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Home Assignment is an important time to connect face-to-face with your ministry team, whether one-on-one or in groups. Meeting with everyone is not realistic, but knowing your MTD needs and goals ahead of time can help you prioritize the right interactions and make the most use of your time.

Planning Workbook

We have created a workbook for you to assess your current MTD Health and future needs. But don't do it alone! Reach out to your coach from Initial MTD for a consultation or schedule a consultation with the MTD Health team.

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titleGet the Workbook
urlhttps://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1LOBArJ8pUqMsZMXkKeIUclU0xwXTXlkHiUSsrCJcH2A/copy?gid=0#gid=0

Preparing for MTD on Home Assignment

Below is a step-by-step guide for returning to more active MTD on furlough. Click the button below to access a PDF copy which you can save and check-

We’ve said it before, but it bears repeating: your home assignment has the capacity, when properly understood and planned for, to breathe new life, courage, and conviction into your soul that enables years of fruitful work. On the flip side, because of poor expectations (dreading it or imagining America will be some new-creation utopia), it has the capacity to disappoint, frustrate, and wear you down as you spend several months away from your new home, living like a nomad, becoming disoriented by how your friends and church have changed. We want the first narrative to be your story, and to that end there are several resources you should check out:

This guide is intended to help you flourish in your upcoming Home Assignment by preparing you to prepare for and maximize the opportunities for MTD that your time stateside affords you.

Download the PDF

Click the button below to download a PDF of this content. Keep a copy on your computer and check off steps as you go!

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titleReturning to MTD Guide
urlhttps://solomon.reliant.org/download/attachments/69148681/Returning%20to%20MTD%20on%20Home%20Assignment.pdf?api=v2

Table of Contents

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titleRenew Your Mind

Let’s face it: It’s been a while since you’ve really turned all your focus toward full-time MTD, and many of us, when we think of picking up that phone, have a few buried (or maybe not-so-buried) fears. They are, in some ways, the same fears we faced when we raised our initial support. Yet they also have the potential to be more insidious , because now they might be compounded by the memories of our past experienceexperiences.

If you’re here, you’re not alone. We’ve spoken to full-time missionaries workers who have lived on financial support for twenty years who years but still find themselves with unfounded fears floating in their hearts that have been unconfronted while their focus was focusing on full-time ministry elsewhere.

Even if that’s not you, and you’re feeling full of confidence, it behooves us to return to some of the basics and re-assess our foundation. Consider some of these questions:

  • There are many godly vocations. Can I reaffirm that God has called me to this ministry, at this time, and in this place?
  • There are many biblical models of obtaining financial resources. Do I believe that God has called me to Ministry Team Development — living in dependence on the greater body of Christ?

Resources

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titleEstablish Clear Goals

There are two key questions you must answer before embarking on this season of MTD: 1) How much do I need to raise?, and 2) When do I need it?” We are talking about specific, concrete goals. “As much support as we can get,” is true for nearly any worker, but infinity makes for poor communication and vision as you lead your partners into the next season of ministry.


Let's look at an example. Jeff has a current support goal of $6,514 but is showing only about $4,950 in active recurring giving each month. He’s getting by, but there is not room for ministry expenses. And because of the lower funding, Jeff hasn’t taken his last offered raise, which would increase his support goal even more. The shortfall is $1,564. After prayer, Jeff decides to set his intermediate goal at $1,500 of new financial support and celebrate if it goes even above and beyond that.

Jeff writes, “We have an immediate need for an additional $1,500 in monthly giving in order to sustain our ministry with Reliant and our new church plant.”


Setting a specific date is just as crucial as a specific amount. When do you need it? “Right away! Any time!” These answers may be true, but are just as unhelpful as not communicating a clear dollar amount. A ministry partner needs to know “when?”, if they are to respond with any sort of urgency. 

Back to Jeff. He’s found that he’ll be able to cut away from full-time ministry responsibilities in mid-April and has most of the summer set aside for MTD. He’s hoping he can meet his goals by the end of June, but isn’t sure. In order to communicate a clear deadline for donors, however, he chooses July 15 as his deadline. This gives an urgent window of time, but leaves enough space so that potential partners don’t delete an old email because they think the date has passed.

Jeff writes further, “In order to return to full-time ministry, we need to meet this goal by July 15.”

Resources

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titleGame Plan: Who to Contact & When

There are several categories of contacts to consider as you step back in MTD and, depending on the time you plan to give to MTD, prioritizing whom to give priority will be crucial. Here are some categories to consider:

  • Current Partners = current recurring gift financial partners
  • Special Gift Partners = have given/periodically give special gifts
  • Prayer Partners = the wider mailing list; receive regular prayer updates; may give periodic special gifts
  • Former Partners = previously gave on a committed basis but don’t any longer
  • Other Potential Partners = new connections received, new names brainstormed, etc.

Depending on your experience in ministry and your freedom to travel, we recommend the following orders of priority:

More than Four Years since Initial MTD

  1. Current Partners
  2. Local networking / Connections from Current Partners
  3. Special Gift Partners
  4. Prayer Partners
  5. Former Partners


Less than Four Years since Initial MTD

  1. All Pending Names from Initial MTD
  2. Revisit Sending Church(es) / New Connections from Sending Church(es)
  3. Current Partners 
  4. Local networking / connections from current partners
  5. Prayer Partners
  6. Connections from Prayer Partners
  7. Any other names from brainstorming session(s)

Resource

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titleNames Re-Ask

When asking for connections with those you have previously asked this, be sure to:

  • Acknowledge your previous invitation. “A couple of years ago you helped us meet a few other people to tell about our ministry. Thank you! Now that we’re back to full-time support raising, this might be a key way you could help again.”

  • Report back on the results of a previous request. If you were able to share with someone, or especially if someone became a partner, lead with this story! “Your connection to Mike last year was such a blessing to our ministry! Not only was he thrilled about what God was doing in London, but he joined as a monthly financial partner!”

  • Remember the basics of getting connected: cast vision for why; brainstorm through potential categories; collect contact info; clarify how to get in touch

  • Invite them to feel ownership of adding people to the partner team. “You and others on our current financial team will be able to cover some of the increased need for Reliant, but if we work together we can add others to the team who care about this ministry as well…”

  • Ask about previous referrals that never seemed to pan out. “Does it make sense for me to try them again?”

Resource

“Getting Connected to Others” course in LEARN (email us to request access to this course)

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titleDigital Technology & Social Media

As the world has turned digital, some of the best MTD tools are digital — and formerly reliable paper letters and normal phone calls aren’t always a best practice. In fact, some will find that with cell phones and universal caller ID, the phone call has become a less obvious option for initial contact with MTD. Since technology use and norms shift rapidly, be sure to get up to speed so you can be most effective in your MTD.

Quick Tips

  • A personal website, even if very basic, is almost more important than a printed piece.
  • Personal emails work well as a first “hello” tool to re-initiate contact with partners.
  • Sometimes a text message works in place of a voicemail.
  • Facebook and Twitter status messages can help communicate with those that love and feel ownership with your ministry, including ministry partners. “We reached 50% of our special financial goal for this summer today: keep praying!”

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