Often, if you ask a missionary to share stories of how God has been working, we’re quick to go to the neon signs. The outreach where 10 people trusted Christ. The drug dealer who is now leading a bible study. The $30,000 gift that funded the ministry for a year. Big, glowing, neon signs. And that’s OK. People need to hear when God shows up in a tangible way.
But I’m perhaps more thankful for the 5 bucks a month we got for 8 years from a couple at my church. It’s not flashy, or really even noteworthy. Nobody is blown away when I share their story. Well, nobody but me.
They don’t have much by American standards. But they have the gospel, and a few dollars per month they can spare toward reaching students. There’s never going to be a plaque on the corner of a building that has their name on it for donating. Their story is one of faithful perseverance.
I told people all the time when challenging them to join our team: I’d rather have 10 people giving 5 dollars per month from their hearts than to have one person give me $100 per month that is auto-drafted from their checking account and they don’t even notice it. (yeah, I’d take $50 per month over $100 per month, given those two options.)
I’m so thankful for folks like that who consistently, faithfully, and routinely gave to our ministry. They didn’t have a neon backlight, and they never asked to be featured on the front page of our ministry. But they were most certainly it’s backbone.