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Best Ways to Fundraise for a Mission Trip

Whether you’ve fundraised for a Christian mission trip before or are starting the process for the first time, you can feel confident that God can and will provide everything you need.

Fundraising for short-term mission trips, a Christian gap year program, or World Race missions is not just about the money. While money is necessary to make any Christian mission trip possible, fundraising is also about building a team to join in the Great Commission to share Jesus with the world. A Christian mission trip isn’t a vacation. This is Kingdom work!

Mission trip fundraising allows people who may never be able to leave their local community for a mission trip to bring the Gospel to the nations through you!

While fundraising, you’re also creating a vital network of prayer support that will go beyond just one short-term mission trip. When you ask people to support your mission trip, you are inviting them to be a part of God’s work to build His Kingdom.

ADMISSIONS ADVISORS

As you fundraise for the World Race, your Admissions Advisor will provide you with resources and instructions for fundraising and help coach you through the process. Admissions Advisors have a lot of experience fundraising themselves and coaching other missionaries. They will check in with you, help you with mission trip fundraising ideas, and help you stay accountable to your fundraising goals.

ADMISSIONS ADVISORS Image

What does your World Race fundraising goal cover?

$1,700 per month will cover:

The average cost of living per month in the United States is around $2300 for a single person. On the World Race, we work hard to steward the funds God provides so you can experience a deeper life with Jesus, live in authentic community, serve others and share the love of Jesus around the world.

Training

TRAINING FOR SUSTAINABLE INTERNATIONAL AND DOMESTIC MISSIONS

Lead

DISCIPLESHIP THROUGH OUR EXPERIENCED COACHES

PrinciplesOfLeadership

LEADERSHIP FROM HIGH-QUALITY MENTORS

LiveChat

DEBRIEFING THROUGHOUT WORLD RACE AND TRANSITION COACHING

Airplane

INTERNATIONAL FLIGHTS ACROSS 3+ CONTINENTS

CarWash

LOCAL TRANSPORTATION WITHIN 11+ COUNTRIES

Burger

BUDGET FOR ALL MEALS FOR 11 MONTHS

Lodging

ARRANGED LODGING WITHIN 11+ COUNTRIES

Medical

HEALTH INSURANCE THROUGH A COMPREHENSIVE PLAN

MakeADifference

LOGISTICAL SET-UP FOR TRAVEL, FINANCES, AND ACCOMMODATIONS

Intimacy

MINISTRY SUPPORT, SUPPLIES, AND SET-UP WITH STRATEGIC PARTNERS

InternationalEvangelism

INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL AND ADVENTURE ALL OVER THE WORLD

The funds you raise cover all practical costs for your World Race, including meals, lodging, travel, medical insurance, and ministry costs. This also covers administrative costs, set-up, coaching, leadership development, debriefs, Training Camp, and Project Searchlight.

7 Steps to Fundraise for Christian Mission Trips

The people who have success in fundraising for the World Race mission trip have one thing in common: they’ve each put in time, willingness to do uncomfortable things, and obedience and trust in Him.

ReadGodAsk

1. TRUST GOD TO PROVIDE FOR YOUR MISSION TRIP

Ultimately, God is the source of our funds. As His people, we are simply stewards of His resources. During your Christian mission trip, God is going to stretch and grow your faith, your identity, and your trust in Him. This often begins with raising support! Remember that God led you here and He is in this with you. His resources are unlimited, and you’ve got a front-row seat to watch Him provide for your every single need.

PrayingHands

2. BUILD A MISSION TRIP PRAYER TEAM

Mission trip fundraising can be a scary journey when we try to do it alone. That’s why the next step is to build a team who will commit to praying for you leading up to and during your mission trip. These partners will not only pray for you while you fundraise for your mission trip, they will also cover each new month, country, and ministry in prayer. Your team will be making an impact around the world through their prayerful intercession for you.

Training

3. COMPLETE A MISSION TRIP FUNDRAISING TRAINING COURSE

With a training course, you can take out the guesswork, learning how to get started and what works when you are fundraising for a Christian mission trip. When you commit to the World Race, you’ll get exclusive access to a FREE mission trip fundraising training course through our partnership with Stewardship Ambassadors. Stewardship Ambassadors has been helping missionaries reach their fundraising goals for years, and you can get the benefit of that connection! And after you complete the training, you’ll receive 100 FREE prayer cards.

Mission

4. RECEIVE PROFESSIONAL FUNDRAISING COACHING

You do not have to be a fundraising expert, but it doesn’t hurt to have connections to one. When you begin fundraising for the World Race, you will have one-on-one coaching with our team of Admissions Advisor with years of fundraising experience. You will also gain exclusive access to one-on-one fundraising coaching through our partnership with Stewardship Ambassadors. Utilize FREE mission trip fundraising resources, including templates, scripts, and step-by-step instructions. Meet with professional mission trip fundraising coaches to create and practice your presentation and receive invaluable feedback.

SupportTeam

5. SHARE YOUR STORY WITH POTENTIAL SUPPORTERS

Sharing your story will help you as you fundraise for your Christian mission trip. World Race mission trip participants build a presentation to bring people into the story of what God has done in your life and how this trip is part of that. Invite people out to coffee to share your story and the purpose of your mission trip with them. Create prayer or business cards to pass out to potential supporters to remind them to pray for you.

