Ourministry E-update #1 :: Oct. 29, 2008
October 29, 2008 § Leave a comment
This is a copy of my first email update to supporters. If you did not receive this email and would like to, please email me at jordan.kologe@gmail.com and request to start receiving updates via email.
Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2008
Hello everyone — hope you are enjoying the fall…
You are receiving this email because you are one of the select few, incredibly elite, very important people who fall into one or more of the following categories…
1. You have already begun financial support
2. You have either (a) shown interest/talked about the possibility of support in the future (b) pledged to support me but have not decided on the specifics yet
(b) If there is anything I can do to help you make a final decision please write or call me and I would be happy to talk with you and answer questions. My goal is to reach 60% by December. This will only include gifts given and officially pledged (signed up for EFT online or begun giving through envelope) before November 20th (3 weeks away) due to IV processing and deposit times. At this point the majority of you fall into this category, and I am hoping and praying to hear back from many of you within the next two weeks. (jordan.kologe@gmail.com / 615.306.9417). Please know that each one of your individual contributions is a huge blessing and brings me a step closer to getting on campus with the students.
3. You have shown interest in praying for me and this ministry
4. Your place in my heart disallows you from not at least pretending to be interested and don’t really have a choice in the matter.
You are now what I consider to be an official member of my ministry support team!
Welcome to the team! Right now I am in St. Charles in a little coffee shop called Picasso’s on Main street. Its just down the street from Lindenwood’s Campus. Main street is an old cobblestone district along the river with lots of antique shops, pubs, and family owned restaurants. I actually just had a conversation with the owner about working here at Picasso’s part time while I finish raising support after I move here in January. I am here in St. Charles to spend some time on campus, meet the other IV staff from around the St. Louis area, and am doing some InterVarsity central region fund raising training on Thursday and Friday. I’ll be flying back to Charlotte on Saturday and be there until I move in January
This visit has been a little hard, but mostly really encouraging to be here. Hard because everything is unfamiliar and new. This place will be the backdrop for the next five years of my life. With any big change there is at least a hint of sadness for the things you leave behind. In this case, I know it will be hard to be far from my family, friends, Church, and of course the climate in Charlotte. With that said, it has really been incredibly exciting to be here and see IV’s vision for Lindenwood of “real community, real impact” come to life. Last night I stayed overnight in the dorm with two of IV’s key student leaders, Caleb and Wes. We spent the evening at an IV game and movie night. We played brutal UNO and poker and watched some ridiculous Halloween movie about angry attacking tomatoes. This morning we met for prayer at 7:30 and around 10 students came. There are between 30-40 students who come to the various IV activities throughout the week. We are doing weekly scripture studies, discipleship times, game and movie nights, outreach events, as well as two prayer gatherings a week. IV is also doing a grocery shuttle for international students who can’t get to the store on their own. In between all those things, Janet (the lead staff), Krissy and Maria (IV interns and former Lindenwood students) spend time on campus just hanging out with the students to build relationships. It’s really awesome to see otherwise isolated and lonely students be drawn into a loving and intentional Christ focussed community. I’ve really loved being able to connect with a lot of the international students through stories about my adventures with Ywam. I met a group of Aussie guys at dinner. I’ve been to a small villiage in Nepal where a whole group of freshman are from – at first they didn’t believe me when I told them I had been there. I ate breakfast with a student from Jakarta, where I spent April and and May of this year. Talking with these students about their cultures and showing some knowledge of them creates an instant bond which serves as the foundation for ministering to them. Its just been really good for me to get to know individuals and see the faces of these students. They are real people with real stories, not just the focus of a ministry. This really will be a real community, with real impact.
- Provision, wisdom, and guidance to raise the remaining 70% of my budget in the coming months.
- Spiritual and emotional preparation for my first year as IV staff.
- For the students and faculty at Lindenwood to give their lives to God and his purposes
- For a roommate, apartment, and part time employment while I finish raising support in St. Charles starting next year
- For the other IV staff at Lindenwood: Janet, Krissy, and Maria. Their fundraising, faith, and ministry.
