DR. EMMANUEL OGUNYEMI President, Life Builders Ministries International

1DR. EMMANUEL OGUNYEMI

Partnership and Resources SharingWith Indigenous Ministries in the

Majority World:Factors to Consider

DR. EMMANUEL OGUNYEMIPresident, Life Builders Ministries International

What Are We Talking About?• How would you define the concept of partnership? • Dictionary.com provides a very general definition of partnership,

which it defines as, the state or condition of being a partner; participation; association; joint interest.

• Merriam-Websters’ Online Dictionary focuses more upon the legal aspects of the term, and defines partnership as a relationship resembling a legal partnership and usually involving close cooperation between parties having specified and joint rights and responsibilities. The Encarta online encyclopedia more specifically addresses the cooperative nature of partnership, which it defines as, cooperation between people or groups working together, and, an organization formed by two or more people or groups who work together for some purpose.

• Dictionary definitions, though cover the aspects of cooperation and responsibilities, it is deficient from the Christian point of view.


Ministry Oriented Definition • Warren provided a foundational ministry-focused

definition of partnership, which he describes as, sharing with another or with others in action. He further identifies three critical elements which constitute action-oriented partnerships. These elements are:

• Genuine involvement demonstrated by a commitment of trust.

• The acceptance of responsibility demonstrated by a readiness to serve the purpose of the focus of the partnership.

• The acceptance of all liabilities demonstrated by a readiness to pay the price of partnership.


Further Definition • Bush and Lotz define it as an association of

two or more autonomous bodies who have formed a trusting relationship and fulfill agreed-upon expectations by sharing complementary strengths and resources, to reach their mutual goal. Just like the other one, this definition includes the necessary elements of trust, expectations, sharing responsibilities, and purpose.


Biblical Basis for Partnership

• The Nature of God—The triune God: Gen.1:26 “let us make man…”• The Prayer of Jesus– John 17:20-23 • The Koinonia of believers—Phil.1:3-5• The “Oneness”--- Eph. 4:1-5; • The Body Metaphor – 1 Cor. 12;21-26


Table Discussion 1 • Using any of the Bible texts on

partnership, discuss what is missing in our partnership relationships with indigenous ministries. • Mention what must change in how

we access and share available resources for God’s Mission


A Paradigm Shift

“We are in the middle of a hugely significant paradigm shift: missions is transitioning out of the paradigm “from the West to the rest” into a new and not yet fully defined or understood paradigm “from anywhere to everywhere”.

Eldon Porter, 2010The center of Christian activity is gradually shifting from the northern hemisphere to the south.


Missions and Partnership in the 19th century

• The Old Paradigm had these slogans (you can add to the list)

Us and them Developed and UndevelopedHelping and Evangelization Donation and Sending Reached and Unreached


The Old and New ParadigmsOLDER MISSIONARY PARTNERSHIP

• Focus on deficits (i.e. “lacks”: saving souls from evil, building churches and homes, food pantries, clothing banks, etc.)

• Problem response (rapid relief, emergency aid, crisis oriented)

• Donation orientation (short-term, momentary)

• Grants, gifts, hand-outs• More services

(measurable quantitative results over qualitative)

• Focus on individual

NEWER MISSIONARY PARTNERSHIP MODEL

• Focus on assets (i.e. identifying local materials, techniques, knowledge, problem solving skills, people, etc. as “resources”)

• Opportunity identification (systemic or policy changes, structural)

• Investment orientation (long-term, strategic; not like a financial investment for any direct gain but to risk something of our’s and ourselves to witness global growth and empowerment of others)

• Grants, gifts, loans, investment, contracts (programs of mutual accountability and trust; i.e. micro-loans, each-one-teach-one)

• Less services/More coalition, networking (more qualitative)

• Focus on community or neighborhood10DR. EMMANUEL OGUNYEMI

Old and New Paradigms Cont. OLDER MISSIONARY

PARTNERSHIP MODEL• Maintenance, e.g. status quo• See people as “clients” (with the

U.S. as the “patrons”)• Aim to “fix” people (as victims

rather than survivors)• Programs are the answer

(people are ideally objectified as passive “oppressed” or as commodities of labor or are romantically dehumanized as the spiritually “pure” and “noble” exotic Other)

• Building objects (churches, schools, homes, etc.)

• Dependency (one-way, unilateral) both financially and intellectually

• Doing: giving, teaching (i.e. delegations from north to south)

NEWER MISSIONARYPARTNERSHIP MODEL

• Development: empowering• See people as “citizens (of the world)” &

“(human) family”• Aim to jointly develop or realize already

existing potential• People are the answer (both through their

historical processes of appropriation and resistance and as moving from being others’ objects to their own subjects, as agents of transformation)

• Building relationships, partnerships (from which come joint projects and programs)

• Interdependency (mutual, multilateral) intellectually and spiritually

• Being: receiving, listening, learning (an effort to reverse the imbalance of power and work jointly toward harmonious exchange) 11

DR. EMMANUEL OGUNYEMI

Sharing Resources in Partnership:What is the truth?

