October 2024 | Volume 19 | Issue 10
What Global Churches Can Give Western Partners
Moving reciprocity from concept to reality
As Global South (GS) and Global North (GN)1 churches pursue partnerships, mutual sharing is almost always a stated goal: “Western churches must realize that they need to receive as well as to give!” is declared emphatically.
Yet what reciprocity could actually involve is seldom defined and therefore not often achieved. GS churches, especially those in economically impoverished areas, tend to see themselves as having little to offer while at the same time, GN churches often fail to realize how much they really need what their GS partner could contribute to them. Instead, the focus revolves around giving by the GN church, often limited entirely to financial support.
An old Māori proverb has been applied to missions by New Zealander David Moko: Missionaries [and churches] have two baskets—one basket is full of their knowledge and experience, and the other basket is empty. When starting new relationships, it is better to put the empty basket out first in order to humbly learn from others before offering what is in your full basket.
Do GN churches realize that while they may have a full basket, they also have an empty one? Have they considered putting their empty basket out first? Do they recognize that their GS partner has a full basket from which to share? The GN church’s best gift might be helping their GS partner see how full their own basket really is! This issue of Postings lists just some of the riches that GS believers have to offer their brothers and sisters in the GN.
The GN church’s best gift might be helping their GS partner see how full their own basket really is!
POTENTIAL GIFTS FROM GLOBAL SOUTH CHURCHES TO THEIR PARTNERS
MINISTRY
1. Intercession. A broader range of prayer expressions are practiced by many GS brothers and sisters than are commonly engaged by GN churches. GN believers can benefit not only from their partner’s intercession but also from learning how to move prayer beyond a solely cerebral/rational expression. While valuing and appreciating GS prayer support, GN churches must resist the urge to consider “doing” as their job and “praying” as largely the GS partner’s job.
2. Extended times of prayer and fasting. Many GS churches recognize far better than GN congregations their total dependence on God as well as the power of extended times of prayer and fasting. GN churches have so much to humbly learn from their partner’s example, and whenever possible, from participating together in extended times of intercession.
3. Effective church ministry. GN churches must not approach partnership with the attitude that they are the only ones with church programs worth emulating. Case in point, a GS church’s ministry that functions effectively with a less structured curriculum and fewer resources can challenge GN leaders to consider whether less really is more.
Real-Life Example: College Wesleyan Church in Marion, IN, and Senda de Vida (SDV) Church in Mexico City have developed a very mutually beneficial relationship. For example, College Wesleyan discovered that SDV was effectively discipling their people with a program that they could learn from. “It has entirely shifted the way we do discipleship here,” they report.
4. Changing service models. GS churches often recognize before their GN partners do the necessity of new ministry models. Case in point: replacing orphanage ministry with programs to reintegrate children into families. Sadly, the insistence of GN churches to continue sending teams to work in orphanages can slow the implementation of much-needed new methods.
5. Successful ministry reaching peoples and cultures represented by immigrants in the GN’s city or region. As more and more GN churches find themselves in communities that are quickly becoming multiethnic and multicultural, it is a huge benefit to have a GS church partner who can teach them about the culture and worldview, demonstrate how to show love and respect, and share guidelines for communicating the gospel with newcomers to their neighborhood.
6. Acts of compassion. Surrounded by deep needs, many GS churches have developed best practices in mercy ministries that require limited resources while effectively supporting the local community. These congregations mobilize their people to engage in simple yet profound ways of caring for those suffering from poverty, illness, abuse, etc., both inside and outside the church.
Real-Life Example: “Acts of Love” is a growing emphasis in some GS congregations in Uganda that can offer their visiting GN teams an opportunity to observe firsthand how local church members serve hurting people in their church or community. The focus is on keeping it simple, genuine caring, being Spirit led, and not using service as merely a pretext for evangelism. This ministry approach works anywhere and in any context!
7. GS leaders and potential leaders sent to serve in the GN partner church. Sending a GS leader or promising young adult to teach, serve, and learn in the GN church, typically for two months to two years, can be a tremendous blessing to both partners.
