In June, I’m taking the Mini MBA at St. Thomas
so that I can get a better handle on fund development and the business
side of running a faith based organization.  Missio Dei has very big
dreams for the West Bank neighborhood, and if we are going to be
faithful to these dreams (which we believe are from God), we need to
raise some funds.  This will go beyond asking friends and family for
money.  Besides raising money to launching a West Bank campus ministry
jointly with InterVarsity, we want to have a residential ministry
center where we can have meetings, and offer legal, business, and arts
programming for the immigrant population.  We hope to be powered with
student volunteers (this is one area that InterVarsity and Missio Dei
will significantly overlap). 

This summer, our plan is to get an idea of how this all ties together
and figure out how much it will cost as we become beggars for this
vision.  To help give people a picture of our vision, we will develop a
short (15 minute) documentary about the West Bank and how we believe
Missio Dei can transform it.

My hope is to have enough funds raised this summer so that I can be
reasonably funded in my new InterVarsity role as I continue to share
the vision with Christians around the Twin Cities. 

This is such a huge undertaking…but now that I’m almot done with
school and have the conference behind me, I am excited to get going.
I’m hoping to take a mini-vacation this month to refresh, refocus, and
receive a renewed sense of God’s abiding presence.

About Mark Van Steenwyk

Mark Van Steenwyk is a member of Missio Dei. He is a speaker, writer, educator, and grassroots organizer. With the support of the Central Plains Mennonite Conference, he travels to radical and intentional communities around the country to help network and offer support.