As the year draws to a close, non-profits have a unique opportunity to engage their donor base and maximize contributions. Here are eleven innovative ideas that can help make your year-end fundraising efforts stand out:

1. Virtual Reality or 360-degree Experiences

Enhance donor understanding of your impact with virtual reality (VR) or a 360-degree experience that shows the real-world impact of their contributions. For instance, a conservation organization might offer a VR tour of a forest they helped preserve, providing an immersive, firsthand view of where donor funds are going.  Or an international organization can provide drone footage or a walk-through of an area which they impacted this last year.  Don’t have a VR experience available?  You can always leverage videos from the field to help provide this experience.

2. Interactive Online Dashboard or Impact Map

Create a dynamic, interactive dashboard that updates in real-time to show the impact of donations. This can visually represent the number of people helped, wells dug, or kids cared for, making the donor's impact tangible and immediate.  If you can tie this to a map of impact for your organization, even better.  For those already on ServiceReef, this is built in for you and you can read more about building your interactive map points and stories here.

3. End-of-Year Giving Advent Calendar

Engage donors with a digital or physical advent calendar. Each day could reveal a different impact story, a personal thank you video, or a small token of appreciation, keeping donors connected and engaged throughout the holiday season.

4. Donor Appreciation Video Montage

Compile heartfelt thank-you videos from beneficiaries or staff, showing the faces and stories behind the contributions. Sharing these personal messages can forge stronger connections between your donors and your cause.

5. Holiday-Themed Competitions

Host creative competitions like holiday card designs or themed photo submissions. Offer prizes and feature winners in your communications to foster a community spirit and involve your donors in a fun, meaningful way.

6. Time Capsule Project

Invite donors to contribute to a time capsule with messages or items reflecting the year’s achievements. Plan to open it at a significant future event, offering a unique historical snapshot of your organization's impact and donor contributions.

7. Customized Gift-Giving Options

Allow donors to give a donation as a gift. Provide customizable gift certificates explaining the donation's impact, ideal for donors looking for meaningful holiday gift options.  If you want to customize gifts to donors this year, provide them with a page where they can select from 3-5 options as a thank you from your organization, thereby allowing donors to select something that would matter to them or provide that token of appreciation as a gift to others.

8. Donor Spotlights

Show appreciation by featuring donor stories in your newsletters or on social media. Highlighting individual contributions can inspire others and demonstrate the diverse support network behind your mission.

9. Flash Fundraising Challenges

Organize 24-hour fundraising challenges with specific goals. Encourage engagement and sharing on social media to create a buzz and drive donations.

10. Recipe or Craft Book

Compile a downloadable book of recipes or crafts related to your mission, contributed by staff, beneficiaries, and donors. Offer it as a special gift to donors who contribute a designated amount.

11. Legacy or Memorial Gifts

Promote a program where donors can contribute in memory of a loved one. These gifts create a lasting legacy and are especially meaningful during the reflective holiday season.

You all are even more creative than we are… What ideas are you thinking about this year?  What ideas have resonated well with your support base in the past?

Our hope is that by implementing 1 or 2 of these creative strategies, you can not only boost end of year fundraising efforts that allows your mission to go farther in the coming year… but also deepen your relationships with donors, creating a foundation for sustained support and engagement.  Blessings on you this season!

Can we engage non-churchgoers in mission work?

The better question may be:

Should we engage non-churchgoers in mission work?

In some of our recent posts, we posited a different – and broader – approach to mission engagement in churches. The answer to the question above is foundational to this approach, which we’ve been calling Mission-Centric Engagement Strategy (MCES).
(If you're just joining our discussion on this strategy, check out our overview of this concept here.)

Here’s the reason we answer yes to our question:

If we believe God equally desires to reach people who live on your street as he does the people in that cinematic scene of a remote tribe in Africa, then we can answer our question affirmatively. Engaging non-churchgoers in mission activities can be possible and purposeful. There are many ways God encounters someone (or they encounter Him) so we believe people can be eternally changed through the action of service.

