Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day, teach a man to fish and he’ll eat for a lifetime.
Or so goes the adage.
Is it possible in mission partnerships? Is it possible to move from dependence to greater interdependence?
What is a ladder for? “to elevate and support workers to a higher place.”
I mention a ladder because I believe that those in mission are called to elevate others.
In this article I will set out that I believe it biblical, vital and possible to elevate others through sustainability focused mission partnerships in the 21st century.
Biblical
Jesus elevates his followers. Jesus teaches, demonstrates ministry and the disciples are observers. Jesus then invites participation. He sends out the Twelve (Luke 9) and the 72 (Luke 10) to actually get their hands dirty in building God’s kingdom. As they serve together Jesus continues to model and teach alongside the disciples participation, helping them when they mistakes. The final stage is that Jesus equips and leaves his disciples to it. Ultimately, he hands over the task of establishing the church to the disciples although he does not leave them to their own devices but rather sends the Holy Spirit to empower and elevate his workers during kingdom construction, repair and cleaning work.
They continue to get things right and some things wrong. The church is established.
He equipped them with the ladder they needed to go and build His church and make disciples. Elevating others is biblical.
Vital
Churches and charities have a moral responsibility to support partners in the direction of greater financial sustainability; liberating them from reliance on western money. But is this possible or just the domain of large agencies with the resources to do this?
How do we move from partners having too much dependency to interdependency?
We need to give them the power. A small business can be a key part of doing so. Whether you are part of a local church or a mission agency you can enable this.
However, it does mean that like the ladder, you are no longer the builder, evangelism event organiser or the provider of the raw materials but rather the one who is in the background, empowering, enabling and elevating. You are involved but must take less credit and have less control.
If I have a ladder and my neighbour asks for help to clean their gutters, but I do the job for him I am creating dependency, if I withhold it I am either forcing him to stay where he is and not address the issue or I am pushing him to go elsewhere when I had the resources to help. If I lend him the ladder he is able to do the job, he learns and will be able to do it next Winter too. Elevating others is vital.
Possible
Match funding – When I arrived at Transform Europe Network there was a long list of our 60 partners who needed £10k for a new car. We did not have the resources to do that. However, we realised that partners had some funds, they also often had an old car to sell (even if for just a few Euros). The ladder we set out elevating partners to buy new cars was a match fund. We said, “you raise as much as you can and we’ll match it.” In some cases, this was about 50%, in others they raised less or more. In each situation our partners ended up with a new car. In all cases there was a great sense of ownership. The result is that donor money goes further and the partner is empowered.
Coaching – One partner TEN has is too reliant on one funder. That funder is unhappy about this and keen to reduce support. The partner could see no way forward and they hoped TEN would find the money that would be lost. We have not done so. I visited and spent two days with their small team reviewing the organisation, identifying challenges and next steps, and helping plot strategy. They began to see things differently. We raised their gaze. Following that I am now coaching the Executive Director. She is making new connections, raising new funds and slowly seeing the impact. Elevating partners helps them see the fuller perspective. One of the most exciting things we can do to empower someone else is open their eyes to what is possible.
Small business – A pastor in Serbia wanted his church to be more sustainable and to better engage his community. He wanted to build a children’s soft play for parties. With some support he wrote a business plan. TEN offered a grant and a loan. With some nerves he and we took this on, he developed the business, opened up and now over two years in turns over €100k per year, has made new connections, employs several young people and funds generated have been used for church purposes including employment of workers! He is now working on business two! Click here to listen to a podcast interview with pastor Nenad Radeka, telling this story: https://shorturl.at/rdDlV.
More interdependent sustainable mission partnerships will elevate those we serve alongside around the world and are biblical, vital and possible.
If you want to find out more james.vaughton@ten-uk.org
