We have a big week ahead on Christmas related themes on the podcast, but we start the week

talking about fundraising, something that happens a lot this time of year and a couple.

Luke and Katie write in to ask you this, your pastor John, I know you are familiar with

men such as Hudson Taylor and George Mueller.

Should we ask our brothers and sisters in Christ to help fund the work we feel God has

called us to, or should we simply believe that he will fund the work as we seek him

in prayer without making our needs known to men?

What would you say to Luke and Katie?

Two clarifications about Mueller, George Mueller and Hudson Taylor.

Both of them, and they knew each other, had resolved that they would never ask anyone

for money.

That's true.

But they most emphatically did make their needs known in general.

Both of them published monthly records of what had come in to the mission and what it

had been, what it had been spent on and where they were in the big picture financially.

So it's misleading to give the impression that the donors to the orphanages and to

China in the mission were kept in the dark about the overall needs.

It is true, and I don't want to sell these men short, they were incredible.

It is true that from day to day, there were specific needs that were not made known except

to God in prayer.

This is where the miracles became most evident.

It would not be accurate to say that there were no regular communications to the donors

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