That's how we explain missions for this approach. We should probably clarify that definition too and we'd like to keep it simple. We believe it is outreach and service work that extends goodwill to others, demonstrating Christ and His love. 

Examples of Mission Trips to Include Non-Churchgoers

So, if we have agreement on these points above, allow us to share a few examples of mission endeavors for specific groups within the church that align well with our Mission-Centric Engagement Strategy (MCES) and could include non-churchgoers:

1. Men’s Ministry Trip Ideas

• Construction and Disaster Response/Repair Missions: These involve building or repairing homes, churches, or community centers in underserved areas. They tap into skills that can be particularly prevalent and rewarding among men, offering tangible results from their efforts.

• Adventure and Bonding Trips: Trips that combine serving with outdoor activities, such as building trails or working in conservation areas, can be appealing. These missions often include elements of physical challenge, bonding, and spiritual reflection.

2. Women’s Ministry Trip Ideas

• Community Development and Empowerment: Focus on trips that support women in other communities, such as teaching skills (sewing, cooking, business) or health education. These missions foster a sense of empowerment and connection among women across different cultures.

• Retreats with a Purpose: Combine spiritual retreats with local missions, such as serving in a women’s shelter or organizing community beautification projects, blending spiritual growth with service.

3. Youth and Student Ministry Trip Ideas

• Cultural Immersion and Service: These trips involve students in global or local cultural experiences where they can serve in contexts such as schools, orphanages, or community projects, helping them to develop a broader worldview.

• Urban Outreach: Engage students in urban settings, focusing on homelessness, urban poverty, and social justice issues. These experiences are often eye-opening and inspire a passion for societal change.

• Sports Camps: Building sports areas (e.g. basketball courts) or running sports camps for a community alongside a partner, etc can allow students to use their talents and engage with peers or people entirely different from them through the camaraderie of sports.

4. Family Ministry Trip Ideas

• Family-Friendly Mission Trips: Design trips where whole families can participate, such as community clean-ups or assisting in local food banks. These trips can accommodate various age groups and foster a family culture of service.

• Eco-Missions: Involve families in environmental stewardship projects, such as planting trees, wildlife habitat restoration, or beach clean-ups, emphasizing creation care.

5. Senior Ministry Trip Ideas

• Heritage and Historical Service Projects: Seniors might enjoy trips focused on maintaining or restoring historical church sites or engaging in genealogical research for communities.

• Mentorship Missions: Utilize the wealth of experience among seniors by setting up trips where they can mentor younger generations, either within the church community or in partnership with schools and youth organizations.

6. Music and Arts Ministry Trip Ideas

• Cultural Arts Festivals: Participate in or organize festivals where music and arts are used to bridge communities and share cultural expressions.

• Performance and Outreach Missions: Travel to different communities or countries to perform concerts or art shows that benefit local charities or raise awareness for causes.

Each of these trips can be tailored to the unique interests and capabilities of the respective ministry groups, ensuring that participants feel engaged and that their contributions are meaningful. By aligning these trips with the broader goals of the MCES, churches can ensure that these experiences are not only enriching for every participant no matter where they are in their understanding of Faith in God, but that the experiences also align with the strategic mission goals of the church.

Pitfalls to Mission Work with Non-Churchgoers

As we’ve said in other posts, there are potential pitfalls to incorporating non-churchgoers in ministry trips, especially if it involves more than completing helpful tasks but also includes engaging deeply with other people. Someone without a biblical worldview could say or do something that doesn’t align with a church’s policies which the individual doesn’t personally have a conviction about. 

However, we could argue this can happen with church members during mission activity too. Trip leaders should play a significant role in managing this well. We also believe even if someone has not become a regular part of a church, they can still begin their journey of building a relationship with Jesus. Of course, we encourage Christians, as they mature, to submit to a church body out of obedience to scripture and for their own betterment.

