named for the verse above. "Gospel" means "good news", and so it seems appropriate to highlight tales of God providing, especially in amazing, fun and unexpected ways. Note that unlike most Refresh posts, this one contains real names. It's simply too good a story to use anything else. May this tale help refresh your bones!

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This is the story of how God provided an unexpected blessing for my wife during a support appointment. (I can tell the story because I had something to do with its coming to pass.)

The story begins at the point during our courtship when I started planning how I was going to propose. I wanted to give her an experience she would recall fondly, and a story she would enjoy telling. I knew that if I could surprise her (in a pleasant way), I'd be halfway there. However, I faced the dilemma many guys face: how do you surprise her when she's expecting that you're going to ask?

I decided that simply asking in an unexpected moment wouldn't work. Instead, I concluded my best strategy would be to show up somewhere she didn't expect me to be. But how to do that?

I decided to stage a fake support appointment.

I knew Carin was making plans for a support trip to Harrisburg, so I called up a friend of mine who had connections there. When I asked him if he knew anyone who would make a good accomplice for my plan, he immediately mentioned his friend Gabe. (Notice how I was making use of my own networking skills?) I called Gabe, who turned out to be an enthusiastic helper. He would play the role of prospective donor for the staged appointment.

I still needed a way to connect Carin with Gabe, though. I enlisted the help of Carin's mom, who also lived in Harrisburg at the time. She told Carin that she had a referral for her, a guy named Gabe who had visited her church and expressed interest in hearing more about her ministry.

(Incidentally, I knew all along that this was the weakest point in the plan. Given the interconnectedness of Christian circles, I knew there was a chance that Carin would know who Gabe was—and it turned out she did. She told me later that it did seem weird that Gabe, who was well-connected at his own church in Harrisburg, would visit her mom's church.)

And here you see that my entire plan rested on Carin's fundraising diligence! If Carin didn't follow up on the referral, my plan would fail. Thankfully, though, she remembered what her fundraising mentor had told her: always follow up because you never know how God might use it!

Gabe and I together had devised what he would say when Carin called: "I'm planning to go out to dinner with my brother and sister-in-law that Saturday. But I'm sure they'd like to hear about your ministry too. Why don't you come with us? We'll treat. Great! Oh, and it's kind of a nice restaurant, so dress up. Meet us at my house and we'll all go over together."

Gabe was indeed at his house at the appointed time, but he answered the door wearing shorts and a T-shirt. His brother and sister-in-law were not there, but I was... wearing a suit and holding a dozen roses. Carin's plans for her evening - and indeed for her future - had changed.

Submitted by Brian Roberg

Refresh: If I'd known that beforehand...

"Good news refreshes the bones." - Proverbs 15:30b

This is part of an ongoing series called "Refresh", named for the verse above. "Gospel" means "good news", and so it seems appropriate to highlight tales of God providing, especially in amazing, fun and unexpected ways. Names and other details are modified just enough so as not to incriminate the innocent... or guilty! May this tale help refresh your bones!

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About three months into my fundraising, I met with Jake and Emily at a local restaurant to share about the ministry. They were friends of friends, but seemed very friendly and eager. Unfortunately Jake had to leave early for a church meeting, but Emily stayed for quite a while and seemed very interested in helping. So, I asked who else she knew that I might be able to share with. Barely missing a beat, Emily pulled out a piece of paper from her purse and started writing down names!

She then handed me the paper and started telling me a little bit about each name. She listed three or four couples from her church (including phone numbers), and each one came with a short story about how she knew them. She also suggested Jake's employer and two coworkers. At the bottom of her list was "Pastor Vince" along with the name of a church about 30 minutes away. She told me that Vince was a great guy and that she was certain he'd love my ministry.

Over then next week I called down through that list and got a few more appointments. When I got to Pastor Vince, I called his church and asked for him. I was transferred over and he picked up. He seemed initially bothered by my call and I felt somewhat intimidated. But then I remembered how positively Emily had shared about him, and so I told him that I was friends with Emily and that she suggested we get together. His tone changed and he agreed to meet.

We met a couple days later at his church and we had a great time together! He was really excited about getting his church more involved in missions, and he resonated with a lot of the things I shared. Within forty minutes he'd arranged for me to meet with the missions committee, he'd suggested dates for me to come share with the congregation, and he was asking for blurbs to put in the bulletin. We finished the time by praying together.

As I was collecting my things to leave, I mentioned that I was so glad Emily connected us. He replied, "Oh, yeah. I meant to ask you about that. I have no idea who Emily is."

I later found out that Emily only knew Vince because Jake had seen him officiate a friend's wedding 10 years earlier. She'd never actually met or even seen him.

If I'd known that beforehand, I'd almost certainly never have asked for the appointment.

Vince's church ended up sending thousands of dollars in special gifts in the years that followed.