When considering a DTS, many people think “Oh, it’s only 5 months and I can scrape up $3000 without asking for help.” While this may be true, there are several benefits to including those close to you in your financial faith journey as soon as possible.
1. Saying yes to a DTS may be the first of many steps in the journey God is taking you on. You might be thinking short term, but looking back you could regret not inviting those close to you to join your financial support team right away. You may have to “backtrack” and explain yourself and why support raising is part of your life, whereas if you invite them along your journey from the beginning, you will save yourself that time and energy.
2. Spiritual backing. People care about the causes that they invest in, and we all need people praying for us as we seek God’s will and direction for our lives! If you simply get a job to cover the cost of your DTS, you are missing out on this wonderful and priceless gift.
3. Relationship! Closely tied to my first point, this is crucial. You want those close to you to understand the different areas of your life, and finances are included in that! Even if they decide that now is not the time for them to support you financially, you have still taken the time to lay the foundation of understanding for them. This will ease the pressure off of your relationship if you choose to continue in missions later, or take a secondary school. Maybe God will tug on their hearts to partner with you in the future, and they will already have that seed planted. They also may be able to connect you to people outside your circle that would want to support you, and if you didn’t ask, you’d miss out on those awesome Kingdom connections! There’s no harm in asking, and usually it strengthens your relationship even if they say no.
4. People are often more likely to ask what you are learning and how God is working in and through your life if they have given to you financially. They want to know what has happened through the investment that they made, and that is great! You will want people to share the awesome experience of DTS with, and you can explain to them how they are also a part of God’s work through you.
As intimidating as it seems, all it takes is a deep breath and trusting God to lead your conversation. You won’t regret the choice to include your circle of family and friends in your DTS fundraising.
