Three Strand Partnership - Church, Agency and Missionary
Here is a brief outline of the potential roles and responsibilities for each of the three important members of this three-strand relationship.
CHURCH
- Sending—primary partner, stakeholder, and participant of the Great Commission
- Selecting—affirming the character and competence of a missionary
- Praying—before the field, on the field, ministry contacts, family at home, reentry
- Mobilizing—short-term trips, mid-term opportunities, and long-term support
- Nurturing—providing a spiritual community as a base of primary support
- Resourcing—ensuring the missionary is well equipped (What are their ministry needs?)
- Caring—holistic support contributing to effective ministry through missionary care
- Communicating—ensures a clear and transparent understanding between partners
AGENCY
- Supervising—overall on-field oversight, leadership, and accountability
- Facilitating—recognizes the centrality of the church as the sender while preserving the mutually deferential roles of each participant
- Organizing—provides the administrative services that free the missionary to focus on ministry
- Consulting—offers timely consultation to the church on major decisions regarding personal, family, and ministry difficulties and decisions
- Caring—holistic support contributing to effective ministry through member care
- Communicating—ensures a clear and transparent understanding between partners
MISSIONARY
- Calling—an overwhelming confidence that God has this purpose for their life
- Performing—conducts the ministry on behalf of the sending church and the agency to meet mutually desired goals
- Deferring—ultimately responsible to the sending church, while on-field supervision and accountability is delegated to the agency
- Reporting—provides regular (monthly/quarterly) and honest (achievements and challenges) reports to the church, agency, and ministry partners
- Conferring—with both church leadership and agency leadership on major issues
- Caring—holistic support contributing to effective ministry through soul care
- Communicating—ensures a clear and transparent understanding between partners
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