Partnerships with NAME
From your neighborhood to the ends of the earth and everywhere in between, God is at work, and we can have great confidence that the Great Commission will be finished one day. Reaching our world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ can happen, but it is going to take all of us working together to accomplish the task. Being an ambassador for Christ is not a spectator sport, so we invite you to join us in NAME!
Partnering with Purpose
Characteristics of successful partnerships are:
- Shared vision for Kingdom objectives
- NAME workers recognize the need for building personal relationships with and accountability to the local church. We are committed to cultivating relationships built on trust, respect and mutual focus.
- Goals that clarify purpose and direction
- The basic tasks of the NAME Region are discipling, evangelizing, forming groups and starting multiplying churches. We desire to establish goals that maximize the ministry potential and competencies of indigenous and stateside partners to accomplish these tasks.
- Visible measurements of progress
- Good intentions must be met by God-honoring action. We will cooperatively develop evaluation procedures that answer the question, "What are we really accomplishing?" We affirm mutual accountability as an integral part of our Christian stewardship.
Partnering Opportunities
Obeying the Great Commission does not mean that everyone has to go to the ends of the earth. One can have a burden for an unreached people group, unreached city or the NAME Region as a whole and faithfully be a part of God's global purpose without living overseas.
Strategic partners are critical in working alongside workers in the field to evangelize, make disciples, form groups and start multiplying churches.
NAME is seeking to develop four models of partnership relationships in order to accomplish the Task:
Prayer Partnerships
It all starts with prayer. Sometimes we overlook our need for dependence on prayer, but this is our first and most critical partnership need. It is the foundation.
Workers on the field desperately need partners who are intentionally praying for specific requests on a regular basis. Strategic intercession plays a crucial role in reaching the unreached.
Church family prayer partners can expect workers to spend stateside assignment time visiting and connecting with them to celebrate victories and give reports about answered prayers and the progress and/or challenges of life on the field.
Short-Term Partnerships
An experience overseas is a key to developing strong ministry values and to defining long-term commitment to a partnership. By participating in volunteer project opportunities, partners can advance field strategies through specialized ministries such as Scripture translation and distribution, and a wide range of community services.
Partners who come on a short-term project can expect to return back to their churches with passion, along with new insights about workers, field strategies, and unreached peoples and cities.
Long-Term Partnerships
A church that is committed to doing whatever it takes to see a specific people group or city reached with the gospel should consider a strategic long-term partnership.
Some of the responsibilities of the Long-Term Partner include:
- Pray faithfully for the unreached and the workers serving them
- Facilitate a prayer ministry focused on the unreached people group or city
- Participate in at least one short-term project per year
- Plan and host at least one mission conference or advocacy meeting per year
- Work with and be accountable to workers to ensure God-honoring strategy
- Initiate contact with other churches in order to disseminate information about the people group or city
- Channel Kingdom resources to support strategic church planting initiatives
- Annually evaluate the partnership to ensure meaningful involvement by all partners
Long-Term Partners can expect workers to:
- Commit to cover the Long-Term Partners in intercessory prayer
- Clearly define the field's relationship, expectations and responsibilities
- Be supportive of the energy and creativity that short-term team members bring to the field and encourage learning and development
- Recognize and respect that Long-Term Partners are called by God to partner with them in reaching the nations
- Work with and be accountable to Long-Term Partners to ensure God-honoring strategy
- Be proactive in maintaining open channels of communication
- Annually evaluate the partnership to ensure meaningful involvement by all partners
Partnership Alliances
A Partnership Alliance is the collaboration of stateside churches and organizations that share a vision to expand the Kingdom of God in a geographical area or a specific people group community.
These partners align their complementary gifts and abilities in a spirit of cooperation with each other and with field partners to act on their vision of God's heart for every people. Alliance partners verify their compatibility through a covenant to affirm fundamental beliefs, clearly define roles, goals and action steps, and identify a means to track results.
In addition, a typical covenant would contain guidelines for managing the partnership, including:
- Conditions of official legal status
- A roster of who will serve on the Leadership Board and their roles
- Levels of partner participation and responsibilities
- How Alliance facilitators are appointed
- Sources of income and the financial commitment of each partner
- Processes employed to integrate partners with the information, resources, and evaluation needed
© 2008 Northern Africa and the Middle East