This is also why we believe this approach is not applicable to every type of mission endeavor. Certain trips aren’t conducive for including certain team members, especially when they aren’t part of the church; just as some trips aren’t a good fit for someone who is not mature, either in age or in spiritual understanding. 

In summary, although there may be pitfalls, or at least limitations that present themselves when non-churchgoers are included in mission trips, there are times where it is purposeful to include them as an intentional investment or connection point that may compel them to engage when they might not otherwise be willing to.

The man or woman in your neighborhood is likely to be more receptive to friendship and hearing the gospel presented to them when they’ve been serving alongside you all day and given opportunities to fulfill a purpose than they would be towards you if you knocked on their door and presented them a Gospel pamphlet, no matter how nice your demeanor might be.

If this resonates with you, we ask that you take time to consider where you and your church could stretch and expand your view of missions while simultaneously reaching out to your own community more intentionally?

In the last post, we started asking ourselves: What if our strategy around mission trips focused as much on the participants’ spiritual health as on our destination? Could we even go as far as to use Short Term Mission Trips as an internal evangelism tool for our organization?

I’ve been calling this the Mission-Centric Engagement Strategy (MCES)… mainly because it sounds official and all things need an acronym.

Before we dive into an overview of the concepts behind this, I want to acknowledge a legitimate concern around this concept that has been raised. One fear I’ve heard is that, while this approach of engaging non-believers might benefit the team members themselves, would it be at the detriment or expense of the local community or partner?

It was such a great conversation that, although there are other concerns we will address in subsequent blogs, I wanted to discuss it here briefly. Ultimately, our goal is to provide healthy serving for a population/people group/partner that lasts beyond the time in which we are in the field. As you are aware, doing this well involves a lot of self-sacrifice and coming alongside the partners that are already in the field and have relationships with the local community.  

Remember this is an intentional strategy for some portion of your trips, not “all” trips or service opportunities. So, how do you choose?

1. First, start with your partner. Select which partner would be a good fit even if you had a mixed team. 

2. Next, include your team leaders from the very beginning and let them know why this trip is a good fit for this type of approach. 

3. Then, train the team well. Since you have folks coming from different backgrounds, make sure that you mention the overall end goal repeatedly (Healthy serving) and provide ways for them to learn this process themselves. We would strongly advocate for a theological basis to Missions (God’s heart for the world) and education on how to live that out well. For example, you can have the team read books like “When Helping Hurts”, or “Toxic Charity”, etc. The benefit goes beyond this trip and in the realm of service altogether, but opens up each participant to how they can enact those principles within their daily lives as well.  

Over the past several years, the strength of certain training programs prompted this entire MCES concept. While a team participant prepares for their trip, they often receive theological teaching, emotional encouragement, leadership development, and other field-readiness training that has a positive impact on their life regardless of their past faith journey. 

If you find yourself doubting the effectiveness of your own training in your organization, we will discuss more ideas in a later blog, but I would challenge you to find one element of your current training program and improve it for next year. Don’t try to change everything at once, but do one small thing incrementally, and you will be amazed at how much that makes a difference in your leaders and teams.

For today, let’s dive into a quick overview of the concepts behind this Mission-Centric Engagement Strategy I’m proposing. 

Why “Mission-Centric?”

As a technology leader, when I start looking at a large project, I often like to challenge myself or my teams to think about the end first. For example:

• What will the user encounter?

• What will they take away from the trip?

• How will we report on this?

• and so forth…

By envisioning the end result, we can often save ourselves effort by not distracting ourselves with many other features; Ideas that won’t actually matter for the end product.  

What I love about missions is that we already know the end of the story and we know its purpose. It is found in Revelation 7:9-10:

“the great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, trip, people, and language” worshiping God.  There has been a lot said on this passage by people way smarter than me, so allow me just two quick thoughts on this… First, this isn’t some mystic vision, but reality.  This is where the story will really start!  Second, the goal is worship. We often misplace that worship here on earth, but in reading this, I recognize that missions are the mechanism to get to the end goal, which is worship in the Kingdom. John Piper once put it this way, “One day, missions will come to an end, but worship will endure forever!”

