By Shanna DiPaolo, February 2008

There’s a conversation taking place about the relationship between churches and missionary-sending agencies. Interested? Pull up a chair.

In the world of global missions, North American mission agencies and churches have traditionally worked together to send missionaries overseas. An individual heeds the call to spread the gospel; the church commissions and funds; the agency strategizes and ends.  Sounds simple, right?

Until you factor in globalization - modern media and technology make familiar the once unfamiliar. Or the economy - the cost of missions continues to rise as the dollar falls. And what about younger generations who forgo traditional sending for new methods of ministry or prefer to take short-term trips? These factors form a pressured environment for churches and agencies, and the methods that once comprised tried-and-true missiology are now falling behind the times. The results induce frustration. In the rapidly changing world of international missions, how will churches and agencies adapt to carry on God's work?

If all parties were seated around a table, trying to figure out a solution, the first step would be to admit no one has the answers; said Jeff Adams, senior pastor of Kansas City Baptist Temple in Kansas City, Mo. "Churches don't understand what mission agencies do. Agencies don't understand what churches want," said Adams. "I see a disconnect where good communication is crucial."

As a senior pastor, former missionary to El Salvador and current member of the board of directors at Christar, Adams has a unique perspective on global missions. In his role at KCBT he's forged partnerships - both successful and not - with missions agencies. And he's passionately committed to overseas ministry, a conviction he often communicates to his congregation.

Rather than abandoning church/agency partnerships, Adams thinks they have to become a priority. He said those with a commitment to communication must stand in the gap. "We need each other now more than ever. If we're going to reach the unreached we can't head in opposite directions," said Adams. "Transparent communication is needed."

Ellen Livingood agrees: now is the time to forge cooperative partnerships - ventures that satisfy both the church and the organization. As the director of Catalyst Services in Newtown, Pa. Livingood assists in collaborations between agencies and churches. She's familiar with the frustration felt by leadership in local churches and sending agencies. "These partnerships must be built on trust and relationship," she said. "It takes openness, vulnerability and a willingness to admit we need each other - this includes churches, agencies and nationals."

In fact, the most successful partnerships are those that welcome the national church to the table, said Livingood. Coordinate the efforts of the North American church, the sending agency and the national church - and now you're getting somewhere.

The Chapel in Akron, Ohio, embarked on two separate projects - one with World Relief in Mozambique and the other with OM (Operation Mobilisation) in India - that exemplify this type of partnership. The Chapel supports numerous long-term missionaries and projects, but leadership at the church also wanted to invest in something the entire congregation could get behind. From the chair I sit in, I can think of 20 different projects that are all important to me," said Bob Schneider, global ministries pastor. "But this ministry was presented to the congregation as a way they can be personally involved."

Groups from the church support the work of long-term World Relief specialists and Mozambican staff by sending congregation members on trips to conduct pastoral training and offer medical care. Other members of The Chapel opt for involvement in the India project by sponsoring children and raising money to build village schools. "We've been able to build five or six schools over the past couple years," said Schneider. "Children's Sunday school classes and women's ministry groups are able to take on individual projects. It's a full-court press. We're trying to get the whole church involved."

These kinds of integrated, experimental ventures involving multiple parties are important for a healthy church/agency partnership, and Avant Ministries is ready to facilitate them. Paul Nyquist, president of Avant Ministries, recognizes the answer isn't always an easy one. "We can't be all things to all people, or we'll lose our focus," he said. "We have our direction and now we want to serve the church." He sees this service to the church as characterized by open communication and collaboration, drawing on the strengths held by both parties. "If we can create new paradigms where all sides are bringing what they can to the table, it will be a success," Nyquist said.

To achieve this end, Dave Hansen joined Avant to serve as the vice president of global partnerships. In this new position, Hansen will work with the leadership in churches who want to reproduce globally, reflecting Avant's characterizing desire to plant churches. "We want to form relationships with churches that have a passion to see churches planted among the unreached," he said.

Someday, the church plants will be the ones church planting - they'll join the conversation and take a seat at the table, too. It will all depend on the effort churches and agencies put into communicating with one another and building inclusive relationships. With cooperation and vulnerability, churches will be planted. Leaders from all sides are ready - not someday, but today.