„Wer nicht aufs Wasser geht, wird nie wissen, ob es trägt!“ 🌊 (Bibel-Finanz Podcast 199)

Episode Overview: “Oh, You Holy Money” (Bibelfinanz Podcast 199)

The episode of “Oh, You Holy Money” (Bibelfinanz Podcast 199) highlights how the Christian ministry “My Friends” (Campus Crusade for Christ Germany) equips believers to live a more missional lifestyle. It also explains how employees are financed through a donor/partner model—specifically via mission partners.

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Sandra Mann: Role and Calling at “My Friends”

• Sandra Mann introduces herself first as a beloved daughter of God, then as wife and mother of two, and finally as a staff member at My Friends.
• Her calling is to help people enter a deeper relationship with Jesus—for those who don’t yet know him and for Christians who are already on that journey.
• What excites her most is the opportunity to travel with Christians and help them speak about Jesus authentically and naturally in everyday life.

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Financing Model: Mission Partners Power the Salaries

The podcast explains that My Friends employees are supported through a circle of mission partners—people who enable the service.

• Sandra notes that transitioning into this model was not easy at first; it required trust and growth.
• A key testimony: during the early phase (including lockdown), a large gift from a married couple arrived at a critical time. Sandra interpreted it as God’s concrete confirmation that they were in the right place.
• The episode uses the metaphor “the water will carry you” to express the lesson:

  Those who never take the step will never know whether it will hold.

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What “My Friends” Does (And What It Avoids)

My Friends is portrayed as aiming less at “street-prophet/hammer” evangelism, and more at empowering Christians to talk about faith in a natural, relationship-based way.

• The approach is framed as a missional lifestyle, not a short course.
• People learn to interact in daily life, so others notice and begin asking questions.

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Practical Method: Small Group Booklet + Video + Bible Discussion

A major tool is a new small group booklet with 13–14 units.

• It is interactive and includes QR codes to teaching videos.
• Each unit also features Bible discussion and challenges.
• The booklet can be used:
  • by individuals,
  • in pairs (mirroring Jesus sending disciples in twos),
  • or in churches/small groups.
• It begins with identity—establishing why and how people can speak about faith without pressure.

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Everyday Missional Practice: Love, Pray, Care

Sandra describes a simple guiding framework:

• Love the people around you
• Pray for them
• Care for them in practical ways

She gives an example:

• meeting a neighbor regularly for coffee,
• maintaining an ongoing relationship,
• and approaching the situation with prayerful attentiveness,

with the emphasis that the goal is not coercion, but genuine interest.

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Community Rollout: “My Friends Experience” (3–4 Months)

Communities can join a structured program called My Friends Experience.

• Duration: 3–4 months
• Includes three meeting phases:
  1. a kick-off weekend
  2. a mid-point
  3. a final weekend
• Participants also stay connected through weekly lifestyle groups (small groups for prayer, encouragement, and ongoing connection).

Sandra reports that feedback remains positive—community formation continues beyond the formal program.

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Growth, Challenges, and “Partner vs Donor”

Sandra describes personal growth as deepening her love for investing in others, including supporting others’ language skills for sharing faith.

The ministry still faces ongoing financial needs:

• each new employee brings significant start-up costs,
• and My Friends requires ministry partners to cover day-to-day expenses.

The episode differentiates:

• Donors: provide money
• Partners: share interest in the vision, align with the mission, and may adopt the lifestyle and method

A partner is described as someone naturally interested in the ministry and willing to identify with the life being empowered in others.

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Encouragement for Long-Term Faith Work

Sandra argues that missionary lifestyle is a marathon, not a sprint:

• believers don’t control outcomes,
• they may be only one “puzzle piece,”
• so perseverance and trust in the Holy Spirit are crucial.

The goal is relationship-based journeying—less emphasis on immediate outcomes (like a one-time “sinner’s prayer”), and more on long-term growth, which can create an exponential effect: equipping Christians who then reach more people.

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How to Become Involved

The episode repeatedly points listeners to My Friends’ homepage for steps to partner (e.g., donate/click donate and contact via email).

Partners and supporters can join through:

• prayer
• time/participation
• financial partnership (mission partners / team partners)

The closing philosophy of giving emphasizes:

letting go of control, trusting God that resources are used in the Kingdom of God, not merely “for a person.”

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Presenters / Contributors

• Michi Mann — host/interviewer
• Sandra Mann — interviewee; staff member at My Friends / Campus Crusade for Christ Germany