Cultivating Long-Term Relationships
How Long-Term Church Partnerships Foster Community Transformation
July 18th, 2024 | Rebekah Teuscher
Introduction
For many churches involved in cross-cultural ministry, it’s tempting to view success through the lens of quantity instead of quality - believing that the more locations a church partners with (or the more short-term trips are sent out in a given year), the better. In reality, however, partnership is most transformative - both for the congregation and for the partner community - when the focus is on deep investment and coming alongside a specific community for the long haul. Church partnerships that prioritize depth and longevity are vital to ongoing transformation.
A Model of Deep Investment: Christian Fellowship Church
Christian Fellowship Church in Columbia, Missouri, is one church that has taken this reality to heart. The congregation has cultivated deep relationships with two One Collective communities - Quito, Ecuador and Uzhhorod, Ukraine - over many years. Michael Acock, lead pastor and former executive missions pastor of Christian Fellowship, shares insight into the decisions to prioritize quality and depth of investment in other communities, as well as the outcomes.
“My hopeful vision for our church is to commit to partnership in a given place for at least seven years, sending teams over and over to really get to know the community’s needs and resources. One Collective is already doing the deep work of holistic community development, so it’s been a great model for us to partner with.”
Partnership Beginnings and Trust Building
Christian Fellowship started partnering with One Collective over 20 years ago when church members Phil and Debbie moved to Ecuador to serve at-risk youth with the organization. Pastor Michael helped lead the church’s first short-term team to Quito to visit them and help. The guidance and oversight from the organization were so thorough that “the teams we sent to Ecuador with One Collective began to shape the model of all our short-term teams going anywhere”
Pastor Michael shares; “the process that One Collective had for preparation and debrief was great - much better than our original plan to throw a bunch of people on a plane, go down to visit Phil and Debbie, and come back.” This experience and subsequent teams with One Collective helped build trust between the two organizations.
In March 2022, Christian Fellowship was presented with a unique opportunity for further partnership with One Collective - serving as a sister church for a local church in Ukraine. Pastor Michael and his wife had previously served in Ukraine for 3 years before joining Christian Fellowship, and this existing heart for the people of Ukraine, combined with the war’s intensification in the spring of 2022, left the congregation with a desire to do more. Through this invitation from One Collective to establish a sister church partnership, Christian Fellowship committed to support, pray, and care for the Church of the Living God in Uzhhorod, Ukraine.
Deepening Relationships and Practical Outcomes
In May of 2023, Christian Fellowship was able to send a short-term team to visit and host a spiritual retreat for congregants of Church of the Living God - many of whom were deeply involved in supporting IDPs (Internally Displaced People) fleeing from Eastern Ukraine. Says Pastor Michael,
“We wanted to encourage these fellow believers on the ground in how valuable their ministry is, and we also wanted to give room for them to express how tired they were from everything. The idea behind being a sister church is building a relationship - we wanted to focus on supporting local followers of Jesus in their ongoing work instead of just sending a team to be involved in all the ‘action’.”
As a result of deep partnership with One Collective in Ecuador and Ukraine, Pastor Michael has observed a number of outcomes. First, he notes that church members feel better equipped to analyze community needs and strengths, based on observing One Collective’s work. He shares, “As Americans, I think the default is often to enter a new community and expect to be listened to. Through our partnership with One Collective, our congregation is learning to listen and learn from locals.”
Second, he shares that as a result of Christian Fellowship’s sister church partnership, there is a deeper relationship between members who have visited, and between himself and the lead pastor of Church of the Living God. “Would we ever have gotten connected to this sister church without One Collective? I don’t think we would have. But here we are, and we want to invest in this relationship deeply. We have a desire to listen to our sister church about what the community needs and what their vision is for Uzhhorod.”
Logistical Support and Cultural Insights
Personally, the church’s partnership with One Collective has lifted a logistical weight from Christian Fellowship’s leadership. Says Pastor Michael, “I’m a 3-ring-binder kind of guy, super organized. I love that One Collective takes care of all the details with teams and I don’t need to keep track of all the information and details. When I’m helping lead a team, I can just focus on the relationships and the experience.”
Finally, Pastor Michael shares that, as a result of deepening relationships with followers of Jesus in other contexts, congregants are learning practically how to resist negative aspects of American culture, such as prioritizing busyness and efficiency over relationships. “We want our church to be cultivators of a Jesus-centered culture, and interacting with other cultures helps us see how we can incorporate some of their practices and rhythms into our own lives.”
Continuing the Journey and Building Trust
Today, Christian Fellowship continues to stay connected to the Church of the Living God in Uzhhorod, as well as the work One Collective is doing in Quito, Ecuador more broadly. Both in relation to short-term teams and ongoing conversations about partnership, Pastor Michael shares, “One Collective does a phenomenal job of helping plan everything. They cast a vision from the beginning about viewing short-term teams within a framework of larger community development, and I also see One Collective’s shared heart for local churches all around the world.”
“One Collective has a process you can trust because at the end of the day, they want every partner to experience service and engage in ministry, but they also prioritize making sure this engagement is impactful long-term in the community.”
Conclusion
Christian Fellowship Church’s long-term partnerships with One Collective in Quito and Uzhhorod highlight the transformative power of deep, sustained engagement. By focusing on genuine relationships and ongoing support, the church has not only impacted these communities but also enriched its own congregation. This approach serves as a powerful example for other churches, demonstrating that true transformation comes from committed, long-term investment and collaboration.
More Articles from One Collective:
