Over the past month, I have been support-raising for my mission trip next month...which means over the past month, I've learned what it even means to support raise, let alone what it means to be good at it!

God has used this process to truly shape me as a missionary, and why not share the wisdom He has so clearly been speaking to me with every other college student trying to raise money for their own mission trips?

There are multiple tips I could give that God has allowed me to implement into my support-raising strategy, like scheduling phone calls with people ahead of time, keeping the Google Sheets App on my phone to keep track of support team data, scripting out in advance the messages I will be leaving for people if they don't answer their phones...

But there is one, simple, straightforward tip I can give that, I know, will help boost every missionary's support raising:

Seek to have personal relationship with everybody on your support team.

Boom. That's it. It's not that hard.

But if you need a better framework for what that looks like, don't fear. There are some obvious examples I can give that will practically help you.

The first and simplest way to do this: include a hand-written letter in the envelope when you mail out your support letters. This step assumes that you are indeed personally getting in contact with and mailing out support letters to people you either personally know or are interested in supporting. Sure, you have your typed letter that gives the basic, generic info about who you are, what's going on, how to give that cash money, etc. But, I found that it truly was a game changer when I included a personal, thoughtfully written note to whoever I was mailing a support letter to.

This gave me the chance to show that whether they are on my support team in prayer, emotional support, and/or financial giving, that I value them as a human being and that I am just as invested in their life and whatever "mission" they are living just as much as I expect them to be invested in the mission God has guided me to embark on.

The most intentional and maybe technologically involved part of having a personal relationship with your supporters is scheduling time to text and check in with them on a personal level. Sure, you can give them a phone call and leave a voice message, but I found the best way to ensure people were on my support team was to keep in contact with them throughout the process of support raising.

I'm not talking about texting to say "Hey, we just reached 100% funding for my mission, way to go team!" I'm talking about following up with them to ask if they have any prayer requests or to simply check in with how life is going. You know... treating them as friends! Be just as if not more interested in their lives and what God is up to with them than they are with you and your trip!

Finally, the most important way to build a personal relationship with everybody on your support team:

Pray for them.

The Apostle Paul (one of the earliest followers of Jesus) wrote a letter to the church of the Thessalonians (a faithful and loving community of people who also followed Jesus). Toward the end, he gives some final words of guidance in regards to doing "what is good for each other and for everyone else" (1TH 5:15 NIV). His instructions include a phrase that I continue to find specifically powerful: "pray continually" (1TH 5:17 NIV). Essentially, pray, when appropriate, without ceasing, constantly acknowledging current circumstances (and in this case, other people) as you speak to God.

Anytime I asked someone on my support team if they had any prayer requests, I would do one of two things: if I was on a live phone call, I would ask to pray for them right there on the spot over the phone. If it was over text, I immediately prayed quietly to myself before doing anything else.

Now, I don't believe "thoughts and prayers" are some sort of magic pixie dust you sprinkle on people to help them feel better when times are tough, and they most certainly should not be used by people in positions of power who want to divert attention away from upholding said person's political duties.

When I pray for those on my support team, I am bringing my time and energy and words to God and sacrificing them, using those things to speak about and reflect on and encourage other people, and not myself. It is about removing the idol of self and focusing on other people. Doing this "continually" does not make me a more self-righteous Christian: praying continually for other people teaches me and shapes me so that I value other people and their lives over my own, even when I'm in the middle of a very "me-centered" project (support raising).

To those who are currently (or soon) setting out to support raise for a missions trip or because your vocation is living as a specialized missionary, I hope these tips are of utmost help, as I have found that keeping authentic relationships with those supporting me is truly the way Jesus calls us to spread the knowledge of His Kingdom.