When communicating with incoming DTS students a question we often receive is, “How do I come up with the money for DTS?” Here are our top tips!
Pray
Pray, pray, and then pray some more. Part of the discipleship process is getting to know God more and learning to trust Him. We can know that He’s trustworthy in our minds, but when it comes to actually trusting Him, that’s a different story. You might say, “I’m asking God for the tuition, airfare to get there, the conference fee, and the outreach. Can I really trust Him to provide all of that?” I don’t believe trusting God is putting Him to the test. Rather, it’s putting us to the test. Will we continue to believe for His provision? Or will we give up?
Obey
After you pray, then you must obey. Is he asking you to sell something? Sell it. Is he asking you to ask your aunt and uncle for $1000 for tuition? Ask them. Is he saying, “Do you really need that fast food for dinner? You could eat something at home and save money.” Eat something at home and save money. It’s really simple. It just seems complicated, I think, because we get scared of the unknown. We worry about what people will think or say instead of focusing on what God thinks and says to us.
Trust isn’t putting God to the test. It’s putting us to the test.
Get Practical
A few more tuition-raising tips:
- Talk to people one on one.
It’s easy to NOT make a decision about giving if someone is asking a large group. However, if you’re sitting down with me and telling me about DTS and what you believe God is going to do in your life, then I’m going to make a decision. It might not be right at that very moment, but I’ll be encouraged to make a decision. In large groups I might think about giving, but then forget.
- Who is invested in your growth in Christ?
If you’ve grown up in one or two churches, I guarantee you can think of ten people or families. I suggest talking to them first. Why? If you talk to someone that you’re pretty sure will give, it will probably boost your confidence to talk to someone who you don’t know will give.
- Follow up with people.
If they don’t make a decision right then, ask if you can call them in two or three days. Then set a reminder on your phone or put one someplace to remind you to call them. Then call them. Yep, it feels awkward. But try to think of it like this: pride is leaving you and it’s being replaced by humility. You can’t do life on your own and when it comes to something like DTS, it’s never been truer. You need support. You need help. God made us like this on purpose.
- Ask people for prayer, too!
The older I’ve gotten in my walk with Christ (I’m a 10-year-old Christian), the more I realize how valuable it is to have people praying for you. I have friends that pray for me regularly and I have seen some of my situations change. I’m so grateful for them.
- Don’t put all your eggs in the “I’m Doing a Fundraiser” basket.
Fundraisers are great. Don’t be afraid of the hard work and communication and planning they require to be successful. But if you wait until right before DTS starts hoping that that fundraiser will bring in your whole tuition, you might get in trouble. God wants to work through relationships, through trust in him, through your ongoing sacrificial obedience, and through ways you may not expect. He’s your source, not that spaghetti dinner.