Ministry partnerships require trusting relationships at all stages of their development. The kind of trust in view here goes deeper than the recognition of integrity and competence in one's partners, although those are crucial elements. Building deeper levels of trust demands that we go to a place of mutual respect, where we know that our colleagues value our unique contributions toward achieving a stated goal and where we in turn value their unique contributions toward that same goal. For respect to flourish at this level, we need to understand how our individual callings and identities relate to the goal at hand—all within the context of placing individual mission within the overall mission of the Church of Christ and centering partnering relationships in the person of Jesus. 

In her book e-volve!, Rosabeth Moss Kanter projects exciting opportunities for organizations that take teamwork and partnering seriously. As cited by Patrick MacMillan in The Performance Factor, the decision to enter into such modes of operation is based in her view on a "simple psychic-economic calculation"; namely, "do the gains from dropping certain interests/goals in the name of cooperation outweigh the losses?"

Moss Kanter's calculation suggests that some kind of collaborative effort has already been articulated. In other words, we likely know at this stage what it is that we can do together better than we can do alone. Her question demands that we be clear on our commitment to the partnering vision on offer. Just why should we participate, given the other demands on our time, energy and resources?

No ministry leader can present the case for partnering without weighing the costs and benefits at many different levels. Additional factors must be entered, however, if we are to expect lasting satisfaction from participating in ministry partnerships. We need to ask of ourselves and of our partnering colleagues several questions:

• What is at the heart of God’s calling to my congregation or ministry organization? What constitutes our unique identity and thus shapes our contribution to a collaborative effort?  
• Similarly, what is at the heart of God's calling to the other congregations or organizations that I am or may be partnering with? What constitutes their unique identities and contributions to our collaborative effort?

Partnering endeavours among congregations and/or ministry organizations may be vulnerable to attempts to smooth over differences in the rush to define affinities and the efficiencies of working together. The urgency and practicalities of the tasks before us seem to demand cooperation of us, and since "we're all members of One Body" we feel that we'd better not shirk such demands. Moreover, brewing in all of us in unprecedented ways is a Holy Spirit-inspired yearning to model the unity that Jesus prayed for in John 17 and to heed Paul's exhortations to love and encourage one another.

Our desires for unity require, however, a clear understanding of what God demands of us. The rhythm of unity comes out of harmony, not uniformity. Nowhere do the Scriptures suggest that we will all be the same. Indeed, the picture we are given of the City of God in Revelation 21 glories in the diversity of nations and cultures—each of them bearing different gifts—that enter into it.

Yet our history suggests that we tend to quarrel whenever differences are discussed. The various traditions within the Church have been quick to point out their superiority in relation to others, rather than seeing their uniqueness as a gift from God that needs to be used to the edification and growth of the whole rather than just a part. Given that background, we now tend to shove our traditions' distinctives aside, preferring to focus on our commonalities and on the pressing needs of the world around us that demand our joint attention.

This "practical ecumenism" on the broader level of Christian traditions is mirrored in how we, as localized expressions of Christian mission and ministry, treat differences between us. Denying or suppressing our differences is more likely to breed suspicion, however, than trust. What agendas are being hidden? we wonder. What underlying motives are truly driving the actions of others? we ask ourselves.

To experience deeply-rooted trusting relationships with our ministry partners, we must start with a trusting relationship with the God who calls us and gifts us with particular resources to carry out our callings. We begin by thanking God for who we are and for how we were made us to be, thus valuing our unique identities.

We see ourselves as recipients of God's grace, invited into the work of restoring the health of a creation in crisis, as demonstrated in the life and actions of Jesus Christ. The Kingdom of God that was won by him requires post-victory volunteers for various cleanup duties. Gathered into his Body, the Church, we volunteers recognize in ourselves and in each other a common calling, which, enabled through his Spirit, is expressed in a wide array of worship styles, ministry foci and visions for mission and witness. Our gratitude to God is the foundation for valuing our own uniqueness and thus the uniqueness of others.

At the same time that we find ourselves standing tall, we will look up to those others with whom we're ministering. We will come to the point of saying, "I believe in you, in God in you, and I'll do all that I can to assist you in being the best you can be." Respect at this deep level, when experienced mutually, forms the heart of the trusting relationships on which fruitful partnerships depend.

Knowing, then, that each partnering agency seeks to operate in faithfulness to its unique calling and identity, we can expect that God's Spirit will lead us through prayer to an understanding of how the parts fit together to make the whole. The differences are factored directly into the equation; with the expectation in mind that those differences are meant to complement, rather than fracture, we are ready to ask the question, "How then can we 'work complementarily' with each other?" Approached in this way, our partnering endeavours have a greater chance at success than if we limit ourselves to undertaking only a cost-benefit analysis.

In addition, our partnering opportunities will no longer become add-ons to the "essential" mission of our congregation or ministry organization. Instead they are welcomed as central to the expression of our calling and identity. Over time, as working complementarily becomes the standard mode of operating, the notion that most things are better done alone will diminish and partnering synergies will increase. We'll be able to integrate our differences in a healthy way, and we'll celebrate diversity at more than a superficial level. In so doing, may we also experience more fully the blessings God sends where brothers and sisters "live together in harmony" (Psalm 133, New Living Translation).

Aileen Van Ginkel
Director of Evangelical Fellowship of Canada (EFC) Centre for Ministry Empowerment

August 6, 2004

Cited in Pat MacMillan, The Performance Factor: Unlocking the Secrets of Teamwork (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman), p. 50.

As said by Adrian Jacobs at a meeting of the EFC Aboriginal Ministries Council, June 26, 2004.