Make it Transformational: A Blog for Champion Discipleship

An Executive Director of a youth ministry recently asked me to critique the script for ‘the Ask’ he’ll deliver at his organization’s upcoming fundraising dinner.  My comments could be relevant to many ministries so I’ve taken the liberty to share them here.     

General suggestions:

• Speak from the heart and be conversational.    Imagine you are in a 1:1 deep conversation w/somebody.  Speak like that! 

• Do your best to  avoid language that is hard to understand or which sounds business-y such as: commitment to incarnational ministry, serve the child in a wholistic way, youth development, youth transformation, strategic planning process, our cause, per the latest census, agents of change, etc.

• Pray, Pray, and Pray more about this between now and the event.  I believe God will give you words/ideas in advance so you’ll feel prepared when you are in front of the audience.

 Specifics:

• Why are you there?  It has to be about more than your pay check and cushy corner office, right?  Make the audience understand why you personally are part of this work – use a story of an experience you had with kids if possible that changed you. Step out on a limb and share deeply if possible.  This could be a nice segue from the earlier two testimonials in the program to some of your own personal sharing.  Try not to speak like the ED who needs to ‘represent the ministry.’ 

• Do you believe God is part of the ministry?  The answer is likely yes but you should make it clear to every listener.  Why is this so?  This will provide incentive to those who want to help accomplish plans of the Lord.

• Paint a tangible picture of the God-given vision for your ministry.  Focus on what God’s going to do in the future, not the past.  What could we – you, the audience, and God’s indescribable power – accomplish together in the next 3 years?   Do you want to serve 1,000 kids/year instead of 250?  Do you want establish a library with 1,000 books for the after school program?  Do you want to build community by taking every kid or family on an annual weekend retreat?  Do you want to train enough volunteer mentors to tutor several hundred kids daily so they will be the first in their family to attend college?  Do you want to repurpose the building as a community center to serve 1,000 families annually in the community?  Be specific!  Attach costs to the components of the God-given vision - so people will be motivated to partner with you to accomplish the vision!

• Invite listeners to help accomplish this vision.  Don’t focus on ‘the organization’.  Focus on ‘You’ (the listener), the youth clients, and God.  God’s desire it to grow people, not organizations or causes.  Help every listener understand how he or she can individually make a difference and how he/she can have an eternal impact on the life of these youth/families.  Most importantly, ask them to give a gift!  ‘Will you give a generous gift tonight to do XYZ in 2010?’  Will you consider a monthly pledge to do XYZ?  Let them know that all funds raised will go directly to kids’ programming (assuming you have covered dinner costs in advance).  Be bold!

Hundreds of ministries have successfully executed fundraising banquets using the Mission Increase model described in a practical manual and training DVD.  If you don’t have an event coming up (or even if you do), consider these suggestions as you talk with those who know little to nothing about the work you do!