When a seasoned leader urged me to join hands with other ministries years ago, I thought she was nuts. I barely had enough time to keep our own ministry afloat much less reach out to others. But God has a way of squaring these tensions – the reality of time constraints and His heart for oneness. And when He does, the synergy for His kingdom is unstoppable.
God eventually broke through my thick headedness. He led us to initiate a prayer meeting with other life-affirming ministries in town. Soon a dozen or so leaders joined monthly to intercede for each others’ organizations. We prayed that the walls between ministries would come down, that there would be no overlaps or gaps in our services, and that we’d work together for the good of the Kingdom – not just our own little kingdoms.
Decades later, we regularly partner with other organizations. One of our satellites is housed in another ministry’s building, two more are in churches, and we work with a local prison outreach to provide parenting education for inmates.
When you shift from a “silo” mentality to a kingdom one, God is able to set up a domino effect of blessing. Here’s an example:
1. God prompted the Knights of Columbus to raise funds for a new ultrasound machine for our ministry.
2. That freed us to give our used – but still great – ultrasound machine to a pregnancy center in a neighboring metropolitan area.
3. They weren’t set up to provide ultrasounds at that point, but God had a plan.
4. One of our financial partners contacted us about a mobile unit to provide ultrasounds in urban areas. We didn’t have the client load to warrant it, but the metropolitan pregnancy center certainly did!
5. We referred our donor to them, he made the contribution, and the wheels were in motion for the center to receive a mobile unit. Literally.
6. Ten months later it drove onto their property and became the perfect vehicle to house the ultrasound machine we donated.
7. Before long, the mobile unit will travel from neighborhoods to college campuses providing ultrasounds to women facing unplanned pregnancy – giving them the chance to bond with their baby and choose life over abortion.
All of this was possible because ministries and individuals were willing to work together, link arms across boundary lines, and advance the broader kingdom of God.
1. Ask God to give you His heart for unity and oneness within the body of Christ.
2. Make it a ministry priority to partner with others.
3. Initiate and develop genuine relationships with other ministry leaders.
4. Prayerfully discern ways to team up and help one another, for the sake of reaching more people.
5. Watch how God builds a domino effect of blessing for many others through the synergy of your partnerships.
Jesus prayed in John 17 that we would be one so the world would know God sent Him as their Savior. Jesus emphasized oneness because He knew our tendency to isolate and take care of our own little worlds. So He exhorts us to band together and take care of God’s big world. When the world sees our unity and experiences God’s love through our joint efforts, they have a prime opportunity to encounter Jesus.
“Invest in your own little world for a little impact, or join with others to invest in God’s big world for a God-sized impact.”
- Lisa Hosler
Feel free to share a way you’ve partnered with others in the Comment Section below.