We acknowledge that missions have never been, nor ever will be, about ourselves. It is always about God and His heart for the world and turning others to worship Him.

So if that is the end… where did it start?  

In the very beginning! We see God’s heart to reach “all people” through his promise to Abraham in Genesis 12:1-3 where He says “and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”

Do you know what the Hebrew word is used for ‘all’?  It’s not a trick question… it means “All!”  (it’s “kol” for you Hebrew geeks, pronounced like “coal”, meaning “all, in totality”).  But the point is, there isn’t anyone who ever existed that wasn’t on God’s heart.

So from the very beginning to the end, God’s heart is to reach every tribe, every nation, every language and bless all people through the good news of Jesus Christ.  

That is why we must start from a position where the Mission of God to reach EVERYONE is in the center of everything we do.  

If we are going to achieve lasting impact, we need to engage and equip folks in ways that align with each individual’s purpose and design. My hope is that a Mission-Centered Engagement Strategy can bridge the gap between the Imago Dei (the image of God within us) and the Missio Dei (the mission of God in the world), particularly for engaging children, students, and adults in a church or ministry setting.

The 30,000-Foot View: Connecting Imago Dei with Missio Dei

We are all uniquely created to participate in God’s mission. Each individual, regardless of age, carries a set of interests and skills that are not merely coincidental but are part of a divine design. However, for many, there exists a significant gap between recognizing the image of God within and utilizing this inherent spark in service of a greater mission. As I stated previously, we often misplace this in work, relationships, etc. 

Closing this gap often involves a process of rediscovery and creation where others guide or disciple us to understand, at a foundational level, how we can leverage God-given skills, experiences, trades, and passions in ways that create lasting impact:

• Rediscovery: Every person bears the unique imprint of Imago Dei. By peeling back layers of personal brokenness —often only possible through the transformative love of Jesus Christ and life within a healthy community— we can uncover passions and purposes essential for missional living. The most effective way is often within relationships where we can be reminded of our identity and challenged to live within that reality.
   

• Creation: We are not only created uniquely but also with the capacity to create. It’s the first thing we discover about God in Genesis 1. Recognizing our inherent capability to create, true discipleship becomes a lifelong endeavor of nurturing and utilizing our God-given talents in accordance with His mission. There is a reason you have the passions and skills you have… you are here for a purpose!

Practically, this mission-based identity and awareness usually starts with steps such as self-assessment, both individually and as a team/community, to discover and remove obstacles that obscure our innate abilities and allow us to function within a healthy group. Aside from scripture, tools like personality assessments (DISC, Myers-Briggs, etc), spiritual gifts inventories, Strengths Finder, Emotional Intelligence tests, and leadership mapping can facilitate this exploration, enabling personal growth and skill development.  

By engaging in self-assessment tools and community discussions, individuals can identify and develop their God-given potential, preparing them for both local and global missions. Another result of this discovery is that they often become better equipped to operate within a team.

Mission-Centric Engagement Strategy to Expand Our Reach to All

As we navigate through the post-modern and post-Christian landscape, some of the attraction-based models – where the church uses music, preaching, and programs to draw folks in – are losing steam. There are still effective tools in place, but they could be enhanced by shifting to a mission-centric model that places mission at the core of church activity.

This shift from traditional church engagement methods to a strategy that places mission at the heart of all church activities not only invites church members to participate in missions but also attracts individuals from outside the church who are motivated by a desire to serve and make a difference.

So, could a shift towards missions as a broader term draw more people into God’s family everywhere?

Next Week: We’ll look into the upcoming generations and how they might be wired for missions.

In the meantime… Start with yourself. Ask yourself:

• How has my own identity been shaped by the understanding that I am made in the image of God?

