Biography

Having your biography ready when needed is another tool that will serve you well, particularly as you expand your support base beyond those who know you well. Your advocates will appreciate you having this available for them as they further your cause. It can be short and to the point. You may also want to include it the first time someone is receiving your newsletter. You can think of it as a form of a resume'.

What to include: Not all of these are necessary - the goal is to inform in a straightforward way, someone not familiar with you, and to offer them data that will lend towards your credibility.

1. Your name(s) along with all your contact information.

2. Your picture.

3. Your organizations contact information.

4. Your personal history. Your degrees, credentials, experiences, etc. can go here. If you are young and do not have much history, than include some history of the organization that you will be serving with. Ex: Even though I, Curt, have been in full time ministry for 25+ years, I have only been in full time missions for a couple of years now. If you noticed on the home page, I referred to all the nations our family of 7 has been involved in over the past 25 years.

5. The call of God on your life. You can be as specific as you want to here. Talk about geography, people groups, or realms of ministry or society you are called to. You may talk about your gifts, talents, or specific arenas your heart is drawn towards (orphans, arts, youth, street kids, etc.)

Biography Packet: You may also want to create a packet of information to include with your biography. Things you could add to it would be; letters of endorsements from your home church, base leader, past mission trip leaders or hosts, etc., your organization's overview, most recent newsletter, your media piece (dvd, web site link, etc.)

Creating the biography is sometimes a difficult thing for Christians. The goal is to "look good" to a supporter, but not to be prideful. Work on it. You will arrive at a synopsis of your life and work that you feel good about. It may help to know that Moses was the one who wrote about himself that he was the "most humble man on earth." (Numbers 12:3)