FINANCES
What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever done?
That might be too hard to answer… maybe not the weirdest thing you’ve ever done, but something about how you do life that’s really weird?
I have this thing with having a clear windshield. Call me crazy, but I like to see when I drive. I do my best to never touch the inside of my windshield and I try to keep it streak free and haze free as much as possible.
Maybe that’s not very weird, but I’ve been in some of your cars! Let’s just say I know some of you don’t share this same quirkiness.
I bring up “weirdness” because the content of this post can feel weird!
I’m finishing up a three part series on PRAYER, FRIENDSHIP, and FINANCES — inviting the people of my life to be WITH ME in this new endeavour I’m on.
It’s been fun to try to articulate why PRAYER and FRIENDSHIP matter so much to me and how valuable it is for the people in my life to be WITH ME in these things.
And today, I’m going to talk about FINANCES.
Admittedly, some find this to be a weird part of my life right now. Some of you reading this will not find this weird at all. You’ve probably been a part of being WITH people in financial ways. But for people who are maybe outside of certain contexts, this reality of asking others to be a part of a financial support system… it can be straight up weird.
Conversations about money in any setting can sometimes be weird or awkward, or worse, coercive.
So here’s my commitment … I’m going to always try to not be weird when talking about finances. I’m sure I’ll do so imperfectly, but I’ll try nonetheless.
If you’re reading this, you probably know that I’ve recently joined a global missions organization called Youth With A Mission. They have invited me and empowered me to serve on their behalf and to explore the passion of I have to serve and empower those who are engaged in the spiritual journey with young people.
I want to keep this post to the topic of FINANCES, so I won’t get into the details of the job I’m doing in this post. But a quick summary.
I am deeply passionate about seeing young people discover that Jesus ACTUALLY is who He says He is and that we ACTUALLY are who He says we are! Often conversations of faith can be consumed with discussions of religious practices and tradition. I love being able to engage in dialogue about who Jesus ACTUALLY is and was and what it can look like for us to step into a very real life-giving, life-changing relationship with Him! (Side note: I am who I am because of who Jesus is in my life. Without question. If you’re reading this and you have questions about how I live this out and how this isn’t just me being some religious weirdo, I LOVE talking about this stuff! I’m far from perfect in any of it, but wow… Jesus is rad and I’d love for you to begin to get to know Him too!)
As I’ve stepped into this journey with YWAM, they are inviting me and empowering me to serve churches or other organizations by sharing my passion and skills and experience in any way that could help them win or move forward in their pursuits of seeing young people step more and more fully into the realities of a relationship with Jesus.
Again, there are loads of details of the work I’m doing and the job I have, but I’ll get into that elsewhere.
For today, I want to discus the financial reality of what I’m doing.
As much as this is a new job that I’m excited about, and I’m spending most of my working hours leaning into this, this is not normal employment.
YWAM does not pay me to do this job. Everyone in this organization (there are more than 18,000 staff in 1,200 ministry locations world wide), from the founder to the newest staff like me, raises their own financial support.
In order for this to be a financially viable option for supporting my family, I need to raise my own support. I need to invite the people in my life, in my community, in my history — my village — to be WITH ME in financial generosity.
For some, this is WEIRD!
I agree that it’s a bit weird. But also, I’m super excited about it.
Psalm 24 says, “the earth is the Lord’s and everything in it.”
Psalm 50 asks, “who owns the cattle on a thousand hills?”
The reality is, everything I own, every dollar in my bank account, everything in my life, even the people closest to me, it all belongs to Jesus. None of it is mine to begin with.
He’s a good Father who gives good gifts to His children, so He invites me to enjoy His splendour and He promises to provide for my needs. But it’s all His. All of it!
Some people experience His provision through more traditional means - like paid employment. I did this for nearly 18 years being on staff at a church.
Others experience His provision by starting their own businesses or stepping out into the uncertainly of entrepreneurial work.
Others, like myself, invite the “village of my life” to see my passion/skills/vision and join in on the financial support system to make it sustainable.
So how does this work?
Well, essentially, I invite the people in my life to be WITH ME - in big ways or small ways, in consistent ways or by giving less often, and together, I trust that I will be empowered to serve in this largely out-side-the box kind of way!
Now, to be clear, I’m not just some guy asking for hand outs.
According to the Canadian government I am a self-employed missionary fulfilling the mandates of YWAM. I pay taxes. I have a supervisor. I have goals and submit reports and have accountability. It may be weird, but it’s legit! You don’t give me cash, you give through YWAM and they handle all the legalities and then deposit funds into my account. All gifts are fully considered charitable donations and tax receipts are issued from YWAM Canada. Like I said, it’s legit!
So that’s the gist of it.
I greatly dislike the impersonal and weird nature of talking about this in a blog post. But in all sincerity, if you are reading this, I would love to boldly invite you to consider joining my financial support team. I would love for you to be WITH ME in this way. In big ways or small, monthly or infrequently, I would love for you to be a part of this story in this way!
I’ve got all the technical details about how to give on the Finances page of my website, so you can check that out.
Like I said, this can be weird, but it doesn’t have to be. I know not everyone will want to be nor can be a part of my financial support team. And that’s all fine and well. As I’ve said all along, PRAYER and FRIENDSHIP are exceptionally important ways to be WITH ME. I have learned though, that different people want different levels of information on all this. If you’re the type of person that wants more details on my financial goals and where I’m at so far, or if you’re curious about the types of expenses I’m budgeting for, I’m more than happy to share all of that sort of information. But in the interest of keeping this post from getting longer than it is already, I’ll leave that out for now.
I for sure want to end by saying thank you! If you’re reading this, I’m assuming that you’re someone who is already WITH ME in many ways! I’m so grateful for that! Thank you for being a part of my story! I would be so honoured if you would consider being WITH ME in this way and would love to boldly invite you to join my financial support team! Like I said, I’d love to push past the impersonal nature of a blog, so give me a call and let’s chat about it! If you’re ready to jump in though, all those details can be found here on the finance page of my website.
Thanks for taking the time to read this!
js
A technical note on timing.
If you’re ready and excited to jump on board with this, here’s a how it works month to month. All funds that get to YWAM before the 20th of the month get transferred to my account on the 25th of each month. So if you’re ready to be WITH ME in Finances and want to begin right away, the cut-off for this months giving is this weekend.
📸: Photo by micheile henderson on Unsplash
