three strand partners
Equipping Churches, Engaging Agencies and Encouraging Missionaries
We desire to strengthen the relationship between the church, agency and missionary through providing resources that will enhance efforts to fulfill the Great Commission of Jesus Christ.
These resources will help churches with mobilization, missionary care and short term trip training.
Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken. (Ecclesiastes 4:12, NIV)
PIPELINE
Engaging the Church in Missionary Mobilization
MIND THE GAPS
Engaging the Church in Missionary Care
TRANSFORMING MISSIONARIES
A Short-Term Mission Guide
Latest News and Posts
Webinar with Dave Wilson and Josh Paxton, Calvary University : Local church involvement in Missions
Global Missions Podcast: 5 Mission Trips To Help Mobilize Your Church: click here to listen
OnMission virtual conference: Building a Missionary Pipeline for your Church: click here to listen
Center for Missionary Mobilization and Retention Podcast: Churches and Missions Agencies working together: click here to listen
"The church doesn't always know that they are welcome to participate in this relationship beyond prayer and sending money. Often the agency doesn't fully realize the untapped possibilities of a church that is properly engaged in missionary care and mobilization. And missionaries are eager to discover the blessing of a dynamic and fully engaged support network that seeks to care for them spiritually, physically and emotionally."
Dr. David Wilson, Author/General Editor of Mind the Gaps: Engaging the Church in Missionary Care
“Possibly the most defective partnership is that between mission agencies and local churches.... The centrality of the local church in missions needs to be emphasized, and agencies must be more accountable to their supporting churches for their ministries and use of workers. However, both are vital components of the church and must work together."
Patrick Johnstone, Author of Operation World
“…our efforts today in any part of the world will be most effective only if both of these two structures [the church and the agency] are fully and properly involved and supportive of each other.”
Dr. Ralph Winter, Founder of U.S. Center for World Mission
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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