• What skills, talents, passions, experiences, trades, or education have I viewed as just the result of my hard work or circumstances? Could God be shaping me towards a significant impact in the world?

Recommended Tech and Tools for Ministry Teams

This is for the staff of small churches and nonprofits! 

We all know that ministries often find themselves a bit behind the tech curve. But worry not! We’ve got a list of super accessible tools that can help you streamline your work and make collaboration a breeze. These recommendations are great for most people, whether you're tech-savvy or just dipping your toes into the digital waters. Most of them have either a free version or an affordable monthly subscription. Let's dive in!

For Team Communication: Slack

Slack is a game-changer for keeping everyone in the loop. This software-as-a-service (SaaS) tool is available both as a browser version and an app, making it super accessible. With Slack, you can:

• Organize Communication: Use channels for specific purposes or topics to keep discussions focused.

• Direct Messaging: Quickly send private messages to team members.

• Voice & Video Calls and Recordings: Hold meetings or check-ins live or just send updates in the form of audio or video.

• Info Storage: New feature! Store important files and documents per channel.

• Privacy Settings: Control who sees what.

Imagine having all your communication in one place, organized, and easy to view. It's like having a virtual office where you can drop in anytime.

For Project & Task Management: Trello

Trello is a go-to platform for project and task management. It's perfect for organizing tasks and ideas with its board, list, and card system. Here's why you'll love it:

• High-Level Organization: Create different boards for various projects.

• Detailed Cards: Add attachments, checklists, labels, due dates, and more.

• Team Collaboration: Assign team members to tasks and track activity in real-time.

• Versatility: Some of our team members even use Trello for personal tasks like managing a shopping list or budgeting with their spouse.

There are other project management tools we’ve used that are great! But Trello keeps it simple as if you were adding stick-it notes on the wall during a meeting. Trello actually does follow the kan-ban method. With this tool, you'll have a clear view of what's happening, who's doing what, and what's coming up next. It's like a robust, digital to-do list!

For Content Creation: Canva

Canva is a lifesaver for those of us who aren't graphic design pros. This tool is incredibly user-friendly and perfect for creating eye-catching visuals. Here’s what makes Canva awesome:

• Templates Galore: Build projects from a vast library of templates so you’re not starting from scratch.

• Easy to Use: A gentle learning curve makes it accessible for everyone.

• Versatility: Create social media graphics, presentations, flyers, and more

• Free and Pro Versions: Start with the free version and upgrade to a monthly subscription, if needed.

With Canva, you can whip up professional-looking designs in a matter of minutes, even if you have zero design experience.

For Marketing Content: Castmagic

Marketing your content just got easier with Castmagic. This tool is perfect for generating transcripts, timestamps, and platform-specific social and email copy from videos you create. Maybe you already record sermons or teaching sessions in your organization. Maybe your team already has regular meetings and you could capture in video aspects of your culture or thought leadership if you aren’t already. From those videos, you could product a host of omni-channel content. Benefits of Castmagic include:

• Video Transcripts: Automatically generate transcripts for your videos.

• Timestamps: Add timestamps for easier navigation.

• Content Generation: Swipe social media captions and email copy that the platform pulls and refines based on your video content.

Castmagic helps you repurpose your video content efficiently, making it easier to reach your audience across different platforms.

For Website Monitoring: UptimeRobot

Keep your website up and running smoothly with UptimeRobot. We use this with our website. This tool is great for:

• Easy Integration: Quickly set up and start monitoring your site.

• Notifications: Receive text-based alerts if your site goes down.

• Simple Interface: Easily add and manage multiple websites.

• Status Pages: Track the status of several sites at once.

With UptimeRobot, you’ll be the first to know if there’s an issue with your site, ensuring minimal downtime and a better experience for your visitors.

