Partnerships do not just happen by themselves. Some catalyst sparks them into being.

In an ideal world, Christian churches, ministries, and organizations would spontaneously choose to work together to advance the Kingdom of God and see millions become members of Christ’s body. In reality, it does not work that way. Churches, agencies, and ministries are isolated from the broader experiences of others and often do not know how to access available skills or expertise.

The prime question before us is this: Will the thousands of ministry leaders emerging from within the Global Church work together in partnership—or will they perpetuate the old paradigm of individualistic action?

Our ability to make a larger-scale impact, and our faithful response to God’s call, depend upon us choosing partnering ministry over individual ministry. The Bible calls us to partner as widely as possible as a fundamental expression of faith.

The Biblical Call to Collaboration Scripture is full of models, principles, and admonitions for us as we work together in partnership. For centuries, Christians have felt they could be more effective in touching the people of their community (and changing the world) if they could work together.

Here are a few promises found in scripture that are offered to us when we work together.

• We demonstrate the power of the gospel to change lives, thus producing open, trusting relationships (see Philippians 2:1-11).
• The Holy Spirit’s power is released in ways only possible when we dwell in unity and work together (see Psalm 133; Galatians 5:16-26).
• We demonstrate good stewardship. Working together, we maximize our use of the resources God has given us as costs drop and effectiveness increases (see Matthew 25:14-30).
• The credibility of our message is strengthened. Jesus says that those watching us are more likely to believe that he is who he says he is when we work together. This is particularly true in traditional, community-based cultures of Asia, Africa, and Latin America (see John 5:31-47; 10:38; 17:23).
• The Body of Christ becomes a powerful, unified community, demonstrating real love, commitment to each other, growth in Christ, and witness to the world (see Ephesians 4:1-16).
• We encourage use of the full range of gifts and abilities distributed by the Holy Spirit among God’s people (see Romans 12; 1 Corinthians 12).

How to Start a Partnering Initiative So if we agree that partnering is God’s preferred way for us to act, how do we start a partnering initiative? The earliest step in exploring a partnering initiative is quite simple: Assume that Christ’s Spirit is also inspiring others to address the ministry focus that he has brought upon your heart! And then we begin to look for those people.

This counters what can be called entrepreneurial isolation. Great ideas often strike several people at once, although they may be scattered and not in connection with each other. If our great idea is about a ministry development or a way to address a ministry challenge, we do well not to hide it! Yielding to the worldly thought to hide our entrepreneurial insight will only lead to isolation. Instead, we should do what we can to discover others who are thinking along the same lines—and discover the future together.