PARTNERSHIP in the GOSPEL

What is PARTNERSHIP?

One dictionary defines ‘partner’ as a person associated with another in some activity of common interest and notes that this often implies a relationship in which each person has equal status and a certain independence but also implicit or formal obligations to the other(s).

The partnerships that occur between missionaries and churches could also be described with the definition above. Each performs service for and is accountable to the other. This is easily seen in the way that churches in our denomination cooperate financially with each other to send missionaries through the denomination’s sending agency, the IMB. The IMB then equips SB missionaries to do their work, and also hold them accountable for it. All of this works and is driven by the underlying common interest that each party (churches, IMB and missionaries) has in fulfilling the Great Commission of the Lord, Jesus Christ. However, lest we think of Gospel partnership as a mere financial or business venture, let us consider that God summons His children to much deeper levels than this. In Philippians 1:3-6, the apostle Paul writes,

“I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

The word translated “partnership” above is actually the Greek word koinwnia that is often translated “fellowship.” The point is this: The type of partnership that occurs between missionaries and partnering churches is deeper and more intimate than anything one might see in the secular world. This is the result of our mutual stake and interest in the kingdom of God – a work that God has begun in each of us who has accepted Christ as Lord and Savior, and also one that He continues through us in the world.  

Mutual love, commitment, prayer, and continuous contact with one another characterize partnerships in the gospel. Not only this, but unity is promoted as each partner’s kingdom mindset refuses to let subtle differences hinder the advancement of the Good News. Like soldiers fighting side by side in a spiritual battle of epic proportions, churches and missionaries must lock arms and press forward to advance the gospel and the kingdom of our Lord. Partnership, then, is what we are called to when we surrender to the Lord and join His forces.

Why should I / my church become a partner in the Gospel?

In short, the benefits far outweigh the cost. Isn’t this true for everything in the Christian life? We do not do things for the immediate results but for the eternal rewards and the joy that we will experience for having been faithful to our Lord’s commands. In fact, this understanding, which motivates us to passionately pursue the things of God despite the hard work and sacrifices involved, is the same understanding that enabled the apostles (and many Christians in the world today) to endure persecution and face death on a daily basis. Consider Paul’s words about his own “troubles” (persecutions), which he endured as he preached the gospel throughout the Roman Empire:

“Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."

As the church of Jesus Christ, we are His body. There is a reason He did not take us to heaven the moment we were saved, but left us here. There is work still to be done! We cannot add to the saving work of Christ that was completed when He gave His sinless life as a sacrifice in the place of our sinful lives. That work being completed, however, He has given us the mandate to preach this Good News in all of the world, making disciples of every nation.  This is our part – our purpose – in God’s redemptive history. As an individual or a church of individuals, it is very important that we all understand missions to be both our responsibility and our privilege in service to our Lord.

How can a person/church be a partner in the Gospel?

Truly, the possibilities are endless, and we are limited only by our own creativity (or lack thereof). However, I will mention three general avenues through which partnership takes place: PRAYING, GIVING and GOING.

PRAYING:  Prayer is by far the most important and most available avenue by which one can become a partner in the Gospel. For starters, this avenue is available to all who are children of God, who go before the Father in faith by the blood of Christ. Prayer is also of the utmost importance as it demonstrates our absolute dependency and need for God. The foundation of our ministry is prayer, and we are committed to raising prayer on behalf of our people group as well as ourselves. [For more on how to pray for missions/missionaries, see PRAYER, accessible from our home page, or email us at maihaske@maihaske.net if you or your church want to be added to our list of prayer supporters.]

GIVING:  While money always seems to be a sensitive topic, it is a necessary one if anything is to get accomplished. It takes money to send and support missionaries in another country, and this is yet another way you or your church can be involved in supporting missions. Different organizations raise and handle support in various ways. As Southern Baptist missionaries, our support comes through the IMB, whose budget is almost entirely met by two sources – The Cooperative Program of the SBC and the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering©. 100% of the LMCO goes toward overseas spending. Therefore, if your desire is to see your money go to the field, you might consider increasing you LMCO next year. I will say two things here: First, I have been very impressed with the type of good stewardship I have seen exercised at the IMB. We have an agency of which to be proud and one we can trust. Secondly, I believe it is true that we spend money on the things we value most, and we must all stop to consider how much we value the preaching of the Gospel and the expansion of God’s kingdom.

GOING:  This is, by far, my favorite avenue of involvement to talk about. “Going” is where the rubber hits the road, where individuals and churches take a more ‘hands-on’ approach, and where relationships are deepened and joy is increased. I think many churches do not realize their full potential when it comes to missions. I certainly did not until I went, and many others who have gone would probably agree. My journey began when I went on a one-month summer mission trip in college as a volunteer prayer-walker in Burkina Faso, WA. I returned the following summer to do village evangelism for two months, and after graduating college, spent two years in the same region as a Journeyman with the IMB.

During my journeyman term, my home church in KY sent a group out to visit. We prayer-walked, showed the JESUS film, and overall had a great time. It was a time of relationship building, vision catching, worship, 4:00 a.m. prayer sessions, and deep Christian fellowship. I cannot describe how much that week meant to me, or the level of excitement it brought to our church back home. When churches get personally involved in missions, they experience the blessings of God in ways we can hardly anticipate beforehand.

Going a step farther, consider that a church in the U.S. – even your church – could do more than go on mission trips in which you perform some type of ministry. You could actually adopt a village, city, or people group and commit to seeing that area/people reached with the Gospel and a church planted. The way in which this could be done will differ from church to church, but the concept is the same. God is at work in the world. The fields are white for harvest. You have prayed for laborers, but will you now be one of those?