For Journaling: Moleskine Sketchbook

Sometimes, digital just won't cut it. A good old-fashioned journal can be perfect for brainstorming, reflection, and study. We recommend the Moleskine Sketchbook:

• Non-Lined Pages: Freedom to sketch, doodle, or write without constraints.

• Quality Paper: Perfect for any pen or pencil.

• Durable Cover: Keeps your ideas safe.

A sketchbook allows you to jot down thoughts, sketch ideas, and brainstorm without the limits of lined paper. It's a great tool for creative freedom.

Bonus! Our CEO's Favorite Pen: Pentel EnerGel RTX

Last but not least, every great sketchbook needs a great pen. Our CEO swears by the Pentel EnerGel RTX:

• Smooth Writing: The 0.7 mm tip provides a perfect stroke.

• Quick-Drying Ink: No smudges!

• Easy to Find: Available in most stores.

This pen makes writing a pleasure, whether you're taking notes, journaling, or sketching out your next big idea.

There you have it! These tools are not only accessible but also incredibly effective in helping your ministry team stay organized, creative, and connected. Give them a try, and watch your productivity soar! Here’s to enjoyable, purposeful work!

During this time of year, it is common for us to reflect on the things in our lives that provide a sense of gratitude, and that’s good for us to do so. But like the subjects of “Rest” or “Sabbath,” if we only wait until we are on vacation or a rare chance at a sabbatical to truly rest, we won’t find it refreshing. These are meant to be practices spun into and through our chaotic lives to provide an alternative to the hectic pace our culture espouses.  

With the dawn of each new year, I spend time prayerfully considering a theme that God might have for me. Sometimes this eventually comes as a phrase or a word that I spend time throughout the year focusing on and journaling about. This past January, the word I received was “grateful.” I genuinely feel that I am a positive person and pretty grateful already, so I wasn’t super excited about it, but I wrote it down and went about my year.

However, as I reflect back on these past 11 months, there are so many moments for which I am truly grateful, even though they were extremely hard at the time (and some continue to be).  There are moments of loss in this year, but gratitude in that our family could travel and be there with the loved ones prior to their passing. There are moments of extreme challenges and changes in life, but gratitude to find myself doing things I love with the people I love the most.   

As we head into the upcoming seasons, I know this is hard for many, sweet for some, and stressful for most :-)  I am blessed to have had a prompting in January that helped prepare me for my own journey this year as it has allowed me to build gratitude into my daily/weekly rhythms and allows for me to reflect during this time of year over the multitude of small events that I would have missed amidst the normal storms of life.

Allow me to share just a few practices that have helped me this year… and consider which ones (or others) you might be able to incorporate into your daily routine this coming season to help you through it 🙂

• At dinner, have each person share something from their day that they are grateful for.
• Take a moment during the day to pause. Set an alarm or use a tool like the One Minute Pause App to spend 1-2 minutes during your day to just breathe!
• Practice Benevolent Detachment.
• Journal… I know it takes time, but just a few notes allows your soul space to reflect.
• Take one day (or one morning) a month to get away from the keyboard and get outside.
• Don’t watch the news (or limit your intake)... We all know that news that sells is mostly bad, but it expands your worries and concerns to things you cannot control.
• Spend time with your neighbors and those people around you… most people are pretty reasonable when you get to know them… not all, but most *grin.*
• Read a book that challenges your assumptions around resources. (e.g. I recently read “A Beautiful Constraint” by Adam Morgan and Mark Barden… which made me grateful even for constraints within my life/business as they provide motivation for creativity and a chance to embrace an abundance mindset,)
• [Insert your own - exercise, time outside, Yoga, meditation, listening to worship music in the morning, etc.]

My friends… may you find ways to incorporate small amounts of gratitude and rest into your rhythms. I pray blessings over each of you as we head into this special season and especially as we head into December and reflect on how the God of the universe came to join us for a time (Talk about abundance of resources/creativity at our fingertips!)  

May your journey in the next few months have moments of gratefulness and sweetness, even amidst the pain!

~Micah

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