Ryan Skoog and Cameron Doolittle, Authors of Lead with Prayer, on the Powerful Intersection of Generosity and Prayer (Ep. 94)

Ryan Skoog is the CEO of Venture, a non-profit that serves war refugees, trafficked people, oppressed children, and the unreached in the most difficult places in the world. Being raised as a “spiritual mutt” in a mission-minded and entrepreneurial household, Ryan began a company alongside Venture, funding the administration of the ministry with the profits, and freeing up the investments of givers to fund church planting and community development projects in unreached places across the globe. Cameron Doolittle is a veteran in the generosity space. He is senior advisor to the Maclellan Foundation, executive director of Practicing the Way, co-founder of Generosity Path, and a founding CEO of Jill’s House, a ministry for kids with intellectual disabilities. With a background as a political advisor, Cameron now consults with organizations his family loves, including The Bible Project, Desiring God with John Piper, and many more.  Together with Peter Greer, Ryan and Cameron co-authored the newly released book, “Lead with Prayer” after years of studying how Christian leaders pray. They will share more about their personal stories, what God is doing in the nations through Venture, how “Lead with Prayer” came about, and many insightful keys to prayer and generosity as a great adventure with Christ. Major topics include: The difference between investing in the Kingdom and giving to the Kingdom How prayer is fueling the explosion of the global church Investing financially in prayer as an asset A look into the prayer lives of many church leaders around the world More leadership calls for more prayer time Friendship-first prayer Building prayer “bells” or triggers throughout your day How generosity and prayer work together QUOTES TO REMEMBER “The global church is exploding and it is a sight to behold! We get to live in some incredible times.” Ryan Skoog “What if we just said, this is enough!” Cameron Doolittle “There’s something about the number 51. Once You’ve crossed that rubicon, you’re giving more than you’re keeping.” Ryan Skoog “There’s three reasons people give – to look good, to feel good, or to actually do good, even when it doesn’t look good or feel good.” Ryan Skoog quoting Jay Yacov, Economist “You give to feel good or look good, but you invest because you want to see a return on your investment. You want to do good, even if it doesn’t look good or feel good.” Ryan Skoog “What if we stood at the feet of the global church and asked them to teach us how to pray?” Ryan Skoog “If prayer is the thing that’s fueling what God’s doing around the world, then how come we’re not talking about it more?” Ryan Skoog “You can’t create a culture of prayer without being a person of prayer.” Cameron Doolittle “When Jesus’s ministry was the busiest, the scriptures say he withdrew more often, not less.” Ryan Skoog “Whenever you’re being generous, you’re going to say a lot of noes in order to say some big yeses.” Cameron Doolittle “Prayer develops gratitude. And gratitude is the foundation of generosity.” Ryan Skoog “Prayer is a key to having an adventure of generosity versus just an experience of giving.” Ryan Skoog “Learning to obey the Holy Spirit in your giving opens the opportunity to have an adventure with your Friend Jesus on giving.” Ryan Skoog LINKS FROM THE SHOW Lead with Prayer Hope International (see our interview with founder, Jeff Rutt or CEO, Peter Greer) Venture MacLellan Foundation (see our interview with Director of Generosity, John Cortines) Jill’s House Praxis Generosity Path Practicing the Way Generous Church (see our interview with founder Patrick Johnson) International Justice Mission (IJM) Echo (prayer app, Echo+ for ministries) The Finish Line Community Facebook Group The Finish Line Community LinkedIn Group BIBLE REFERENCES FROM THE SHOW Matthew 6:21 | Treasure of the Heart For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.   2 Corinthians 10:4 | Spiritual Warfare For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds.   Acts 3:1 | The Hour of Prayer Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour.   John 15:5 | Abide in the Vine I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.   Luke 5:15-16 | Increased Ministry, Increased Prayer But now even more the report about him went abroad, and great crowds gathered to hear him and to be healed of their infirmities. But he would withdraw to desolate places and pray.   Psalm 100:4 | Thanksgiving and Praise Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name!   WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! If you have a thought about something you heard, or a story to share, please reach out! You can find us on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn. You can also contact us directly from our contact page. If you want to engage with the Finish Line Community, check out our groups on Facebookand LinkedIn.