Final post taken from Mission Drift: The Unspoken Crisis Facing Leaders, Charities, and Churches, Chapter 15 Pg 175.
When working with World Relief and living in Rwanda, I (Peter) visited a rural church. Made of bricks, its structure was quite simple. But it was extraordinary because Rwandan villagers had built it with their own hands.
World Relief had been serving in the community for several years, assisting with micro-enterprise development and child survival services. As the community grew stronger, the local members identified the need for a central place of worship. Pooling their savings from their increased business profits, they dedicated the money to rebuilding the church. Together, they laid its foundation. Together, they built its structure, brick by brick.
When I met with community members, they said to me, “See what the Lord has accomplished through us.” And it wasn’t just a building; they were even prouder of the way they provided for widows and orphans.
World Relief, born out of the church, was assisting in the birthing of this and many other churches around the world. And in the process, they throw another anchor overboard to grasp an even firmer hold of their mission.
MISSION TRUE and the CHURCH
If you believe the church is a vital component of your mission, there are a few simple, yet effective ways to minimize confusion and work more effectively together. Mission True organizations:
- Invest relationally: Relationships are essential, but they take time. Investing in the local church leadership and building true friendships creates a foundation for collaboration.
- Over-communicate: It’s insufficient to have preliminary conversations and a memorandum of understanding. Regularly communicate progress and true metrics, and listen to the church’s feedback. One pastor in a rural part of Rwanda told me about my lackluster communication and stated, “We want to support you, but we need to know what you’re doing!”
- Are generous: They use their platforms and ministries to invite participants to attend local church events. If we’re truly all on the same team, we must actively promote others.
- Communicate with clarity: There is always the possibility of the “he said/she said” with partnerships of any sort. Especially cross-culturally, spending additional time clarifying roles, responsibilities, and commitments in writing grounds or anchors the partnership.
- Worship and pray communally: Fellowship through worshiping and praying together strengthens connection and reminds us of our common position as men and women united in Christ.
- Are life-long learners: They seek unfiltered perspectives from global church partners and realize how much each group has to learn from the other.
As simple as these suggestions are, they create a more meaningful and impactful partnership.
CHURCH AS ANCHOR
My brother and I used a cinder block as an anchor. Its mass served to steady our boat. Modern anchors often not only provide a mass to balance a boat; they also stabilize it by gripping the seafloor.
When the anchor is first released, it bounces along the ocean floor before snagging the seabed. For a moment, the ship can sway – until the anchor grips the floor, stopping its drift. The church can help anchor us to our mission and identity. And it can help us stay Mission True!
Bottom Line Confessions:
This Chapter 15 has been a learning experience for me on many levels. Humorously, you need to know I thought the Crouch that wrote the exquisite Forward that drew me into reading the book years ago, was the Andrae Crouch (1942-2015) referred to as the father of modern gospel music, that I associated with songs such as Through It All, Soon and Very Soon, The Blood Will Never Lose Its Power, My Tribute (To God Be the Glory.) Songwriter, arranger, record producer, even pastor, Andrae was noted for his talent of incorporating contemporary secular music styles into the gospel music he grew up with, paving the way for American contemporary Christian music to emerge during the ’60’s & ’70’s. Truly sad when Wiki has to educate me on so many topics!
However, the Andy Crouch that did write the Mission Drift foreward as printed in the June 30 post, graduated with a M.Div from Boston University School of Theology and served ten years as campus pastor with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship at Harvard University; hence I’m deducting Peter Greer and Andy met at Harvard somehow, sometime… And when I read Andy was a classically trained musician who draws on pop, folk, rock, jazz and gospel leading musical worship for congregations of five to twenty thousand, I logically assumed…. and we all know the trouble assumptions cause… Also, it appears Andy is now at the helm of Christianity Today after a lengthy association therewith editorially.
Secondly, I’m thinking I may have exceeded some of your attention spans taking 10 days to get thru one chapter. My apologies. Know that it was really hard for me to refrain interjecting other hot item posts midstream when I encountered them! I personally thrive on being fluid and responsive in the moment when inspired, hence I’ll not likely author a book, but rather seek to provide you bursts of insights & encouragements as encountered.
However, I trust this 10 day stint, as with other prior blogs, will in the complexities of your daily living be a resource when needed for either reinforcement or encouragement, for you and/or others.
NEXT UP: Andy Crouch changes his morning routine!