Mission2go  >  Funding Adventure Travel

There are three ways to fund your adventure travels.  You can pay with your own money, use other people's money (raising support, getting sponsors, etc), or you can travel as part of your job.   Determining how much money you will need is your first step in funding your trip.  This sample travel budget form can help you estimate how much money you will need.

Pay For Your Adventures Yourself

Spending your own money is the simple way to pay for all your travels and adventures.  Whether you are going on a short-term mission trip, expedition, vacation, or just a day trip.  You can use the money God has already entrusted to you.

Deciding that travel is a priority and having a plan is the key to paying for your own travel.  Most of us have at least a little bit of discretionary money.  Whether we spend it on newer cars, cable television, larger homes, better cell phone plans, eating at restaurants, or having a travel fund, is simply a matter of priority.  There isn't anything wrong with the other categories, it is just unreasonable for the average person to expect to fund a bunch of other desires and still have money "left over" for adventure travel.  Having money to travel will require sacrifice in other areas.  However, the reward is worth the sacrifice.

Excessive consumer debt (debt for non-appreciating items such as cars, clothing, household goods, food, entertainment) is a major financial hurdle for many aspiring travelers.  Unfortunately, most research indicates that the level of debt is nearly the same for individuals inside and outside the Christian church.  Escaping the consumer debt trap is one of the keys to funding your own travel.  A credit/ATM card is a useful travel tool, as long as you don't buy things you can't afford and the balance gets paid off quickly.  Putting your money towards a future trip is a lot more inspiring than paying interest to the credit card companies.

If you think living debt free in no longer a viable option, here's a suggestion;  Order the book Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey and give it an honest read cover to cover.  The book will change your mind.  Dave is a Christian author and host of a popular radio talk show.  His advice is based on Christian principles and has helped thousands of people get out of debt.

Here are some basic steps adapted from Dave's book for getting to the point where you can fund your own travel.

• Develop a reasonable spending plan (budget) including a tithe, savings, and debt reduction
• Take on NO new debt
• Give your tithe and pay yourself first (shoot for 10% each)
• Start saving by funding an emergency fund (3-6 months income) in a low risk savings account
• Begin to fund high quality investments such as good mutual funds
• Pay down existing debt as rapidly as possible (smallest debts first)
• Start saving money for discretionary purchases including travel expenses

Travel Using Someone Else's Money

The second way to fund travel is by using money that other people have earned and then give to you. 

For Christian Missions work:

"Raising Support" is the most common method of funding a short term mission-trip with money from other people.  I think raising support is a valid option for funding a short term mission trip when the primary purpose of the trip is ministry to others rather than an experience for the person going.  The basic formula for raising support for a missions trip is as follows:

• Pray and seek God's guidance on what portion of the cost He would have you meet yourself, and what portion He would have other people meet through their gifts and offerings to Him.  When the trip is of a "missionary" purpose, we often move to quickly to raising support without considering whether God wants us to use some of the money He has already given us for the trip. 
• Let people such as friends, family, and church members know of your desire for Christian service and your need for additional funding
• Make sure you relate your need and the needs of those you intend to serve in a factual way.  Be careful not to manipulate people in to giving through guilt and emotion
• Have faith and leave the results to God knowing that His ways are always good
• Let your supporters be involved in your trip through prayer, give them updates whenever possible
• Have honor, loyalty, and integrity in how you spend the money that has been given

For Expeditions/Exploration/Etc.:

Want someone else to foot the bill and sponsor your adventure?  Easy, all you have to do is convince them that what you are about to do is in their best interest.  For most organizations, individuals, and businesses, there are two things that will pique their interest. 

• Adventures that will advance their cause or discover new information that they can use to advance their cause
• Adventures that will gain a lot of publicity, which they can use as part of their marketing scheme

If you can accomplish either of those goals, someone just might pay for your adventure.  For more ides, check out  The Sponsorship Seekers Toolkit.

Travel As Part Of Your Job

Taking a job that requires you to travel is a great way to fund your travel.  Westerners have marketable skills that are in demand all over the world.  Needed skills might include teaching the English language, humanitarian aid work, financial planning, information technology, and on and on.  Opportunities abound, from short term individual travel, to opportunities for the whole family to move to a new country and stay for a long time.

Evangelist crusades, radio programs, professional clergy, and missionaries all have their good and useful purposes, but the church has been built primarily through the personal witness of individual Christians living out their faith.  If you want to impact another culture, you can do it while living and working in a foreign country just as you can living and working in your home country.

Most of the major job search websites (such as monster.com) include sections for international jobs.  Working as an expatriate is also an option in many countries that do not allow traditional Christian workers (missionaries).

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