Introduction
One of the key goals of the Lausanne Movement is supporting and strengthening the acceleration of global mission. To reach this goal, many ‘Great Commission gaps’ have been identified around which the global church needs to focus. As gaps like AI and transhumanism, sexuality and gender, people on the move, ethnicism and racism, caring for creation, wholistic health, and urban communities are addressed sensitively, caringly, and biblically/theologically in global mission contexts, more people will have an opportunity to hear a clear presentation of the gospel and have a greater chance to consider the claims of Christ.1
Addressing a Great Commission gap here and there, however, is not enough to ensure that global mission acceleration truly occurs. All the gaps need to be addressed, not just one or two. Ministries, mission organizations, churches, and individuals tend to pick an aspect of mission they like and then marshal resources and people around that issue. While that is admirable and accomplishes something, other gaps are left out, potential partners are not engaged, and effectiveness wanes. Though some needs may be met locally or internationally, global mission acceleration on a large scale will not happen. This is where ministry collaboration can help.
What is Ministry Collaboration?
At its essence, ministry collaboration is working together toward an agreed-upon goal. We can work separately on many good things, but unless we work together, discover what each other is doing, and understand what each other needs to do, we won’t accomplish nearly as much in our global mission efforts.
Michael Oh, Lausanne’s CEO, has said we must accelerate global mission together.2 The ‘together’ factor is vital. The Great Commission is way too big for any one person or organization to accomplish alone, but together, we can unite resources, vision, gifts, skills, and talents to that end. The result is achieving more than could be accomplished alone. We need each other for the mission to be accelerated, but too often, we try to accomplish it by ourselves. The reality is that mission is much too difficult, if not nearly impossible, when we try to do it alone.
The word collaboration is made up of two root words: ‘co’, which means together, and ‘labor’, which means to work. So, co-laboring means working together. Co-laboring suggests that there must be unity in purpose and in the task attempted. It also indicates that community is created around purpose and task. When focused on gospel acceleration, a collaborative community can listen better to God, sense his will, and move forward together for godly purposes.
Often, however, there are roadblocks to co-laboring.
- We try to protect our name, branding, or vision.
- We fear that other ministries, churches or organizations will get money we feel we deserve or take away our supporters.
- We fear loss of control of the project or loss of the notoriety or attention that doing things alone can bring.
These things keep collaboration from happening and thus keep the gospel from being spread more effectively. We should not fear collaboration. If we want to accelerate the spread of the gospel, we must collaborate. Accelerating global mission is a goal for which it is worth taking risks. In fact, God set the collaboration example and expects us to follow as we do mission.
Biblical background
Collaboration is easy to find from the beginning to the end of Scripture.
- In Genesis, the three persons of the Trinity collaborated to create the universe.
- Nehemiah built a collaborative team to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.
- Psalm 133 talks about brothers dwelling together in unity and how beautiful and blessed that is.
- Jesus formed a team of disciples, equipped them, and sent them out to turn the world upside down. He prayed that those disciples and all who follow him for the rest of history would be united in fellowship and purpose as the Body of Christ.
- Paul also collaborated to plant churches in the Greco-Roman world so the gospel would spread far and wide, especially where it had not been proclaimed. And a large percentage of Paul’s teaching in his epistles deals with instructions to love, care for, and work together with one another for the sake of Christ and his church.
Many other Scriptures point to God’s call on people to work together for the sake of his kingdom.
Mission, therefore, is a collaborative effort. God the Father sent Jesus the Son, who sent the Spirit. We are then sent out and empowered by the Spirit for mission. Clearly, the Bible is a collaborative book, full of examples showing the theological importance of collaborating for the kingdom. As yeast works through the dough, so collaboration helps the gospel spread all throughout the earth.
How do I Collaborate for Global Mission?
So, how can you start collaborating for global mission acceleration? Here are a few key applications to consider.
1. Find someone with a similar vision and join forces.
Many leadership workshops talk about the importance of finding a vision. While that is true, if a vision isn’t shared, it becomes more about promoting the individual than proclaiming the kingdom. Kingdom purposes are easily dimmed or diluted when a vision is centered around an individual. Working together doesn’t just happen. It takes alignment around a shared vision. Yes, God calls individuals, but he usually gives a similar vision for reaching the world to several people. Finding like-minded people then becomes a major task toward accomplishing the vision and accelerating global mission.
