To keep it simple, for our purposes we will use the term “partnership” to describe a RELATIONSHIP of trust that connects local churches across cultures in MUTUAL GIVING and RECEIVING to achieve shared Kingdom-building GOALS.

This type of partnership can happen right in a church’s own community as they engage with a diaspora congregation, but many such relationships connect churches on opposite sides of the globe. This series will primarily focus on those that connect “global churches” (those in the Global South including Africa, Asia, and South America) with “Western churches” (those in the Global North including North America, Europe, Australia and other highly developed nations).

Our primary focus will be on church-to-church partnerships although partnerships between/among multiple churches and individual indigenous workers or organizations can be included. We will more specifically address these other cross-cultural partnerships at various points as we move forward.

“Before we take your resources…”

It was 2014, and the senior pastor and missions pastor of College Wesleyan Church (CWC) in Marion, IN, were visiting Senda de Vida Church (SDV) in Mexico City. There were just 40 people worshipping in a building that had been without a roof for 18 years. Every time they met, church members had to laboriously pull up a heavy tarp to protect the congregation as they worshipped. The American visitors recognized the need for a roof was something they could quickly resolve by writing a check.

But SDV’s pastor, Alex Silicia, said categorically, “Before we take your resources, we want to develop a relationship.” His reaction to their proposed generosity set CWC on a course to pursue a very different church-to-church partnership than what they had expected.

Alex had grown up near Tijuana, Mexico, watching one American church after another drive across the border with huge bundles of clothes and other gifts for churches in his country. He was painfully aware that the giving was all one sided and did nothing to encourage Mexican believers to trust God’s provision or see themselves as having the capacity to contribute.

Now as a pastor, Alex was determined not to repeat that pattern of dependency. He insisted that a relationship had to precede any monetary gift because his small Mexican congregation needed to know they too had something to give. Americans were not the only ones God had resourced in order to be generous.

So began a reciprocal relationship that still continues today. What did Senda de Vida give to College Wesleyan Church? Beau Hamner, the current missions pastor at CWC, explains, “As our relationship developed, we discovered that instead of focusing on the problem of their missing roof, SDV was committed to discipling their people. We quickly recognized that we could learn from their program. In fact, their model has entirely shifted the way we do discipleship here.

“Another blessing to us,” Beau adds, “is Alex’s deep friendship and his ministry to us whenever he visits. Alex has become one of my best friends. We can be transparent with each other. He knows all of my challenges and vice versa.

“Teams from CWC regularly go to Mexico to spend time building relationships with Senda de Vida people who have become beloved friends,” he continues. “One cardinal rule is that we never do for SDV what they can do for themselves. But we do serve alongside them at dental clinics, in homeless ministries, and other outreach opportunities. SDV teams have come to Marion to serve alongside us, too.”

And what about the missing roof?

Beau continues. “Alex challenged us, ‘Don’t do the roof project for us but with us.’ So that’s what happened. Our Mexican brothers and sisters gave what they could, and we made up the rest. When the roof was finally finished, we sent representatives to Mexico City to celebrate together.

“Mutuality and reciprocity are foundational to our partnership,” Beau concludes. “In fact, we feel so connected to Senda de Vida Church that we don’t make decisions here at CWC without considering how our choice will impact them. And they ask themselves the same question.”

Currently, the two partners are dreaming and praying about sending teams together to serve in a third location, possibly working alongside one of CWC’s other global partners.

Before going further, it’s important to stop and analyze why church-to-church partnerships can be particularly fruitful. Here are just a few of the benefits.

1. The global church has exploded in recent decades, but it is often fragile. The 2024 Status of Global Christianity confirms that there are now more than twice as many people who identify as Christian in the Global South than in the Global North. At the same time, many Christian leaders in the Global South are deeply concerned that without deeper roots, too many young congregations will not survive into the next generation. Nurturing, sister-church relationships could make a big difference in their survival and encourage continued multiplication and outreach. Given these factors, why wouldn’t Global North congregations desire global fellowship and collaboration?
2. Western churches need partners to help them learn to cross cultural divides. Partnerships between Global North churches and diaspora congregations in their geographic area not only benefit both bodies but can also prepare Western churches to better relate to a church on the other side of the world. In reverse, skills gained in global partnerships can also improve local, cross-cultural relationships.
3. Western churches need to learn from their global brothers and sisters. While once church-to-church partnerships were assumed to be almost totally a Western church’s giving to their global partner, the best of these relationships are now reciprocal. Western churches that demonstrate humility in learning from global brothers and sisters become better disciples.
4. Western churches are responsible to steward their financial resources well. At their best, church-to-church relationships can help identify and support indigenous-led efforts in ways that avoid dependence. They nurture the vision of local leaders who are gifted and ready to lead well in their own context.
5. An amazing generation of global church leaders is poised to speak powerfully into the weaknesses of Western churches. God is raising up godly men and women around the world who have both benefitted from Western churches’ missions efforts and suffered from the mistakes they have made. Their prophetic voices can speak powerfully to Global North congregations, and their messages especially resonate with younger generations.
6. Reaching the unreached together promises to be far more effective than going it alone. In the hardest-to-reach places, Western churches face political barriers, language/cultural hurdles, and lifestyle discrepancies. At the same time, global churches may be hobbled in their missions efforts by lack of training and resources. Both can be more effective if they work in collaboration.

A good way to begin moving toward a partnership is by conducting the fairly simple readiness audit on the following pages. Evaluate how well the nine key partnership-readiness indicators in the left column describe your congregation. The readiness-calibration questions in the right column flesh out at a practical level what each requires. Please note, no church is ever fully ready, but if your church is serious about growing into these goals and eager to take steps toward readiness, God can shape you into a great partner!

We recommend that you bring together a group including pastor(s), elders (or other church leaders as defined by your church), and missions team members to work through this list. It is very valuable to invite a partnership coach, denominational leader, or agency partnership facilitator to guide your discussion. As a result of your honest assessment, identify a couple of key areas where you need to improve your partnering skills. Don’t try to work on everything at once.