Connecting with ministry partners: lessons learned in 2022

We asked mission workers using Prayvine what they learned in 2022 about connecting well with ministry partners. Here’s what they shared. Hopefully, these can be an encouragement to you as you kick off a new year of partnership with your donors and prayer partners!

Donors enjoy personal text messages

“Sending short text messages of encouragement/thanks to each of my donors has been the most effective way to connect with them and hear back from them. A sentence or two is sufficient. Donors love this.” – JGD, global church planting, education/training, and mobilization

A video greeting (sent in place of a written newsletter) was a hit

“Several months ago, in lieu of a written newsletter, we made a 4-minute video greeting all our partners from our home on the field and sharing verbally an update on our work. We posted it on YouTube (not to appear in any search results) and sent the link to our financial and prayer partners. We got much more positive feedback than we ever have before or since. Several said it helped them to feel truly connected and a part of our lives and work in a way they never had before.” – Matt Gray, Bible translation, Americas

Generosity is alive and well, so be bold in asking for financial partnership

“The resources are out there - people still want to give to help ministries working to help fulfill the Great Commission.” – Nolan Sharp, Europe

Short, timely prayer requests grows engagement with ministry partners

“I send out both monthly newsletters through MailChimp and weekly prayer updates on Prayvine. As I explained this to a new ministry partner, she shared how she values the weekly prayer updates so much more than monthly newsletters, which are often long and contain details she isn’t interested in. Her comments encouraged me not to be shy about inviting people to get my prayer updates.” – Daniel, Bible translation, Asia

“I learned that my supporters enjoy the prayer updates and it helps them to focus their prayers on specific ministry opportunities that are communicated in the updates.” – C Bishop, education/training

“Changing over to using Prayvine has definitely increased my partner engagement. They can quickly participate, and it encourages personal communication.” – Dawn, technology support

“We’ve been communicating with supporters since we first affiliated with our mission org in December 1991 and arrival to the field in 1994. While everyone has their own style of communication which they refine over time and reflects their own personality (that is certainly the case with me!), it is also true that the attention spans of supporters have shortened. We have been slow to understand and adjust.

In 2022 we learned to add short and specific prayer requests using Prayvine twice a week to partnering church leaders and supporting families as a crucial element in our communication strategy. This is in addition to longer ministry updates via email every six to eight weeks and an Annual Review of our ministry focus areas each February. Finally, we handwrite or use Touchnote to send a personalized thank you to every supporter at least once a year. These ‘touches’ express our gratitude whilst keeping supporters informed without overwhelming them.” -TnT, DMM training and church planting, England

Prayvine saves mission workers’ time

“The ability to share one time with a group of prayer warriors is time efficient.” – J&M, Asia

Thank you so much to those who shared their insights from last year! We hope you find these helpful as you look forward to a new year of ministry.