Tip #1 Pray for God’s provision.

Every step along the way to LTC should be infused with prayer, so get your students praying for God’s provision both individually and as a group. Pray before every fundraising project and appeal. Then watch expectantly for how He answers. Give Him thanks, whether the funds are coming in easily or it’s a long, determined slog to the goal.

There’s wisdom in the old saying, “Do all you can and leave the results to God.”

Tip #2 Clearly communicate the missional impact of this training week.

LTC motivates and mobilizes students for THE Cause of Christ (which Jesus gives us in Matthew 28: 19-20 to go and make disciples). This intensive, transformational, evangelism training week delivers an impact that has eternal significance. LTC challenges students to get serious about Christ’s call to make disciples who make
disciples. It provides hands-on training in the areas of faith-sharing and leadership, so students become multipliers for THE Cause of Christ in their own youth groups, schools and communities.

Built upon Jesus’s discipleship model of pouring deeply into the lives of a smaller circle of followers, LTC seeks to train up young people who will lead their peers to reach their generation with the gospel. As such, LTC is an investment in young people serving on their very own mission field: their high school campus. No one questions that teenagers who are motivated and equipped for evangelism will have far more reach and impact in their schools than any adult ever could. Communicating this exponential potential for THE Cause of Christ is an essential foundation for your fundraising efforts.

Tip #3 Don’t be afraid to ask for direct donations.

Given the missional nature of LTC, get permission from your Senior Pastor to approach your church’s mission committee, and ask for a contribution from the missions budget. Your church supports missionaries on foreign, “cross cultural” fields where the gospel is desperately needed. Why not support missionaries from your own body of believers who are committed to reaching a local “cross-cultural” mission field that also desperately needs Jesus’ message—namely, the local high schools?

Additionally, consider asking each of the adult small groups in your church to provide financial and prayer support for a particular student. Have your student prepare a presentation and visit one of the adult small groups to ask for their prayers and finances in person. Promise a personal follow up time with the same group to report back and share how the LTC week was personally transformational. During this debrief meeting, students should ask for continued prayers as they move forward implementing their personalized action plan to make disciples in their own school and community.

This kind of direct ask for support could also apply to the choir, the women’s circle, the men’s group and so on. On the more traditional fundraising front, there’s a long list of goods and services that also fit the category of selling what people already buy: bake sales, car washes, babysitting, yard work, and so on. Plus people are often generous and donate beyond the typical market value of what they are purchasing from youth.

Tip #4 If fundraising isn’t your forté, get help.

Be honest with your group’s parents if fundraising isn’t your forte. Ask a parent or adult volunteer (or a team of adults) to serve as the Fundraising Lead for LTC. If no one volunteers, search farther afield and ask successful business people in your church for advice and help with this endeavor.

And remember, you don’t need to reinvent the wheel. Tap into other’s successful ideas. One helpful website loaded with creative, successful fundraising approaches is EGADideas, which you can find at egadideas.com/category/fundraisers/.