The Spirituality of Networking: How God Builds a Team

Matthew McClure | Mar 03, 2026

What happens when you’re called to build a ministry team, but you don’t have many connections to start with? When most of the people you need to reach out to feel like strangers, support raising can feel intimidating and uncertain. This story shares what it’s really like to start with a short contact list and step out anyway, and how one unexpected act of generosity changed everything.

I was 22 years old and living on a prayer.

In college, I learned to walk in the way of Jesus and made the important decision to give back to the ministry that had profoundly shaped my life. I vividly remember the moment I told my parents I would set aside my plans for law school and pursue a ministry role after graduation. They couldn’t believe it, and honestly, I couldn’t either.

A few months later, I moved into the basement of their home, something I had publicly vowed never to do, and began developing a ministry team to support me in my work as a campus missionary.

I went to Reliant training full of anticipation and expectation for God to grow my excitement for sharing His calling on my life with others. And He did just that! As I learned the skills around Ministry Team Development (MTD), I grew eager to connect with people.

The work of building my team seemed like a divine scavenger hunt, and I was excited to see where God would guide me.

Facing the Wall

Meanwhile, something else was stirring. I came to the sobering (OK, actually terrifying) realization that most of the people who would eventually be on my MTD team were people I hadn’t even met or identified yet. I had far fewer contacts than my peers, and I would need to trust God to lead me to others.

At one point, I asked another trainee with over 300 names if I could purchase 50 of hers for cash. Sadly, for me, she declined. I walked away from the training, both anxious and full of vision to walk by faith.

A few months into MTD, that vision was tested and found wanting. I hit a major wall. I had worked through my initial list of contacts, and despite all the Reliant training that counseled me otherwise, I had not asked my current partners to help connect me with others.

I began doubting God’s calling and imagining how I would tell my brand-new partners that my plans had changed.

Meeting Deborah

I still had a few appointments on my calendar, so I vowed not to go down without a fight. I printed directions from MapQuest (it was 2004) and drove to an appointment with a woman named Deborah at the small business she owned.

Deep down, I hoped she would become such a wildly generous financial partner that I could continue my bad habit of sidestepping the ask to help me get connected with others.

When Deborah shared her inability to partner with financial support, I knew what I needed to do. I asked if she would be willing to take a few minutes to brainstorm some names of people in her world who would be encouraged by God’s work in the college church I was preparing to join as a staff member. I doubted she would be willing.

Seeing God’s Hand

I walked out of our meeting with the names and phone numbers of 25 people who would change the entire trajectory of my MTD journey. Deborah would personally call each of those people to share her excitement for my ministry work and why they, too, should hear what God was doing on college campuses.

A couple of months later, when I hit another wall, I knew exactly who to call. Deborah and I met a second time, and I walked away with 15 more people that I knew would already have heard about me when I called.

She connected me with farmers, insurance agents, teachers, doctors, and factory workers who worshipped in a handful of different churches. Many of those 40 people supported me financially, and almost all of them introduced me to their family and friends.

I crisscrossed the flatlands of northwest Ohio and sat in living rooms and coffee shops with people who had no idea who I was until she picked up her phone and went to bat for me.

When I crossed the finish line of my season of initial MTD, over one-third of my support team could be traced back to Deborah!

This summer, I will celebrate 22 years of being in a support-based ministry role, and many of Deborah’s friends remain on my team, faithfully increasing their investment in my work over the years. It’s no exaggeration to say I am where I am, doing what I do today, because of her and the faithfulness of God.

Today, I'm caring for collegiate church leaders and helping train gospel workers who go all over the globe to share Jesus, because of her partnership.

Her investment reminded me of God’s provision. Back then, I was wondering if I had somehow gotten my sense of calling all wrong. But God provided, and He provided through Deborah. A stranger to me, she joyfully took up the task of helping me raise support. I try to imagine those phone calls she made and how she advocated for me.

She certainly had to receive some gentle pushback, maybe more, yet nearly every single one of her friends agreed to sit down with me.

Her advocacy reminded me of God’s presence. She didn’t know how insecure and beaten-up I was feeling by the inevitable rejection that comes with support-raising work. She could not have guessed how much I doubted whether God was even near to me in the valleys when my calendar and contact list were bare. She didn’t know, but God absolutely did.

And God guided my path to Deborah.

Her influence on my life was not primarily about what she did for me, as incredible and consequential as it was! What I hold most dear is how she affirmed me as a person and championed my calling to ministry. It was a tangible expression of God’s presence, a reminder that I was not alone. He was with me through all the twists and turns of the MTD journey.

Faith Over Strategy

Those of us who raise support are unashamedly staking our hope in God, trusting that He will place people in our path to reveal His provision and presence. One of the greatest gifts of being support-based is seeing His hand at work in every connection.

In the end, building a team is more than strategy; it’s spiritual networking, a chance to witness God’s generosity and guidance firsthand.