For some people, the idea of missionaries raising financial support raises concerns.
"Isn’t that unstable?"
"Isn’t it irresponsible?"
"Shouldn’t 'real work' provide its own income?"
These are fair questions.
But when we look at Scripture carefully, financial partnership in mission is neither lazy nor unbiblical. It is part of how God designed the church to function.
In the Gospel of Luke 8:1-3, we are told that several women supported Jesus and the disciples “out of their own means.”
Jesus did not treat this support as dishonorable.
He did not refuse it to appear more self-sufficient.
He allowed others to participate financially in the mission.
If receiving support were lazy, then Jesus structured His ministry around something irresponsible. That conclusion doesn’t hold.
In First Epistle to the Corinthians 9, Paul makes a direct argument:
“The Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel.”
He compares gospel workers to soldiers, farmers, and shepherds, all of whom receive provision for their labor. Paul does not apologize for this model. He defends it as legitimate.
That doesn’t sound like laziness. It sounds like recognized work.
In the Epistle to the Philippians 4:15-16, Paul thanks the Philippian church for partnering with him financially.
He calls it “partnership in the gospel.”
Not charity.
Not pity.
Partnership.
The New Testament model was a shared mission. Some going. Some sending.
When fundraising is framed as “asking for money,” it can sound passive or dependent. But as Henri Nouwen writes in The Spirituality of Fundraising, asking for support is not saying, “Please solve my problem.” It is saying, “I want to invite you into what God is doing.”
That distinction matters.
If fundraising is manipulation, it is wrong.
If it is pressure, it is wrong.
If it is exaggeration, it is wrong.
But invitation is different.
Invitation respects the freedom and dignity of the other person. It allows them to discern, pray, and decide. It treats generosity as discipleship, not obligation.
That is not laziness. That is shared obedience.
Receiving support does not remove responsibility.
Paul worked hard.
He endured hardship.
He planted churches.
He reported back.
Support did not replace effort. It enabled it.
Biblical fundraising requires integrity, transparency, and real labor in ministry. The issue is never whether someone is salaried or support-based. The issue is whether they are faithful and diligent in what they have been entrusted with.
Provision through the body of Christ is not irresponsibility. It is interdependence.
The gospel has always advanced through partnership.
When someone gives, they participate.
When someone goes, they represent the body.
Fundraising, done with integrity and humility, is not lazy. It is one of the ways the church sends.