I am 30% supported as of 10/29/08. As previously mentioned, I am prayerful that this number will dramatically increase over the next two weeks as many of you reach a final decision concerning financial support. Right now I have 7 committed monthly supporters, and my goal is 50+
# of Partners (monthly supporters): 7
One Time gifts: 7
Total Partners: 14
TOTALS Annually Monthly
Total Pledged $12,360 $1,030/mo
Total One Time Gifts $4,600 —
Total Raised $16,960 $1,413/mo
Fundraising Goal $56,893 $4,741/mo
% Budget Raised 30%
Over/(Short) $(39,933)
The easiest way to give is EFT (electronic funds transfer). It is simple and totally safe to set up automatic payments and one time gifts online at =>
- There will be a link to [Automatic bank withdrawals]
- Follow that to [Enroll in EFT today (monthly)].
- Enter my name: Jordan Kologe under search. Click the circle to designate the gift.
- Enter the desired amount, click [Add this designation]
- It will ask you if you have an InterVarsity account and you click [Create one today!]
- Follow the steps until you receive confirmation that the process is complete. InterVarsity will then send a tax-deductible receipt for these transactions.
Thank you for your generosity that is making this ministry possible!
Breaking News and Reflections
October 20, 2008 § Leave a comment
You can finally give online! I know many of you have been sitting around bored to death just wishing there was some good cause you could give your money to during this time of financial bliss — well good news — doing this is made really easy for you at:
www.intervarsity.org/donate !! (For step my step directions, click ‘donate’ on the top right of this page)
For those of you who have already started to give: I can’t thank you enough! I ask now that you would join me in praying for more supporters who would – like you have modeled – respond generously to my request. I especially want to thank the people of Lake Forest Church here in Charlotte for making me feel like one of their own as I have been in and out of the country over the past few years.
So as you can see from the above support raising is in full swing. Check “My Budget and Needs” for the most up-to-date specifics on where we are at. Today I am at 23%. Almost 1/4 of the way there. My goal is to reach 60% before Christmas.
For those of you who have pledged to give but have not yet specified an amount: Thank you so much for your interest and your support of me and this ministry! In order to reach my goal of 60% before Christmas, I want to ask those of you in this category to make this decision and sign up before November. If you wait until later in November to actually sign up and begin giving through auto-payments on-line, the money will go towards January. By giving earlier than November, your giving will start in December which is a huge blessing and encouragement to me in the midst of this sometimes daunting task.
For those of you who I have not been able to get in touch with yet: I haven’t been able to call many of you in Iowa yet but I expect you to have my letter memorized by the time I do… Or not. But seriously, I hope to get in touch with many of you next week.
Things I’m learning. I’ve been taking a look at the biblical basis for raising support. Having done it some in the past (on a much smaller scale) and being in communities where many people support large families through a network of supporters, I decided to take a closer look at what the Bible says about raising support. I think it’s a common enough and relevant enough topic to include as a permanent fixture in this blog, so that’s coming soon. You will find it on the top next to the other links.
I’m learning that becoming a ‘professional christian’ as those in the biz jokingly call ourselves is really confronting me to ask myself how deeply I trust the truths of Christianity that I profess. A comedian named Jim Gaffigan starts his show with a joke, “I’d like to make everyone feel comfortable that’s why I’d like to talk about Jesus…” The audience laughs because it so evidently contradicts their experience. Talking about Jesus is uncomfortable.
Well I have found out that talking to people about Jesus and money simultaneously can take the uncomfortable to a whole new level. So much so that – given any other cause on earth – I would happily give my own money monthly just to not have to do it. It’s not easy to ask and the failing economy is not helping.
Whats the point? Through trying circumstances, it is in HIM and his call to us I find renewed resolve and joy and commitment to the road that lies ahead. I am a firm believer that when Jesus says he came to give me “life abundant” he didn’t mean an easy life. He is teaching me experientially what I have always thought I knew: that it is actually the times when life is anything but easy that my heart is most vulnerable to his sculpting. Like any runner will tell you — you will never get faster or go further without pushing yourself beyond what is comfortable. This time when I am forced to ask how much I trust him for provision is where my faith is strengthened.
Thanks to you all for investing in his work in and through me.
Thank you for your support. 