Real-Life Example: Veteran Indonesian church and network leader, Rio Sibarani, was invited by partner churches in the US and the UK to come and teach on various topics including how to reach out to Muslims, use friendships to influence neighbors with the gospel, and nurture a missional heart in children and youth. In another context he was invited to challenge GN churches with the powerful story of the Indonesian prayer movement that, despite persecution, has spread to over 300 cities in his country.
8. Expertise in training, leading, and debriefing GN short-term teams. Many leaders in GS partner churches have been the recipients of GN short-term teams—some successful, others less so. Their experience makes these GS leaders highly qualified to work with GN team leaders to guide pre-ministry training and post-ministry debrief.
9. Partnering in global missions. Increasingly, GS churches have qualified missionary candidates willing to go to hard places around the globe while many GN churches have a desire to be engaged in sending but lack recruits. Together they can field short- or long-term workers from the GS partner.
Real-Life Example: The Evangelical Free Church of Hershey, PA, has partnered with Haitian churches in sending Haitian missionaries to West Africa. These workers can live where Americans would not be welcome and can identify deeply with the local people in ways that would be impossible for GN workers. The sending partnership is shaped by Haitian vision and personnel.
10. Ministry internships for GN young adults. Many GS churches or groups of churches could develop excellent internship programs for GN men and women, particularly those who may be considering extended cross-cultural service. Immersion in ministry with the GS partner can be life changing.
SPIRITUAL LESSONS
11. Joyful, biblical generosity and hospitality. Many in GN churches have not experienced the sacrificial sharing of home and possessions that is a regular part of other cultures and lived out in GS churches. Visitors to GS communities are challenged by the fact that Christians’ joy, peace, and fulfillment are not dependent on financial prosperity.
12. Refreshing faith. Despite difficult circumstances, GS believers typically display a powerful, resilient trust in God. Their patient endurance of hardship challenges the materialistic, comforts-oriented focus so pervasive in the GN. First-generation believers’ joy and excitement have particular impact. Experiencing this kind of fresh faith can have a life-changing influence on GN Christians.
Real-Life Example: New Hope Church in Minneapolis, MN, has benefited from the visits of leaders from one of their partners in the Islamic world. Their different values and the powerful testimony of their deep commitment have revised the worldview of New Hope’s people.
13. Rich expressions of biblical community. With a greater focus on events rather than time, the majority of GS churches prioritize fellowship and joyful celebration. They also make decisions based on the benefit to the community over the individual. Age is deeply respected, and care is provided for widows and orphans. Families care for elderly members. Watching these values in action can challenge GN believers steeped in individualistic Western culture to step back and more objectively evaluate their own priorities.
14. Variety of worship styles, indigenous music and art, and richness of language. Participants in GN short-term teams can’t help but be impacted as they experience worship expressions that grow out of local culture. The opportunity to better understand how each language and culture highlights different aspects of God’s character and His creativity in shaping people in His image is a wonderful gift.
15. Valuing identity and personal worth in Christ. Issues around identity and personal value are challenging in both GN and GS contexts. For those in the GN, it may revolve around the negative impact of social media and bullying. Their counterparts in the GS more often are bombarded by negative messages from the majority religion or culture that treats them as inferior due to caste, ethnicity, or gender. Observing how an issue is dealt with in a different cultural context can be eye-opening and liberating.
16. Creation care. Many GS churches are enduring major weather-related catastrophes, but the good news is that it has heightened awareness of their responsibility to care for the earth. Stewardship of land and resources is a growing emphasis in the life of GS churches that GN congregations can learn from.
17. Boldness to stand for Christ as a minority. What is it like to be a tiny group of believers surrounded by an entire society that judges your church to be a “cult”? How can Christians in the GN learn from the responses of GS brothers and sisters when their faith is ridiculed or far worse, when they are rejected by family and community?
18. Endurance under persecution. Certainly one of the most important but also one of the most costly gifts from the GS to the GN church comes from an example of faithfulness in the face of outright persecution. Watching the GS church standing steadfast under attack is a priceless gift to the GN church.
FRIENDSHIPS
19. Pastor-to-pastor relationships. One of the wonderful benefits of partnership is the potential for deep friendships to develop between the GS pastor and the GN pastor. Both pastors contribute a very valuable gift if they will work to overcome language, culture, and geographic distance to build true friendships.
