Partnership Engagement Methodologies

“Church planting movements among all peoples, the gospel to every person, every believer a full participant in the Great Commission.”

A. Entry-level Engagements:

An entry point for churches desiring to partner with missionaries on the field through a single engagement, which may or may not lead to a longer term commitment or partnership.

• Introduces Stateside believers and churches to missions
• Great for entry-level evangelism and opening doors in new communities or target areas.
• Specific objectives/ministry needs
• Often leads to partnerships
  

1. Mission Trips: A one time trip designed for a specific purpose such as evangelism, discipleship, leadership training, research, etc…

2. Entry-level Evangelism Strategies: Stateside partners working alongside missionaries, national churches, local believers and persons of peace to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ, to seek out and identify persons of peace and to begin new evangelistic Bible studies that will lead to new multiplying churches in a given target zone. Example: Gospel Advancement Project (GAP), Uruguay and Argentina GAP is a gospel saturation ministry designed specifically for an urban setting. Its goal is to place the Gospel of John (and/or other evangelistic materials) in every household in that target zone, and to provide a clear presentation of the gospel to these areas. This will be accomplished through the use of partners from the United States as they work in conjunction with missionaries, Baptist churches, and persons of peace in each of the target areas.

3. Strategic Support Teams (SST):
Teams or individuals that fill specific needs and/or roles within an established strategic engagement. Example: SST’s for REAP South (Mike Weaver)


B. Multi-Focused Partnerships:

3 to 5 year commitments to investigate, develop, and support Strategic Engagements that might develop into Strategic Partnerships or Strategy Coordinator Churches. The partnerships are with:

• State Conventions
• Associations
• Churches or Groups of Churches
• Student Organizations (i.e. BSM’s, BSU’s, etc…)
  

Example: Montevideo and Buenos Aires “Rio del la Plata Project” 5 year commitment with Virginia Southern Baptist Convention. Mississippi Baptist Convention Board with Peru “Priority Target Zones” (PTZ’s) are areas, people groups, micro people groups, population segments or geographic areas of Urban Centers with little or no evangelical witness in which the IMB missionary or team, through the leadership of the Holy Spirit, have determined would be best reached through Strategic Partnerships.


C. Strategic Partnerships:

A church or body of believers who through the leadership of the Holy Spirit Partners with an IMB missionary or team to assist in carrying out and implementing the strategies which have been developed by an IMB missionary or team around prayer, evangelism, discipleship and leadership training for the purpose of reaching that people group, population segment or Urban Center, resulting in multiplying churches.

Purpose of a Strategic Partnership: A Strategic Partnership allows Southern Baptist Churches the opportunity to partner with IMB missionaries and to assist them in implementing their mission strategy for a “Priority Target Zone” while living out the Great Commission.

Goals of Strategic Partnerships:

• Partnering with an IMB missionary or team to take the Gospel to a people group, population segment or Urban Center.
• Create an environment for prayer, evangelism, discipleship and leadership training that will lead to a Church Planting Movement.
• Allow Stateside churches the opportunity to be strategically involved with our missionary personnel in all aspects of the missionary tasks, thereby increasing the awareness of lostness, the need for evangelism, and the need for prayer and for support.
• Transforming and energizing the lives of members of local Southern Baptist Churches through an active role in taking the Gospel to the lost of South America. An Acts 1:8 approach.
• Strategic Partnerships potentially may lead to SC Church Engagements.
  

Current Examples of Strategic Partnerships:

• Pichincha Province Adoption Project, Quito, Ecuador
• Student Mobilization, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and Peru
• Bogotá, Colombia
  
• Guayas Cantones for Christ Project, Guayaquil-Ecuador

“High Priority Zones” (HPZ’s) are areas, people groups, micro people groups, population segments or geographic areas of Urban Centers with little or no evangelical witness that are considered strategic, yet our mission personnel do not have the resources to reach within the next 2 to 4 years.


D. Strategy Coordinator Church:

A church or body of believers who through the leadership of the Holy Spirit have taken full responsibility for a people group, population segment or Urban Center by the development and implementation of strategies and plans that are biblically sound, consistent with Church Planting Movement methodologies and which are built around prayer, evangelism, discipleship and leadership training resulting in churches being planted.

Ken Winter, Vice-President of Mobilization, International Mission Board defines the SC Church this way: “It’s a church that is owning the task of taking the gospel to an unengaged people group. It is making a commitment that says, ‘We, under God’s leadership, are going to do whatever it takes to see this people coming to Christ, being discipled and churches being planted that will lead to other churches being planted’ and, ultimately, to a church planting movement.”

Purpose of the Strategy Coordinator Church: The SC Church allows Southern Baptist Churches the opportunity to own the task of reaching the lost within an adopted High Priority Zone and in so doing, living out the Great Commission.

Goals of SC Church:

• To take the gospel to a people group, population segment or Urban Center who do not currently have missionary personnel assigned to them.
• Create an environment for prayer, evangelism, discipleship and leadership training that will lead to a Church Planting Movement.
• Allow Stateside churches the opportunity to be involved in all aspects of the missionary tasks, thereby increasing the awareness of lostness, the need for evangelism, and the need for prayer and for support.
• Transforming and energizing the lives of members of local Southern Baptist Churches through an active role in taking the Gospel to the lost of South America. An Acts 1:8 approach.
  

Current Examples of Strategy Coordinator Church Partnerships:

• Churches Multiplying Churches (CMC), Brazil
• (REAP North and REAP South), among the indigenous in Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay, Chile and Argentina.
• Guayas Cantones for Christ Project, Guayaquil-Ecuador
• All Barrios for Buenos Aires (ABBA), Buenos Aires, Argentina.
  

E. Strategic Prayer Partnerships:

A church or body of believers who through the leadership of the Holy Spirit, partners with an IMB missionary, to take responsibility for a people group or population segment with restricted or prohibited access to the Gospel through strategic prayer, asking the Heavenly Father to break down the barriers that prevent the Gospel Message from being proclaimed.

“I looked for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the GAP on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found none.” Ezekiel 22:30(NIV)

Purpose of Strategic Prayer Partnerships: A Strategic Prayer Partnership allows Southern Baptist Churches the opportunity to partner with IMB missionaries to develop and implement a strategic prayer plan to reach, through prayer, areas that have restricted or prohibited access to the Gospel Message.

Goals of Strategic Prayer Partnerships:

• A Strategic Prayer Partnership allows SBC Partners to become involved in reaching those areas with little or no access to the Gospel.
• A Strategic Prayer Partnership means that the partner church agrees to investigate and research how they might intercede more effectively daily for the adopted restricted access areas.
• A Strategic Prayer Partnership means that the partner church agrees to a 2 to 4 year commitment to pray regularly for God to break down barriers that are preventing the gospel from going into these areas and ask Him to build bridges that will allow access to these areas.
• A Strategic Prayer Partnership means that the partner church will host periodic Church-wide prayer emphasis for the restricted access areas that: a) God will open the doors of access for engagement, b) God will reveal “Persons of Peace”, c) God will make His message of Hope know among these peoples.
• A Strategic Prayer Partnership means that the partner church, if possible, will work with field personnel to engage these restricted access areas.
  

Thinking out of the box with strategic use of volunteers...Will you pray about partnering with us in reaching ECUADOR and South America for Christ?

Check out more "Partnership Resources" and contact information for how you and your church can get on board to be personally involved in missions with us in South America:

www.TakingIt2TheEdge.org