Chapter 5
Church Partnerships

The voluntary cooperation of independent, autonomous local Southern Baptist churches is the only thing that holds us together as a convention. It is remarkable to realize that more than 40,000 churches willingly provide support to the IMB because of their love and commitment to missions. However, much more can be done to strengthen that support and the potential of Southern Baptists to reach a lost world.

We are a diverse denomination in many ways but especially in size of churches. Over 18,000 churches have fewer than 100 resident members and 54 percent of all Southern Baptist churches have less than 200 resident members. There are more members in 18 percent of the largest churches in the convention than there are in the remaining 82 percent. Since it is individuals who pray, give and respond to God’s call, this demographic factor must be taken into consideration.

OPPORTUNITIES TO BE “ON MISSION”

Volunteer projects and
partnerships
PrayerPlus
people group
adoption
Creative Access Network
PeopleLink strategies
Adopt-A-Missionary
Global Impact Conferences
Order mobilization fliers
Utilization of IMB video
resources
Bulk orders and distribution of
The COMMISSION

We provide materials and resources to all churches, but there is a limit to what can be done for 40,000 churches. Efforts are being made to enlist churches in special partnerships which enable them to be better informed and more directly involved with some aspect of our missions effort.

Several SBC churches have entered into volunteer partnerships with specific missionaries, cities, churches and ethnolinguistic peoples around the world. Working with a missionary and our Volunteers in Missions Department, they enlist and send a steady flow of volunteer teams to supplement the witness and ministry of those on the field.

PrayerPlus is a partnership coordinated by the International Prayer Strategy Office through which hundreds of churches have adopted people groups with a commitment to pray plus whatever else God leads them to do to reach their target people groups.

PeopleLink is another mobilization effort to train churches to take initiative and be directly involved in impacting unreached people groups. Materials and mentoring are provided through a network of coaches who equip churches that have adopted unreached people groups to be strategically involved in an advocacy role and facilitating penetration with the gospel.

A GLOBAL PRIORITY NETWORK

-Prioritizes missions with staff
leadership
-Prays for missionaries
-Provides missions education
-Promotes missions giving
-Produces missionary
personnel
-Participates in short-term
projects
-Partners in adopting
unreached peoples
-Personalizes missions by
adopting missionaries

Global Priority Networks are those churches which are actively and intentionally giving priority to promoting giving, creating prayer partnerships, adopting people groups, calling out missionaries, sending volunteers and working with the IMB. Overseas strategies will be strengthened and potential missions support enhanced by linking specific partner churches through these emphases. Each missionary and field team can contribute to mobilization efforts by helping us make churches aware of these opportunities for partnership.

Adopt-A-Missionary
One of the most effective mobilization efforts will be the “Adopt-A-Missionary” program. We are asking each missionary to identify those churches with which they have a special relationship—perhaps where they grew up, where they served on staff, where they were a member, where their parents are members, where they furloughed, etc. Those churches will be asked to “adopt” the missionary. We anticipate each missionary will be adopted by several churches, and some churches will adopt multiple missionaries. We will ask missionaries to stay in touch with the church, writing regularly about what God is doing through their work and identifying special needs for prayer. This personalized communication should let church members know what the LMCO is funding in their area of work and remind them how missionary support is dependent on the Cooperative Program. The churches can be encouraged to send volunteer teams and be informed of personnel needs so they can pray out the laborers.

Care must be taken regarding financial appeals, but occasionally a church will want to help meet some approved strategic needs and projects that are beyond the resources of the IMB budget. In all such cases, the initiative must come from the church, and the resources must be directed toward approved budget needs. Appeals should never be made for personal funds or for resources that contravene the strategic plans of the mission or team. But support through the normal channels of CP and LMCO will be enhanced by such personalized alliances.

Global Focus
Global Focus is an organization begun by Dr. Larry Reesor to mobilize churches for missions. While Global Focus is not a part of the IMB, affiliation has given us phenomenal credibility with churches not heavily involved in missions or working rather independently. Reesor and his staff contract with churches to provide consultative services, to conduct seminars and conferences, to assist in personalizing missions and to guide promotion of “Faith Commitment,” which is a year-round plan of giving for missions.

During the first year, IMB missionaries usually have a token representation in the church. The second year is balanced, and by the third year, most of the mission conference is staffed with IMB personnel. Giving, in many cases, has exceeded $300,000, with dozens of members surrendering to missions and hundreds committing to prayer and volunteer service.

Although these churches continue to be involved in a diversity of organizations, in almost every case, giving to the Cooperative Program and the LMCO is radically increased. More and more our missionaries are finding themselves in these kinds of churches.

It is important to recognize that we are not in competition with any other mission group and that the church has the prerogative of working with and supporting whomever they choose. The worst thing we could do is to criticize them for not being exclusive. This also requires that we not take support for granted but learn to communicate effectively, present appealing displays and identify opportunities for the church to join us in the work.

We have said to churches all over the SBC that whatever they are doing in missions they can do through the International Mission Board. Our role is to help them be obedient to the Great Commission as God leads. There is a risk involved, but invariably that kind of openness and cooperative spirit engenders trust and a desire to channel their resources and involvement in a way that serves our strategies. Partnership is the key.

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