Time to prepare a list of people you are going to send your letter too. There are three common mistakes that people make as they prepare their list. ONE: You list only those who you think will give. TWO: You make your list mentally rather than with pen or keyboard. THREE: You build your list alone.

People can be put into three groups. They are people who care about:
YOU
YOUR ORGANIZATION
YOUR CAUSE

Who are the people who care about YOU?

• Family
• Friends of family
• Peer group members
• People in the churches you have attended
• Sunday-school classes or small groups you have been in
• Older believers who have taken an interest in you

Who are the people who care about YOUR ORGANIZATION?

• Students who have gone on an AIM trip
• Youth pastors or adults who have taken their group on an AIM trip

Who are the people who care about YOUR CAUSE?

• Anyone who has gone on a missions trip or has a heart for missions.

Building prospect lists must be done ethically. Make sure you do not cross the line. Send only to people who you know or those who you have some kind of connection. If you are going to send to everyone in the church directory, check with your pastor first. If you cannot build a support team ethically, God does not want you to be a missionary. Let your conscience be captive to the Word of God.

In this age of technology, Facebook has become a great way of connecting with people, as many of you know. It can also be a great tool for sharing information with the masses. Many of us were mobilized to the cause of missions, because a friend told us about an opportunity to serve. You can be that same friend to someone else and help wake up a generation to its destiny. You can do this by visiting the sites below (if you have a Facebook account) and sharing them with others...

Become a "fan" of this page:

AIM Facebook Page 

Since you are all going on a trip with us, you will soon be Alumni! We already have a Facebook alumni group, and this is a great place to keep in touch with people before and after your trip:

AIM Alumni Page

Together, we can use technology to sound the call to our generation to fulfill the Great Commission in the nations! Be sure to share this with anyone else who might be interested in hearing more about AIM.

There are several components to a good support letter. Every letter, whether hand-written or typed, should have each of the following:

I. Introduction: A friendly greeting, followed by a brief discussion of recent happenings in your life, and how God has been leading your heart in to ministry or missions.
II. Description of your ministry: Describe the opportunity you have with AIM and a little of the ministry you will be involved in. Mention the training you will receive, the opportunities for ministry, the discipleship you will experience and the opportunities for spiritual growth.
III. Vision for ministry: Here you will share your desire to make an impact on the mission field or in ministry and how this experience will prepare you for it. Be open and honest, sharing even some personal spiritual growth or other goals for yourself.
IV. Request for support: Now that you've enraptured them with your ministry, allow them to share in the opportunity. Remember, this is a ministry to them. Ask for their prayers. Also tell them the specific amount you need to raise and break it down into realistic, bite-sized chunks of the total. For example, if you have to raise $1,000 tell them if only five people pledge $100 per month that is half you money. Explain the monthly pledges and challenge people to give in that way.
V. Summary and benediction: Close up with the potential for change in both you and the people to whom you will minister. Tell them of your anticipation and feelings. Finish with a blessing!

More tips on writing a quality support letter:

1. Be brief! Write, rewrite, pare down, and streamline.
2. Be visual! Include pictures in your letter. You can get any picture off the AIM website.
3. Be excited! Include your passion for the lost. Be excited about your desire to learn and grow through this experience. Nobody wants to read a drab letter.
4. Be correct! Have a friend double check for grammar and spelling errors. Ensure that the letter has a nice flow and feel to it. It should leave a good taste in your reader's mouth.
5. Be yourself! Superficiality is out; real is in. Don't impress anybody with your eloquence or spirituality. They will support you because they love who you are.

Have fun!

Hebrews 11:8-10 "It was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home and go to another land that God would give him as his inheritance. He went without knowing where he was going. And even when he reached the land God promised him, he lived by faith - for he was like a foreigner living in tents. And so did Isaac and Jacob, who inherited the same promise. Abraham was confidently looking forward to a city with eternal foundations, a city designed and built by God."

Abraham initially LEFT his home land, the familiar, and WENT to a place, the unknown. God did not give Abraham very many directions but just to GO. Now, How did he know which way to go? What should he take with him? What was it going to be like when he got there? Would he like it? What did Sarai say to him? Was she an obedient wife and just went willingly? What was Sarai's initial reaction? Did she trust God? Did she complain for miles and miles? If so what did Abraham do? There are many questions that the Bible just does not talk about. Are some of these the questions you have about GOING and LEAVING everything?

Abraham had "The Obey-Now-and-Receive-Later" Challenge of Faith Genesis 12:1 tells us that the only direction that God gave to Abraham was to leave his country and people and go to a land that He would show Him. That in-between required Abraham to depend on God like he never had before.

You are in the in-between right now. You have agreed to GO but you cannot LEAVE until you have your support raised. This blog page is to help you with that in-between and help you raise support so that all of you can LEAVE.

The first and most important step to Support Raising is PRAYER. I firmly believe this. The great giants who have gone before us have committed hours to prayer. My first challenge to you is: Spend some time each week praying specifically about and for your support raising. God will work through these prayer times.

The second most important step is to set up a prayer team. You need to have 4 to 5 people who know you well that will commit to pray for you each day of your support raising. This group should meet at least once a month to pray for you. Once a week would be ideal but I know not practical. Aim for weekly when you ask God to put people on your heart to be a part of this team. You need to be able to share your heart with them. Tell them your fears, your joys, your excitement etc. Be real with them.

In one week you should have 4 to 5 people committed to praying everyday for you. You should also know how much time you are personally going to spend in praying and fasting about your support.

PRAYER is the most vital key to support raising. It is the foundation.

Luke 12:31 "Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and he will give you everything you need."

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