A culture of partnership is created and sustained by realizing that partnership – whether expressed in our neighborhood or in the wider world – can power our vision and scale up the objectives our ministry can accomplish.
The goal is no less than reexamining everything we do through the lens of partnership. This is the choice for those who want to make collaboration the default setting under which we operate because it reflects who we are, not just what we do in certain isolated situations.
Those with this commitment will at some point – and again and again! – ask these Four Key Questions of Collaboration:
- “I have a ministry vision that God is calling me to do! Do you suppose God has given this vision to others as well?”
- “Would it make sense to find them and see how we could work together to accomplish this ministry vision better than by working apart?”
- “Is there a set of skills that we might need to successfully meet and collaborate?”
- “How and where might I gain those skills?”
Building on these basic questions will release the power of partnership and fulfill the prayer (John 17) Jesus had for his followers.