Reprinted by permission

My dad was the first one who taught me the power of partnerships. Dad was a businessman who built a whole business on the philosophy that said, “These machines will run 24 hours a day, six days a week. I do not care what the label is in the filler. What is important is the trust we build, the value we add. Then together we all will profit. Son, it’s not about our label.” The result: Years later, Johanna Farms was the largest private label producer of milk and juice products on the East Coast.

My whole life has been about building partnerships. The basic premise of partnerships is why do the same thing, in the same place, at the same time? Why not join forces and do it together, bringing the best of both of us together and share the load? That statement has been one of my core values after hearing Dr. Ron Cline talk about “what would the world look like if we dropped our egos and logos?” Logos are much easier to do away with than egos, I know, but how does this get lived out in the everyday world?

(NOTE: Even though we talk about partnerships between ministries and organizations, partnerships are never between ministries and organizations; they are always between people—and, most of the time, between two people.)

Partnerships have to be based on trust that is the result of integrity. Integrity is at the heart of a partnership that lasts. Trust involves character and competence. Here at EQUIP, the first question I ask when a ministry wants to partner with us is, “What do you want to accomplish?” The question is the same if we desire to partner with someone else: “What do you want to accomplish?” As soon as the desired outcomes of each person is known and understood by the other, then the rest is a process. Building trust and establishing structures and guidelines for ministry together will not happen instantly. It involves give-and-take. Great communication and letting go of egos are the hardest part in building partnerships. A partnership is formed to accomplish shared goals or a mission. Therefore, dropping or lessening our egos so someone else gets the credit is hard. However, my experience tells me that true partnership needs to take place because:

a) Partnerships purify the motives of each leader and organization. It answers the question, “Why do you really want to do this?” Years ago, a well-known author and speaker, Dr. Warren Wiersbe, shared with me the four stages of ministry: the man, the machine, the movement, the monument—and some have added to this, a fifth—the monster. Once a ministry or an organization moves into the monument stage, it is too late for partnerships. Monuments are all about egos. Partnerships are best built in the first three stages of an organization.

b) Once you get the ego and the motive questions understood, then you can move forward and form a partnership around the strengths of each partner. I have learned that each partner has and can complement the other. No one has all the skills, finances, systems, or expertise. Each one wanting to partner can bring his or her own unique expertise and/or resources to the table.

Let’s put it this way. When we do it together, we have far better…

• Effectiveness – the greater the effectiveness, the greater the results. We can do twice as much together than if we were alone.
• Efficiency – the greater the efficiency, the better the use of resources. Simply put, we double our resources with no additional costs.
• Empowerment – the greater the empowerment, the greater the mobilization of people, gifts, and abilities. We are far better stewards of what has been handed to us.

c) The biggest mistake in trying to build a partnership beyond what I have mentioned so far can happen the day you agree on the partnership. Most feel when “we agreed to partner,” that is it—that’s the end. That is never the case. Partnerships require commitment. Partnering for the short- or the long-term needs not only commitment but open and regular communication, generosity, flexibility, and the ability to focus on the big picture. This type of commitment takes a lot of hard work and a heavy dose of patience. In my experience this lack of committed effort is the second biggest reason why people do not partner with others. It is also why in the USA today there are over 40,000 501c3 parachurch ministries. Most are doing what the others are doing so the efficiency and effectiveness is much lower than it needs to be.

In the 1980s it was all about management—because it was believed everything would stay the same. In the 1990s it was all about leadership—because people realized nothing would stay the same. Today it is partnerships—because today we realize it takes both management and leadership to get the job done.

Today with this philosophy as a core value of EQUIP, I have been allowed to build over 100 partnerships that are all different yet teach the same material in 100 different ways.

A REAL PARTNERSHIP begins when two or more individuals commit to give up some of their independence in order to UNITE to accomplish a shared vision or goal.

Unity is not the absence of differences; it is the respect and coordination of differences.

Tom Atema is Vice President of International Ministries & Strategic Partnerships for EQUIP, a nonprofit organization specializing in the development of effective international Christian leaders.