Lessons From Pursuing Gospel Partnerships – Part One

This follows recent entries I’ve written about appreciating gospel partnership and then defining them based on my experiences.

I felt it would be worth sharing some lessons I’ve learnt from pursuing them.

It Is Well Worth Pursuing

We are called to go into the world and make disciples.  That is the call.  Often we’re given guilt-trips for not doing it, and often the thought is that we’re meant to be doing it individually.  Likewise the converse sees us believe we do it only when the whole church gathers for service where the songs, testimonies and finally the preached word will do the job for us.

Thankfully I believe we don’t have to feel under pressure to live up to expectations on the former, or be complacent in our adherence to the latter.  Gospel partnerships allow us to grow in knowng how the commission works in the context of relationship.

My first partner is an evangelist.  He just chooses not to help himself from gorging on an opportunity to share the good news with someone.  Could be someone at the bus stop, or in a restaurant or wherever.  He’s not prowling or harrassing, but he’s a dab hand at knowing an opportunity when he sees one.

For someone who is not as evangelistically skilled or gifted – as I am – knocking about with him helps me to learn and adapt it for myself.

My friend appreciated my hunger and passion for knowing the word, and he would use that further inform his conversations, especially to encourage other believers to be carrying out something we’re called to do.

We differed in temperament and character, but our mutual love of Christ and shared mission in life together for the gospel helped us to see how we complimented each other.  That resulted in us growing more in the ways of Christ as we rubbed off on each other.  We had each others’ back.  We shared in sweet triumphs, and consoled each others when things went awry.  Where one was down, the other could revive the other and vice-versa.  It helped us to put love into practice and we witnessed results in that.

Prayer Is Pivotal

Funnily enough, all the partnerships I’ve engaged with have been birthed in prayer of some sort.

The first partnership came about because the brother and I met in a prayer meeting we both frequented.  As we shared about the desires of our hearts together, we noted some similarity and when the opportunity presented itself, we were able to engage in that partnership.

Others have emerged either from prayers for support in a given area, or through being an answer to someone’s prayer myself in what I offered to someone.

Prayer is not just pivotal for those opening stages.  Experience has taught that taking praying together seriously helps significantly in guiding us on our way and preparing us for what is to come.  Also praying together has helped me to grow in appreciating prayer.  The partnerships have shed light on aspects of prayer that I either didn’t know or hadn’t appreciated.

It’s not treating prayer as just handing our petitions to God.  It’s been about sharing the joy in His presence and thanksgiving even for the opportunity to be in partnership.  That has opened our hearts to each other and those we hope to serve.

I dread to think how lifeless and ineffective the partnerships would have been if we had neglected prayer or worse still, taken it lightly.

More lessons I’ve learnt to follow soon including an ingredient that the world needs now …

For His Name’s Sake

Shalom

C. L. J. Dryden