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Partnerships

We encourage the active participation of local churches in global ministries. Your involvement in mission should be rooted in your own local church’s vision for ministry – in your own community, and then following the direction of Holy Spirit to your Samaria, and the ends of the earth.

What is a Global Ministry Partnership?

“A relationship that exists between a local church in Canada and an international church or ministry which reflects the strengths and needs of both groups, as well as an exchange of resources and experience which mutually benefits both groups and moves both groups towards the realization of their respective God-ordained missions.”

For Canadian churches interested in partnerships with other churches both at home and abroad, there are some basic steps to take:

• Congregational dialogue
  • be sure you want to do this
  • pray about this
• Identify possible partners
  • With Free Methodist connections in more than 70 countries around the world, this is a natural place to begin
  • You may have connections in your own congregation with other international ministries
  • pray about this
• Exploratory visit
  • you have to explore and understand the ministry situation
  • you have to listen and understand the vision and objectives of your international partner
  • you have to build relationships
• Congregational education
  • everybody needs to know the “why, what, how, who, when; and how much”
• Develop mutual involvement possibilities and agreement
  • identify measurable objectives for the partnership; what mutual, realistic goals can you both hope to achieve
• Maintain the partnership
  • you have to maintain healthy relationships
  • you have to see the objectives through to completion

If your church is considering a more hands-on approach to global ministries, take the time to have your leadership team read the article “Recovering the Missional Congregation.”

If your church would like to be involved in developing an international mission partnership, here's an article that will help you get started in the right direction.

Examples of Canadian Free Methodist churches and their partnerships

Gateway Cities:

• Hyderabad, India
• Colombo, Sri Lanka
• Niamey, Niger
  

Other partnerships:

• Accra, Ghana
• Chiang Mai, Thailand
• Kenya
• Congo
• Brazil
  

Helpful articles on developing responsible partnerships

An Idea Whose Time Has Come, by Tim Dearborn

Effective Intercultural Collaboration, CIDA

Building a Partnership, FMCiC

Developmental Partnering, by Daniel Ricketts

Dependency, by Daniel Ricketts

Accountability, by Daniel Ricketts

Highly Recommended Book:

Making your Partnership Work, by Daniel Ricketts, 2002