my age group

I heard something the other day that has stuck in my mind... I heard that it is not common for people my age and younger to give to missions. The person who told me this, asked if I support missionaries. When I said that I did, the person attributed my giving to the fact that I am a missionary and I understand the need.

This makes me wonder... is it true that people my age and younger don't feel a need or call to support missionaries? And if so... why is that?

Are you willing to walk through my thoughts on this here?

Is it because we don't think that the small amount we could give is worth it?
Is it because we value our freedom to go out to dinner whenever we want?
Is it because we don't understand the need to send missionaries or to have missionaries?

Anyone who has been or is relying on the financial support of others to do their work understands that every little and big amount makes a difference.

The people who give 5 dollars a month allow me to get a new pair of socks when my get holes in them. 

That is just as important as those who would give 1400 dollars a month which would cover my rent! 

In scripture we are called to give according to what we have been given.

Do we value our freedom to choose what we want, when we want it more than we value the gospel spreading to the whole world? When did our priorities get messed up? I think about this all the time actually. If I want to support the missionaries that I support, it means that sometimes I cannot buy that sweater I want right now. Sometimes it means that I need to have my friends over for dinner and we all contribute to the meal instead of us all going out and spending double or triple the money on a meal. What am I choosing to make a higher priority in my spending? 

I remember that when I was in my early twenties it was talked about a lot that it makes more sense to support a national in their country to be share the gospel with their nation. I wonder if that still sits with my age group as we think about the value of sending missionaries. It costs more to send me to Rome than to support a national in Rome. But how will we find nationals if we don't go share first? It is because the Christians went to Rome in the first place that Romans came to know Christ as their Lord and began to share the message themselves! 

I don't pretend to have all the answers, but I know that one of my greatest joys is investing my prayer and my finances in specific places in the world to see the gospel spread all over the world... so I don't understand why anyone else would not want to be part of what God is doing in the world.