Laura Gish, VP for Prayer and Advancement at Mission Mutual, on the Synergy of Collective Impact Alliances (Ep. 143)

Laura Gish, VP for Prayer and Advancement at Mission Mutual, is a prayer leader and mobilizer of givers and intercessors in collective impact spaces. Laura was raised in a faith-filled home and felt an exceptional call to prayer and the Bible in her early teens. Through her father’s job, Laura was deeply connected to the Bible translation space from a young age and was able to witness the evolution of the illumiNations impact alliance to what it is today. In her early career, Laura served at Seed Company where she helped to spearhead a prayer movement which saw huge breakthroughs in the field and in funding.  

That experience led her to Mission Mutual which serves as a backbone for multiple impact alliances in a variety of impact spaces. She has an incredible perspective on being founded and rooted in prayer, personally and as an organization, and the necessity of collaboration in the Great Commission arena. You won’t want to miss all she had to share!  

Major topics include:

• Laura’s early life, faith background, and early career
• The story of Seed Company’s donor funded prayer program
• Laura’s favorite outcomes from the prayer program
• Helping organizations develop a foundation of prayer
• The unique power of a collective impact alliance
• Key characteristics of a collective impact framework
• The story and vision of Mission Mutual
• Differences between a giving fund and an impact alliance
• What is a backbone service provider?
• Multiplying ROI in the Kingdom through collaboration 
• Why collaboration matters to donors
• Best practices for an alliance 
• Structuring a practice of prayer as the center point of alliance culture
• Raising up nearly 350,000 intercessors in the ETEN collective impact alliance
• Next steps for a giver to move toward an impact alliance
• What’s happening beyond Bible translation
• Creating a community giving circle

QUOTES TO REMEMBER

• “When God says go, you just go.”
• “As we give to something, our heart expands. And as we pray for something, it grows our heart to want to give.”
• “Prayer is not just a strategy. It is the strategy.”
• “Prayer is the catalyst for intimacy with God.”
• “Look at what God can do when we put aside our individual logos and agendas, and we pursue the collective power of what partnership can be when it’s united under a vision God has given His people to pursue and it’s rooted in prayer.” 
• “Generosity begets generosity.”
• “When we yoke together in unity, the collective impact capacity isn’t just doubled, it’s exponentially expanded.”
• “Prayer is one of the most generous things we can offer.”
• “God changes our hearts when we pray.”
• “Be a faithful steward of the brokenness that God has planted inside of you.”

LINKS FROM THE SHOW

• Mission Mutual 
• Seed Company (see our interview with CEO, Davis Powell)
• IllumiNations Bible Translation Alliance (see our interview with Todd Peterson or John Chesnut)
• Every Tribe Every Nation (ETEN)
• ACHIEVE (A Church in Every Village Everywhere)
• Close the Bible Gap
• The Finish Line Community Facebook Group
• The Finish Line Community LinkedIn Group

BIBLE REFERENCES FROM THE SHOW

Psalm 127:1a | The Lord Builds the House  

Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain.  

John 17:21 | Oneness in the Church  

that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.  

Isaiah 60:3 | Drawn to Your Light  

And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.  

Ecclesiastes 4:12b | Strength in Unity  

a threefold cord is not quickly broken.  

Mark 16:15 | The Great Commission

And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.

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