The majority of missionaries serve with mission agencies that require support raising. Yet this varies under certain circumstances.

First, the mission agency with which you serve may directly pay you without your support raising. Such denominations include the Christian and Missionary Alliance and the Southern Baptist Conference. You must have been a member of one of their local churches for a period of time before applying to serve as a missionary.

Other missionaries hold secular jobs on the mission field that fully or almost fully cover their needs on the field. In the New Testament Paul periodically chose this approach by working as a tentmaker so as not to be a financial burden to the Thessalonians (I Thess. 2.8). As such, this approach of funding is often called “tentmaking”, though no tentmakers make tents today!

Even so, many tentmaking missionaries still raise a portion of support. Their mission agency may require it to cover its administrative costs and benefits. Many tentmakers choose to raise support as a way of engaging individuals and churches in the ministry. People usually pray more consistently if they are financially engaged in the ministry.