You can find people with a similar gospel-spreading vision at Lausanne gatherings, at ministry conferences and workshops, even on the internet. This is the day of social connectivity, so it is easier to find people whose vision is like yours. Building a network of people and organizations with whom you can collaborate sets you up for success and greater effectiveness. The gifts, experiences, and resources others have, along with yours, will multiply kingdom-expanding possibilities. Once you find people and organizations with a similar vision, come together, form a network around the vision, and begin the process of collaborating for the purpose that is bigger than all of you. You will make new friends, find new inspiration, and do things you never thought possible. However, the next step is probably the hardest.
2. Set aside personal and organizational agendas.
In a collaborative effort, the intent is to work together, not submit to someone else’s vision. Often, invitations are given to join a ‘collaborative’ effort to accomplish a ‘great’ task, but the invitation is really to join the other person’s vision. That is not collaboration. True collaboration sets aside personal dreams and visions, organizational branding, and maybe a dearly held methodology for the greater purpose of seeing God’s kingdom come through a shared vision. It may take prayer and some work to arrive at a shared vision, to discuss the roles of each member of the network, to understand the expectations for all involved, to identify key success markers, and so on, but a shared vision is the doorway to true collaboration.
To arrive at a shared vision, everyone must set aside their personal or organizational vision, agendas, and brands for the greater good of accomplishing the Great Commission. Setting aside personal and organizational agendas to achieve a shared vision can be a fragile undertaking. Many collaborative efforts fail here. For some organizations, it may mean allowing staff to work on a collaboration project full-time. It may mean using ministry resources and funding channels to help accomplish collaborative goals. These things are often hard to do, but the rewards are great. There must be a lifestyle of surrender by all parties to the overall vision and plan so that collaborative goals can be accomplished. Without clear agreement and accountability to the collaborative plans, erroneous assumptions are easily made, and conclusions are typically jumped to because someone didn’t listen or take time to really understand the vision, the plan, or the roles. This is where learning to trust one another can help. When we submit to one another out of reverence for Christ, chances are the collaborative effort will produce gospel fruit. It takes time, intentional effort at relating to one another, and commitment for trust to develop. The results are worth it. If Jesus ‘endured the cross, scorning its shame for the joy set before him’,3 we too can make sacrifices for the sake of the gospel. Once all collaborators come to this level of commitment, then the real work can begin.
3. Become a Collaborative Leader
Surrendering to a shared vision and setting aside personal or organizational goals does not mean there is no leadership. The need for leadership is greater, but collaboration calls for a different kind of leadership. Collaborative leaders are catalytic facilitators who bring people and organizations together to accomplish the task, not to boss people around. While they may be called the network leader, their role is not to tell people what to do but to help each collaboration partner find the best way to accomplish the shared vision. Collaborative leaders need to draw ideas out from other people, hear and listen to different suggestions or ways of doing things, and lead the network or group to figure out a process that will get them on the way to accomplishing the shared vision. This kind of leader is humble. They nurture deep relationships. They inspire, motivate, and come alongside others for kingdom collaboration. They work to keep the network together and help the collaboration go to the next level. And often, there is not just one leader in a collaborative network, there are several. There is nothing more beautiful and powerful than seeing several humble leaders submitting to Christ and to one another in a way that amazes the watching world and achieves things through collaboration that bring glory to God for the sake of his kingdom.
Conclusion
The Lausanne Movement has many resources available to learn about collaborating, the latest of which is the Lausanne Global Classroom on Ministry Collaboration. In this video episode, members of the Lausanne Ministry Collaboration network were interviewed to get their insights, ideas, and best practices for more effective and fruitful collaboration for global mission. Watching the video will help you catch a vision for how you might collaborate in your context. There is also a downloadable User Guide containing discussion questions, academic syllabi, and a bibliography on collaboration.
Ministry collaboration is a gospel issue for the global church. We need each other to see the gospel preached to all the world. A single coal always burns out quickly, but when other coals are put close together, the fire grows hot and lasts much longer. That is a picture of collaboration that accelerates global mission. May the Lord light the fire of ministry collaboration in each of us.
Endnotes
- For a list of all the Great Commission gaps see Lausanne Action Hub
- See The Vision of the Lausanne Movement: Accelerating Global Mission Together – Lausanne Movement
- Hebrews 12:2