GrowWithGod Image

6. SHARE ABOUT YOUR MISSION TRIP FACE-TO-FACE

The best way to fundraise for a mission trip is to ask people directly. While fundraising for the World Race, participants build a team of supporters through personal connection and communication. Get face-to-face and share your vision and calling to this mission. Invite them to be part of the bigger picture of what God is doing through you (and through them by partnering with you).

PrinciplesOfLeadership

7. CONTINUE UPDATING SUPPORTERS THROUGHOUT YOUR MISSION TRIP

After people invest in your mission trip, you want to keep them up to date on what God is doing. World Race missionaries use their World Race blogs to share inspirational stories of how God is moving in the world as well as insights into their faith journey. Write blogs, create videos, update social media, and send email newsletters throughout your mission trip to bring your support team into how their donations are impacting the world.


Before applying for the World Race, the only thing that was stopping me was the grand total with a big fat “FUNDRAISING.” I was extremely intimidated but simply asked God “if this is something You want me to pursue, please make Fundraising fun for me.” He answered this prayer and blew my expectations out of the water, not only did I actually have FUN fundraising (gasp), but I also discovered so much creativity within myself through the process!

Lindsay Sullivan Image

Lindsay Sullivan

World Race Alumna

Creative Ways to Fundraise for a Mission Trip

AdoptABox

ADOPT A BOX

Pancakes

PANCAKE BREAKFAST

GarageSale

GARAGE SALE

TShirt

T-SHIRTS

CarWash

CAR WASH

BakeSale

BAKE SALE

Keys

KEYS FOR THE JOURNEY

Partner

PARTNER WITH LOCAL BUSINESSES

Sharing your story will help you in your fundraising journey, consider these options to help spread your message:

  • Blogging (every Racer is given their own blog!)
  • Send out newsletters
  • Create videos
  • Utilize social media
  • Create business cards or brochures
  • Speak at churches and community meetings
  • Invite potential supporters out for coffee to share your story with them
    Ask your Advisor for suggestions about other things people do to prepare for a mission trip and visit #wrfundraising on Instagram for more inspiration and encouragement.

Our Advisors will help you determine the best types of fundraisers for you and help you use them to create new opportunities to engage more people on a personal level.

As you begin the fundraising process, please review Adventures in Missions donation policies.

OTHER CREATIVE WAYS TO FUNDRAISE FOR A MISSION TRIP

As you fundraise for your World Race mission trip, your Admissions Advisor will take the journey with you. You can utilize the talents or resources you already have to reach your mission trip fundraising goal, supplement your funds, or cover preparation expenses.

When to Start Fundraising for a Mission Trip

We recommend that you don’t start fundraising for a mission trip until you’ve been accepted and officially signed up to participate. However, if you’re not there yet, there are some things you can do now in preparation for fundraising.

SupportTeam

CREATE A SUPPORT TEAM

Share with your network to let them know you are applying for one of our Christian mission trips and ask them to pray with you through the process.

SeekTheLord

SEEK THE LORD

Pray for guidance and direction. Ask the Lord to start preparing your heart and the hearts of those who will be partners for the journey.

ReadGodAsk

READ “THE GOD ASK” BY STEVE SHADRACH

Fundraising can be intimidating. God has done the work, and we are partnering with him.

In the end, God will provide what you need for what He has called you to do. We can try to plan every aspect of the process, but ultimately, He wants us to step out in faith and rely on his provision for everything. It’s greater than anything we could do. He will start growing us through the process long before we ever leave, not just once a mission trip has started. The World Race is a journey of learning to trust, and fundraising is just the beginning.

TESTIMONIES

  • Jezebelle Pelayo

    World Racer

    Asking people to partner with me wasn’t easy. But the Lord has humbled me and softened my heart to receiving this kind of love. I honestly cry tears of joy. I knew the Lord would provide, but it was more beautiful to see Him teach me patience and see my community come together to keep me going. He could’ve made it happen quick, but He chose to let me watch it come slowly and surely. And to be trusting through it all. He is SO good y’all.

  • Carly Miers

    World Racer

    For so long, I thought that raising so much money was such a far off dream, yet here I am rejoicing in the Lord’s provision and the abundantly more that He has provided for me over the course of the last year. The Lord has been so good to me and so kind to me.

  • lan Schumann

    World Racer

    I entered the World Race squad way late, I hardly have a home church, and my extended family is Jewish, so they didn’t want to help me out. Fund-raising seemed impractical, nearly impossible. Two weeks before the launch date, the deadline was suddenly upon me to get $6900 cash in my support account! I had been slow, but now it was crunch time. So, with a lot of prayer and trust, I scribbled out a blog entitled “Call for help,” detailing where I was at and making it very clear that if somebody didn’t start giving soon, I would lose my chance to go on this trip. I only had $1200 collected at this point. Well, that was late on a Thursday night. By Friday at 2:00pm, about 14 hours later, I had broken the $6900 threshold. By the following Monday, I was at $10,000! It was nothing short of miraculous.