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Partnership in Christian Mission – Bibliography

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Partnership in Christian Mission: An annotated collection of recommended books, articles, videos, and sites

Compiled by visionSynergy staff with input from International Partnering Associates.
Lead editor: Lucas King
 

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INTRODUCTION

The foundational theology of partnership in Christian mission rests on two important themes: unity and diversity.

The theme of unity is obviously prevalent in the Scriptures – from the oneness of the Trinity, to the fellowship of Christians, to the constant appeals for Christians to “love one another” and to be “of one mind and spirit.” Jesus himself prayed that His followers would “be one” as He and the Father were one, “so that the world may believe” (John 17:20-23). And He said to His followers, “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples if you love one another” (John 13:35).

But the theme of diversity is equally present in the Scriptures through many descriptions of the varying roles, gifts, and functions in ministry (Romans 12, Ephesians 4, 1 Corinthians 12, Hebrews 2:4, John 4:35-38, 1 Corinthians 3:1-9, Hebrews 11:39-40). The Scriptures say that one plants while another one waters and one sows while another reaps, “so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together” (John 4:35-38).

It is clear from the Scriptures that God desires BOTH relational unity AND functional diversity in the global Church. God values unity, but not uniformity. God values diversity, but not division. True partnership is not simply a matter of equality. It is a matter of synergy. The Holy Spirit distributes differing gifts “according to His will” (Hebrews 2:4) and it is through this functional diversity in the context of relational unity that God intends to accomplish His purposes in the world, “so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 4:7-11).

There is a strong Biblical basis for partnership, but partnership is also an intensely practical topic and not just a matter for theological discussion. For that reason, most of the resources recommended here emphasize the “hands-on” or “how-to” aspects of what it takes to form a viable, healthy, and effective partnership for mission.
 

BOOKS

1. Foundational, must-read books:

The three books in this group by Addicott, Butler, and Rickett are some of the most practical resources currently available that focus on the topic of partnership in Christian mission.

Butler’s book, Well Connected, is the most recently published of the three and is the most comprehensive in content. The late Ralph Winter, founder of the U.S. Center for World Mission, referred to Well Connected as “the quintessential partnership handbook.” Butler has nearly 30 years of international partnership development work through InterDev and visionSynergy. In this book, he writes for an audience of reflective practitioners who want to understand the “why” of partnership development as well as the “how” of partnering well. The first part of the book develops the theological aspects of partnership while the remainder of the book provides a clearly defined process for partnership development and a detailed description of the key factors for success. Drawing from significant personal experience, Butler includes dozens of real-world illustrations and abbreviated case studies throughout the book.

Addicott’s book, Body Matters, provides a very readable introduction to partnership in Christian mission. Addicott and Butler were colleagues at InterDev, so both books present essentially the same process for partnership development – more condensed in Addicott’s book and more expanded in Butler’s book. In addition to the core process of partnership development, Addicott provides more in-depth discussion on the topics of cross-cultural differences and conflict management within inter-organizational partnerships. The book centers on the theme of relational health in the context of missional partnerships and makes the clear point that partnership is not just about the “mechanics” of working together; it is fundamentally about trust.

Rickett’s book, Making Your Partnership Work, is the earliest and most condensed of the three in this group. Rickett’s book is organized around the three “imperatives of partnership:” vision, relationships, and results. Rickett writes in the introduction:

“To have productive partnerships, we must have vision, relationship, and results. No one of these can be ignored. Reduce a partnership to vision only, and it becomes no more than good intentions. Reduce it to relationship, and it becomes a fellowship without a purpose. Reduce it to results, and it loses its capacity to remain faithful. Vision, relationships, and results depend on one another for wholeness. They are interwoven in partnership and in ministry at its best” (p.23).

Rickett’s book includes a number of useful resources and checklists to help readers evaluate the potential fit between partners, develop a common understanding, and evaluate the partnership itself.

2. Cross-cultural dimensions of partnership

The four books in this group by Birmingham & Todd, Lederleiter, Mischke, and Rickett address key issues in cross-cultural partnerships such as equality, dependency, accountability, and more. The topics and issues discussed in these books are relevant to the current global mission context as the center of gravity continues to shift from established Western mission outreaches to majority-world ministries. Mischke’s workbook and Rickett’s brief guide help readers understand some of the essential components of healthy cross-cultural partnerships. Birmingham and Todd provide an edited collection of topics more specifically focused in the area of relief and development work. Lederleiter’s book directly addresses the highly charged issue of money and partnership.

3. Church/community partnerships

Perhaps one of the greatest areas of untapped potential in collaboration around the world is in the context of local churches working together with others to reach and transform their cities. The three books in this group by Rusaw, Swanson & Williams, and Sweney, provide very practical introductions to local church partnerships and large-scale church/community partnerships which can dramatically impact the rapidly expanding cities of the world.

4. Books from the earlier days of the modern “partnership movement”

The 1980s and 1990s saw a growing interest in partnerships for world evangelization. At least a hundred multilateral and international partnerships were launched with emphases on specific language groups, people groups, cities, regions, or countries of the world. From the early days of the modern partnership movement, the three books in this group by Bush & Lutz, Kraakevik & Welliver, and Taylor provide a broad introduction to the field of collaboration in Christian mission. The books cover a wide variety of topics and include a number of case-study models of partnership from around the world.

 

ARTICLES

The articles in this group by Oxbrow, Wan, and Penman are only two of the numerous articles drawing on the wisdom of the last 20+ years of partnership practice in Christian mission. These articles are notable for their comprehensive perspective as they reflect on the recent history of partnership in mission and review some of the foundational literature on mission partnerships (including a number of the resources in this recommended list). Oxbrow aptly concludes his article with these words: “We live in a networked world, our God exists in Trinitarian partnership, and God’s mission into which we are drawn is inevitably characterized by collaboration and partnership …“

 

VIDEOS

visionSynergy’s YouTube channel contains a growing library of more than 50 story videos including more than three hours of recordings drawn from interviews with experienced ministry leaders from around the world who share their personal insights on the practice of partnership in Christian mission. Also available on the visionSynergy YouTube channel is a 12-hour video introduction to mission partnerships presented by Phill Butler.

 

MINISTRY SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS & RESOURCE SITES

The following ministries work with Christian organizations around the world to develop effective partnerships and networks:

These sites include a global directory of geographic and issue-focused mission networks (Linking Global Voices) and an online learning community for network leaders (Synergy Commons):

 

SECULAR RESOURCES

1. Books on inter-organizational collaboration

These books outline comprehensive frameworks for developing nonprofit collaborations. The book from Mattessich complements the handbook from Winer and Ray as an in-depth analysis of 20 research-based factors that lead to success in collaboration.

2. Books on facilitation and consensus decision-making

All partnerships involve numerous meetings, and those meetings sometimes involve very complex situations. If those meetings are not managed well – if group process, participation, facilitation, consensus, decision-making, and follow-through are lacking – then it is likely the partnership will achieve little (if any) results. The books in this group focus on these critical partnership process skills.

3. Key articles, reports, and case studies

4. Resources for network development