Real-Life Example: Grace Point Church in Newtown, PA, has been blessed by partnering with Amchit Baptist Church in Lebanon. Grace Point’s pastor, Dave Wolf, says his friendship with Pastor Joseph from Amchit “has provided a steady connection for mutual prayer support and the joy of learning about a very different culture. He has been a personal inspiration to me as I’ve had the privilege to watch him respond with faith and perseverance to some very heavy challenges.”
20. Peer-to-peer friendships between church members. Shared ministry passions or vocational involvements (think business, medicine, education, etc.) are natural connection points. But deep friendships can be launched without any specific commonalities except that God bonds two believers’ hearts together. To maintain the connection, the GS believer sometimes needs to invest significant effort to access the internet or get someone to translate their message.
FRESH PERSPECTIVES
21. Cultural insights into Scripture. GS partners from cultures more similar to those in biblical times can provide insight into the context of Scripture texts that can open the door to a much clearer understanding of their meaning.
22. Appreciation for church history. Believers in GN culture are often unaware that the Church has existed in many parts of the world since the time of Christ or at least for many centuries. If partnering with a GS congregation in an area of the world with a long history of faith, learning something of this legacy can encourage humility and a better understanding of God’s working throughout history.
23. Wisdom in how to relate to hostile governments. GS churches in countries which oppose Christianity can help GN churches navigate the complexity of dealing with increasingly anti-Christian governments. GN congregations need to watch their partners model attitudes of flexibility and Spirit-led discernment in knowing how to submit as much as possible to rulers while never abandoning their submission to Christ above all.
Real-Life Example: Harbor Church in Honolulu, Hawaii, has partner churches in SE Asia which have endured government opposition for decades. During the pandemic as Harbor weighed how to navigate government regulations, they benefited from the practical wisdom and experience of their Asian church partners.
HOW DO PARTNERSHIPS BEGIN TO ENGAGE THESE GIFTS?
Unlocking the giving potential of the GS partner does not happen automatically. Both partners need to be intentional. Brainstorming ideas can begin on both sides: The GS church can use this list as a springboard for determining what ways they might be able to bless their GN partner. No church is likely to have the capacity to offer all of these, but a few “gifts” could be chosen and perhaps ranked, beginning with those they feel most qualified or ready to give. Meanwhile, the GN partner could use these concepts as a launching point to develop a list of ways they would like to learn and benefit from their GS partner.
During the “courtship” period when the two congregations are considering if they are a potential match for collaboration, leaders of the two churches can compare their lists. Choose perhaps just two or three places to begin. Then determine how and when that could best occur. Recruiting someone from each church to develop and implement a plan for this reciprocal giving will increase the likelihood that it will happen.
Unlocking the giving potential of the GS partner does not happen automatically. Both partners need to be intentional.
THE KEY TO SUCCESS
From the very beginning of any partnering discussion, GN church leaders must emphasize that they believe that the GS church has many valuable gifts to give. As the Māori proverb reminds us, we need to put our empty bucket out in front. On their part, GS churches will need to allow God to show them how richly He has resourced them in ways that will benefit their GN brothers and sisters.
Unless these messages are reinforced regularly and the intentional work of balancing giving and receiving is done from both sides, the tendency will be to slide back into the old patterns. Partnerships will be stunted because they will focus solely on financial gifts which perennially cast the GN church as the giver and the GS church as the receiver.
Let’s not rob our GS brothers and sisters of the joy that comes from being able to give! It’s the same joy the Israelites expressed as they gave via their leaders for the building of the temple: “The people rejoiced at the willing response of their leaders, for they had given freely and wholeheartedly to the Lord.” 1 Chron. 29:9.
“The people rejoiced at the willing response of their leaders, for they had given freely and wholeheartedly to the Lord.” 1 Chron. 29:9.
1 Recently the missions community has been adopting the terms, “Global South” (GS) and “Global North” (GN), to differentiate these two general categories. In the past, this dichotomy has been represented with terms like developed/developing/least-developed, Western/non-Western, majority world/minority world, etc. While finding GS/GN terminology helpful, we recognize that some churches in the Northern Hemisphere may identify more with the GS, and some congregations in the southern hemisphere may have characteristics of GN churches.