Forget Instantaneous Connection

| By Scott McClellan | Found in The Web | 1 Comment

scl

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of interviewing Jon Acuff for the upcoming issue of COLLIDE. As we were talking about the Stuff Christians Like Vietnam project, Jon made a great observation that I just couldn’t wait to share with you. Though the project raised $30,000 in just 18 hours after it was launched, Acuff knows that much more went into it than just 18 hours. “No,” he said, “it took us 18 months to raise $30,000.”

It took 18 months for the Stuff Christians Like community to grow, 18 months of Jon sharing his humor and his heart day in and day out. It took 18 months to form a bond that can’t happen in a day … unless that day happens to be a season of 24.

The Vietnam project, 18 months after the launch of Stuff Christians Like, was the first time Acuff asked his readers for anything. When he finally asked, they trusted him and they were ready to respond. The connection was formed over time, and it was strong.

Too many great causes and organizations decide to launch with a big ask like SCL’s Vietnam project, and that’s a shame. They’re hoping a worthy cause and a great need will create an instantaneous connection. But too often, where’s there isn’t any trust there isn’t any action.

Forget instantaneous connection. Commit to the long run. Tell your story and let others tell theirs. Eventually, ask people to join you in what you’re doing.

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  • http://worshipVJ.com proctor

    I really connect with this post, especially since I'm sitting right this moment in Chiang Mai, Thailand! And here with me are our friends Camron Ware & Nate Griffin. We are serving the fine people of an organization that send people all over Asia (even Vietnam) to teach English in various schools & to build relationships with the local people, with a "greater purpose" in mind, of course.

    What's crazy is that this week we get to do what we love…to create art & project on walls during worship…in hopes that this will create an inviting atmosphere where these people can worship together and connect with God & each other. For many, it's the one time in the year they get to have an English worship service. It's great to hear these people's stories and to encourage them as they go back and serve on the field for the next year.

    Like with Jon, this was our first time to ask anything of our blog communities. Many came through and supported us in coming here! But like you said, it took a lot of time and trust-building to get to this point of asking for support.
    We could've figured out ways to get here by ourselves, but this time, I felt the need to include our online community in the story of what God is doing over here. We wanted to provide opportunities to get our readers invested in something other than the content of our blog conversations…. to go beyond motion backgrounds & projection techniques …and to get a glimpse of what the Church is like in other parts of the world.
    It's amazing that so many people jumped on board & invested in the work we are doing over here.

    As we've been here, priorities have definitely started to shift, and we are all sensing a renewal of our minds, especially in the areas of our jobs & ministries back home. We still have a long journey ahead. And we can't wait to come back home & share with our friends what God is doing in Southeast Asia.

    We actually talked about you guys today. Both you & Jon…by name. We had no idea you had written this. You've crossed my mind a lot as I've walked these streets…knowing that you guys share our vision of seeing change in the Church at large…wondering what in the world that looks like… all of us having spent time in this part of the world…. I don't know what God is up to (in Dallas, Nashville, Thailand or Vietnam), but it sure is exciting to get a glimpse once in a while. Hopefully we'll all be better people & leaders b/c of it.