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17. Entire teams formed, funded and sent to foreign fields - According to missions experts like Tom Telford, Xenos' practice in the field of foreign missions is also very unusual. In our experience, most churches send missionaries from their own church either through their denomination, or through a variety of missions agencies. These agencies are usually chosen by the missionaries, based on their own criteria. The church will frequently have some contact with the agency, but most communication with the field is through the missionaries. Many independent churches will find themselves involved with several different agencies, and large churches may work through eight, 12 or more agencies.

Xenos faced questions about how we wanted to do missions during the 1980s. We had been growing at a rate so rapid that it prevented us from sending missionaries earlier, in spite of a heartfelt desire to do our part in other cultures. Therefore, when our leadership considered where we wanted to go in world missions, we had the opportunity to write on a blank chalkboard rather than one cluttered with existing alliances and commitments.

The Xenos leaders decided we wanted direct involvement with our missionaries and their ministries. We didn't want to simply have our people feel called to different fields and agencies and expect the church to give its blessing and support. After all, in the New Testament, the church commissioned missionaries and discerned the leading of the Spirit together. We realized Xenos had its own ministry ethos and emphases that were quite different from other churches. Xenos is very nontraditional and eager to avoid exporting a western-style church to new people groups where those forms would become a nuisance. We also felt a strong desire to keep our missionaries working together in teams on the field like they were used to doing in this country.

We also wished we could find a mission agency that understood and appreciated our approach to ministry and our theological distinctives. Such an agency might be willing to place our people together in teams, perhaps with missionaries from other churches who feel compatible with our approach. Also, we felt that if we were willing to commit a good number of people to the field, an agency might be willing to include us in a partnering agreement, and share key decision-making responsibility with us.

We set out to establish a partnership, first studying and interviewing several different agencies. We finally found a good level of compatibility with World Team. Two of their top leaders came and spent several days at Xenos, observing our meetings and talking with our leaders. They were excited about our approach to equipping and home group planting, which they felt was similar to strategies they were using on other fields. We decided to hold talks on a new kind of church-agency partnership agreement.

After months of give and take, we approved the final draft of our agreement. It included provisions for decision making on:

• who would go to what field, including screening procedures;
  
• field selection and research;
  
• missionary training and preparation;
  
• how teams would be composed and led;
  
• field supervision;
  
• financial responsibility and budget planning;
  
• visitation;
  
• home assignment arrangements.

Xenos World Ministries and World Team have worked together under this agreement, with modifications from time to time, for eight years. Xenos leaders strongly urge those in our church who feel called to missions to consider going as a Xenos-World Team missionary. To date, we have accredited and sent nearly 40 career missionaries to six different fields under this agreement. Xenos also has missionaries working under other agencies now, and has in the past. But as our experience has accumulated, we see more and more benefit to the World Team/Xenos partnership.
Some of the key benefits we see are:

• The leaders at Xenos and those at World Team have built rewarding personal relationships over these years. If we had been working with half a dozen agencies, we never would have been able to spend time and energy at the same level. The friendships we enjoy at the leadership level have been very beneficial at times of need or crisis on the field. Nothing serves better when resolving misunderstandings than trusting relationships.
• The loyalty the two groups have shown each other has opened doors for cooperation on other projects. World Team leaders regularly help Xenos with their missions classes and events. Xenos leaders have consulted for World Team leaders' churches and policy meetings. The agency and the church regularly work together on missionary assessment, field research and other areas.
  
• Xenos leaders have a visitation program for supporting our field operatives, and World Team visits the same missionaries for regular reporting and oversight. This is very typical of course, but with the partnership, there's a difference. Xenos and World Team leaders see themselves working together both in pastoral issues and field strategy. Therefore, the issues one group of leaders sees when on the field or interacting via e-mail are regularly shared with the other. Nothing is more helpful than a well-informed "heads up" when visiting people we haven't seen for some time. Likewise, Xenos leaders have been able to serve as intermediaries at times between our field teams and World Team. Overall communication has been enhanced.
  
• Initiative to open new ministries can come either from World Team or from Xenos leaders. Xenos enjoys extensive access to expertise from World Team in our planning. World Team enjoys a ready supply of eager,
  well-trained operatives from Xenos along with 80 percent
  of their financial support.
  
• Xenos and World Team are developing new approaches to training for missionaries. Instead of relying only on the traditional degree from a seminary, we now urge prospective missionaries to spend one or more years engaged in urban house-church planting under the supervision of experienced leaders at Xenos. This field experience runs parallel with a Bible/missiology/ministry course series suited to the kind of work missionaries can expect to do on the field. The new training approach will be compatible with more traditional training approaches. Also, missionaries from other churches are increasingly coming to Xenos to participate in the training, either supplemental to, or instead of, seminary training. Xenos expects to soon offer a fully accredited master's degree in cooperation with Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois.
  
• Because of our partnership, we at Xenos are convinced World Team leaders understand our wide-ranging problems and concerns in a way no other agency does. Likewise, World Team is able to request help from Xenos for specific needs in various fields.

Partnership has been the spirit desired by missions agencies for many years. Yet, for some reason, churches and agencies have not formed specific partnership agreements very often, that we are aware of. Lately, large churches are increasingly interested in these kind of agreements.

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