“By this everyone will know that you are My disciples, if you love one another.”
John 13:35
The Bible is a book of partnership from Genesis to Revelation. One of the great, unique attributes of the Christian faith is its emphasis upon relationships. While most other world religions are ritual-based, Christianity is relational-based. Every picture of the church in the Bible is a relational picture.
But, unfortunately, most of our contemporary church models are organizational rather than relational. The biblical emphasis on the priority of relationships is why the word koinonia, or “together,” is one of the defining words of the book of Acts.
For many years, relationships and partnerships have been the very heart and soul of what our ministry has stood for. For decades, we have sought to build partnerships interdenominationally, interracially, interculturally, and internationally.
Whatever success we have experienced for the Lord and His Kingdom around the world is primarily because of these strategic partnerships that God has sovereignly given us.
If a ministry or mission relationship is primarily built upon projects rather than partnership, it will ultimately fail. The ministry principle, then, is this: Kingdom projects must flow out of Kingdom partnerships—not vice versa. The partnership is the root and the project is the fruit. One is a by-product of the other. It is sad, however, that projects often overshadow relationships and partnerships. Soon they begin to motivate, drive, and control partnerships rather than the partnerships controlling the projects. Then, the partners are only using each other to accomplish their own agenda.
When Kingdom relationships degenerate to this low level, God is not glorified. That’s because the partnership becomes a means to an end; that is, the accomplishment of a project alone. It shows that we value the project more than the partnership. And, in God’s eyes, no project is more valuable than a partnership! Jesus said to His disciples: “By this everyone will know that you are My disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:35)—not by how you do projects together!
So, there must be agape (love that is of and from God) partnerships before there can be anointed projects. While people may be helped and needs may be met by projects apart from partnerships, God will not be glorified and people will not be edified. So, if we want to do ministry that will truly glorify God and edify others, we must first be centered on people and partnerships—not just on projects and programs.
A good partnership in marriage or in ministry will grow and mature to God’s glory. As the church in any country or culture emphasizes these spiritual virtues and relational principles of partnership, the watching, skeptical world will take notice.
Remember: the only thing that is eternal is our relationships. Therefore, building covenant relationships and Kingdom partnerships is our highest calling and greatest priority in ministry. When we die, we will not take a single project with us to heaven. Not one. But we will take every relationship and partnership that is based in the Lord Jesus.
