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A
Model for Church/Sending Agency Cooperation
Page
2—Establish a Partnership
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 to 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
leave arrangements
Xenos
and World Team have worked together under this agreement, with modifications
from time to time, for the past 8 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 30 career missionaries
to 5 different fields under this agreement. Xenos also has missionaries working
under other agencies now, and 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 email 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 70% 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 in 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.
- Because
of our partnership, we at Xenos are convinced that World Team leaders understand
our wide ranging problems and concerns in a way no other agency would be
able. 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. Perhaps this partnership will be helpful in suggesting
a new direction that could potentially place agencies and churches in closer
cooperation when reaching out to the unreached millions.
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