Misión en Conjunto

Josh Broward has an interesting article in EMQ titled Think Big, Think Small: Partnerships as a Revolution in Global Missions. This article gives good input into the on-going discussion on Congregational Partnerships: Click here for article

The following link provides some useful resources for churches or organizations entering a partnership or engaging in short-term mission.  A growing body of literature that comes out of reliable research and experience is providing useful resources for those who are engaging in mission near their home as well as mission across national boarders.  If you are a mission pastor, a church leader or a coordinator for these type of activities I encourage you to look into these: Partnership Resources

Occasionally friends send me good resources that they have found related to short-term missions or partnerships. The following web-site is one of these.  The core principles in this post are consistent with the five healthy practices of partnerships found in Common Mission. The video on this post is especially interesting: How to Get Long Term Impact from Short Mission Trips

       The allegory of the wooden spoons is an ancient story that has been told in many different cultures.         A man once asked a spiritual leader, “I would like to know what heaven and hell are like”.  The spiritual leader led the man to two doors. He opened one of the doors and the man looked in.  In the middle of the room was a large round table. In the middle of the table was a large pot of stew which smelled delicious.  The people sitting around the table were thin and appeared to be starving. They were holding spoons with very long handles that were strapped to their arms.  Each person could reach into the pot of stew and take a spoonful. The spoons however, were longer than their arms.  They could not get the spoons full of stew back into their mouths.  The man was sad to see the people suffering and not able to eat the food that was in front of them.  The spiritual leader said to the man “you have seen hell”.      Then they went to the next room and opened the doo

by David Wesley A recent article in The Guardian questions how efforts to raise funds for Africa such as the recent Band Aid video often portrays the difference between Africans and those giving the funding in disparaging ways. Conducting research that supports A Common Mission led to some unexpected discoveries.  One of these was the way that Africans perceived their partners in the U.S. and conversely how those in the U.S. perceived their partners in Africa. Beyond interviews I collected videos, articles and other information in which those in the U.S. described their partners in Africa. Relationships that are heavily dependent on donors affect how congregations frame the ‘other’. Stories that are told and images used for securing funds may frame people in the host country in ways that depict the enormous difference between the donor and the recipient demonstrating bleak situations through the use of pictures that emphasize the extreme poverty.  An issue of the Internationa

by David Wesley     Money is often a major part of partnerships. When misused money can produce dependency and ultimately do more harm than good. Conversely, as I have described in A Common Mission , money can also provide unimaginable, lifesaving opportunities.       The following are some pointers for unhealthy as well as healthy uses of money.