If you’ve ever felt discouraged by the struggle to raise funds for your ministry, especially in a closed or restricted country, this conversation is for you.

Meet Dr. Don Allen, a seasoned missionary and pastor, to learn the mindset shifts and practical strategies that helped him go from 70% survival mode to being fully funded for the first time in decades.

If you’d like to read a beefed up summary of this interview, scroll down below the video.

2:08 – Best practices in raising support if you work in restricted areas
13:13 – How to shift from survival budget to fruitfulness budget
16:30 – The origins of the poverty mindset in missions
19:57 – 2 Corinthians 8-9 – spiritual maturity requires we invite others to give
25:22 – How Don moved from survival budget to fully funded for the first time
33:35 – Why missionaries need coaching

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If you’re serving in a country where open Christian ministry is restricted, raising support can feel nearly impossible. You’re navigating safety risks, secrecy, censorship, and of course, spiritual warfare. So how do we talk about our work in these kinds of territories all while raising support elsewhere? 

When I first entered full-time ministry, I believed that being underfunded was a badge of honor. Like many others, I equated spiritual maturity with sacrifice, suffering, and scraping by. I thought this was the only way to honor God with my life. I was wrong.

Decades later — after pastoring, coaching missionaries across the Middle East and Asia, and shifting my own mindset — I now see support raising differently. Especially for those working in closed nations, the key to longevity and fruitfulness isn’t just strategy. It’s a new way of thinking about stewardship, identity, and invitation.

Let me walk you through what I’ve learned, and what I now teach every worker I coach.

There are two big factors in shaping our mindset around support raising:

1. Outdated Theology Around Suffering and Simplicity. We’ve inherited a legacy that says “pack your coffin,” go, and die broke. This is a “wartime mentality” rooted in 19th and 20th century student movements who romanticized hardship as a spiritual ideal. While sacrifice is part of the call, unnecessary lack is not.

2. A Scarcity-Based Approach to Fundraising. Many workers believe they’re a burden and that asking for money makes them beggars. They’re taught to expect little and survive instead of thrive. That belief system creates burnout and robs them of the confidence to invite others into the mission.

From Survival Budget to Fruitfulness Budget

I had to come to terms with realizing that I was operating on a survival budget — just enough to scrape by. But God wasn’t calling me to survive. He was calling me to bear fruit.

Eventually my mindset shifted to a fruitfulness budget — one that included retirement, long-term care, emergency savings, and the capacity to bless others. When I made that shift, everything changed. My communication changed. My confidence changed. Donors responded.

In fact, at nearly 70 years old, I became fully funded for only the second time in my life. It happened not because I learned to ask better, but because I finally believed I had something of value to offer.

Working in Closed Nations: The Tactical Side

Now, let’s get practical. If you’re serving in a secure or closed country, here are three essentials to protect your team and communicate wisely:

1. Use Pen Names for Places and People. Don’t name cities, countries, or individuals. Use generic terms or pseudonyms like “a city in the Middle East” or “our local friend Jamie.”

2. Obfuscate Religious Language. Replace vowels in sensitive words (like Gd, Bble, M*ssion) to avoid triggering online filters.

3. Onboard Your Donors Like a Secret Society. Give new supporters a glossary or onboarding doc. Train them to use safe language and avoid agency names in replies or shares. Make them feel like part of the mission, not passive donors.

Make sure to include disclaimers like: “Please do not forward or post this update without express permission.” This sets the tone and builds trust.

It’s Not About You, It’s About the Mission

I coach a lot of folks who say, “I can ask for others, but I can’t ask for myself.” To that I say: stop asking for yourself!

You’re not asking someone to bless you. Rather, you’re asking them to participate in what God is doing. It’s not your mission. It’s His. When that clicks, everything changes. You stop fearing rejection. You stop apologizing. You begin inviting people to be generous, which is one of the clearest biblical signs of spiritual maturity.

I spent weeks doing a personal Bible study on 2 Corinthians 8 and 9. I realized something simple but powerful:

• Paul was a fundraiser. A bold one.
• Generosity benefits the giver more than the recipient.
• We glorify God not by having little, but by stewarding well.

When I began viewing support raising as discipleship (and not a transaction) I felt free. Free to ask. Free to invite. Free to lead.

If You’re Just Starting Out (or Starting Over)

Whether you’re on the field, about to go, or coming home and dreading “support raising 2.0,” here’s what I want you to know:

• You are not a burden. You are a bridge.
• You are not selling. You are inviting.
• You are not asking for yourself. You are offering partnership in God’s work.

If you’re willing to rethink your mindset and approach, everything can change.

God is still moving. He’s still funding His work. He’s still using people — on the field and in the marketplace — to send and to go. Your job is to cooperate with Him, not hide in fear. So take the next step. Build the fruitfulness budget. Share the vision. Invite others in. I’m living proof that it’s never too late to get fully funded — and never too late to flourish.

Connect with Dr. Don Allen: donandkaren.com