Misión en Conjunto

Although they are still in the minority of transnational church partnerships, healthy patterns of congregational partnerships that focus on relationship are becoming more and more common. The following article written by a colleague and student at Nazarene Theological Seminary, Lynne Bollinger gives an interesting perspective of the relationship factor in partnerships:                                                                       (see article at:  When Partnership Becomes Personal  )

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 h...

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 Int...

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.     

A Common Mission is now available on Google Books.  This is a great way to search through the book.   A Common Mission on Google Books

-David Wesley I n earlier posts I have defined five patterns for healthy partnerships. I will be at a large church this weekend that invited me to speak to their congregation about aspects from my book A Common Mission that would help them as they begin a new partnership. I have chosen to re-frame the five patterns in terms of marriage counseling for congregations in two different cultures. There are many parallels since marriage is a cross-cultural partnership. Most important is the fourth pattern that reminds us that any successful partnership between congregations or individuals focuses on God and His mission.  The following are some of my power point slides that I will be using:

by David Wesley   The Rat Trap (Author Unknown) A rat looked through a crack in the wall to see the farmer and his wife opening a package. What food might it contain? He was aghast to discover that it was a rat trap. Retreating to the barnyard the rat proclaimed the warning; “There’s a rat trap in the house, a rat trap in the house!” The chicken clucked and scratched, raised her head and said, “Excuse me, Mr. Rat, I can tell this is a grave concern to you, but it is of no consequence to me. I cannot be bothered by it.” The rat turned to the pig and told him, “There’s a rat trap in the house, a rat trap in the house!” “I am so very sorry Mr. Rat,” sympathized the pig, “but there is nothing I can do about it but pray. Be assured that you are in my prayers.” The rat turned to the cow. She said, “Like wow, Mr. Rat. a rat trap. I am in grave danger. Duh?” So the rat returned to the house, head down and dejected, to face the farmer’s rat trap alone. That very night a so...

  I am grateful to Robert Priest who is the president of the American Missiological Society , and was the first reader for my Ph.D dissertation at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School for writing the foreword to the book. Dr. Priest has done significant research in related areas as mine and his insight gives an important framework for the book.  The following excerpt from  A Common Mission  is used with permission from Wipf &Stock Publishers.

The following article restates some observations similar to those made in A Common Mission related to short-term mission and partnerships. This is a trending phenomenon that merits thoughtful practices:    Volunteer vacations and global development why they have more in common than you thought

A Common Mission is now available on the following link:   A Common Mission on Amazon

An important part of A Common Mission is the focus on mission as the very nature of the Triune God and thus the nature of the Church as the body of Christ. Mission is not a marginal program or activity of the Church, rather mission is the church's heartbeat. I am indebted to authors such as South African missiologist David Bosch, British missiologist, Lesslie Newbigin as well as Latin American missiologists Rene Padilla and Samuel Escobar for their great contribution to missional theology that recognizes that the church is missionary. For this post I have included an editorial by Rene Padilla that is well worth the time to read. I welcome your comments on this article. The whole church is missionary C. René Padilla To say that the whole Church is missionary is stating something that Christians of the first century would probably have considered a truism. Just read the book of Acts to be convinced that the apostolic gospel was spread largely due to the enthusiastic partici...

Common Mission is now available through Wipf & Stock to order online at  Common Mission

By October 1 st  A Common Mission  should be available to order.  I am excited to share the stories and the findings from the research that formed the book.  This blog will be an on-going dialog for those who read the book.              Five patterns of healthy congregational partnerships form the framework of this book. These patterns emerge from research derived in congregations heavily involved in congregational partnerships. The congregations vary from mega churches of 7,000 congregants, to small churches of fifty members. The congregations surveyed represent a variety of theological traditions. Furthermore, the congregations maintain different approaches to partnership. Other than their Christian faith, the common strand among these congregations entails a commitment to a long-term relationship with another congregation, or area, beyond their own nationality. This commitment is based on a common mission. ...