“Many missionaries have come back to the States from the mission field, pleading, ‘Please stop sending money to the overseas churches. They are becoming dependant on American funds and can’t learn to take care of themselves and grow if this continues.’ Bob Finley, chairman of the Christian Aid Mission in Virginia acknowledged that, ‘The most effective indigenous missions organizations are those independent of foreign control and not affiliated with foreign denominations or missions organizations.’

Churches that are self-supporting can rely on God to carry their mission forward. However, churches that depend on outside funds are paralyzed, relying on human beings to supply their needs.” Alex A, David E, Taylor T, and Rob L. 12

DR. EMMANUEL OGUNYEMI

Table Discussion 2

• What is the truth here? • Discuss the appropriate ways to share

resources (including money) in cross-cultural partnerships

• Can we have partnership relationships without the involvement of money?

• How can we move from dependency to interdependency in our partnerships?


Partnership is About Sharing Resources to Meet a Need

But Who Determines the Need?• The Perceived Need: from the “outsider’s”

perspective . How do we address the issue of donor designated funds when it affects life?

• The Felt Need: from the insider’s view• The Actual Need: this is the REAL need which

can be discovered through dialogue 14DR. EMMANUEL OGUNYEMI

Who Actually Owns What?“We must always remember that all resources belong to God, and we are merely His stewards and are dependent on Him for everything. So regardless of who provides the finances, they must be considered as coming from God, and not merely from a human partner. In doing so, we will guard against letting money control the partnership. We must work towards the fulfillment of the missions and let that guide the partnership. We do not come together primarily because we have resources; we come together first of all because we have a common mission. Let that mission direct the partnership, and then let us work toward the accomplishment of that mission by making all the adjustments we can, knowing we are merely imperfect human vessels.” Dr. Gupta Paul.

This truth, if properly applied, will change many things… 15DR. EMMANUEL OGUNYEMI

Crucial Questions About Resource Sharing

What Do You Bring To The Table?• What is the greatest asset in partnership?

Money? Time? Wisdom? Influence? Energy? The entire life of the “Missionary”?

• Who is too poor to contribute something?• Is poverty only measured in terms of material

stuff? What can we learn from each other?• What should “we” bring to the table?• Who is accountable to who in the partnership

relationships?• Who is helping who?


Partnership with Indigenous Ministries: Factors to Consider

• The Foundation: Relationship, familiarity, intimacy and identity—cultural intelligence.

• The Context: Define it and do not over generalize it. Let it be well written, explained and mutually understood and agreed upon before the implementation. Ask: what do you bring to the table? This is one main factor to consider (e.g child sponsorship in Africa and the problem it can create).

• The Need: Identify the ACTUAL need through dialogue. Do not ask, “what do you need”?

• The Local Leadership: This must be tested first. • The Goal: Interdependency/Mutually beneficial 17DR. EMMANUEL OGUNYEMI

Partnership with Indigenous Ministries Factors to Consider Cont.

• The Process 1: Through collaboration from the West• The Process 2: Identify what God is already doing and

join in… (e.g the mission to Swaziland)• The Process 3: Be willing to build deep relationship

that lasts long…. Do not rush in and no rushing out!• The Process 4: Create a sense of belongingness • The Process: Make it a learning process, no perfection

yet. It can be messy but it is an opportunity to grow• The Result 1: Appreciate faithfulness and not just

achievement. Do not be carried away by numbers• The Result 2: Empowerment/scalable/sustainable

DR. EMMANUEL OGUNYEMI 18

More Factors to Consider• Money is power: avoid intimidating/controlling

and do not start your partnership with money• Relationship is more important than

achievement. Effective communication is an important key in relationship building.

• Do not set the agenda, do not build empire but God’s Kingdom (church planting in Lagos)

• Trust is crucial, but it takes time to build • Patience is a VERY important virtue. Be willing

to forgive! Be patient with one another• Accountability is not a one-way traffic (WATS)


Final ReflectionThe Majority World Christian Leaders need

relational partnership in these areas:1.Leadership coaching for mega church leaders

(sharing your mistakes, lessons learned, etc2.Holistic Ministry (community and national

transformation. There shouldn’t be dichotomy between the “sacred” and the “secular”)

3. Young emerging leaders need theological help4. Learning from each other (e.g. giving, suffering,

youth ministry, faith, forgiveness…) DR. EMMANUEL OGUNYEMI 20

In conclusion…In the words of Apostle Paul…“If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.”

(Philippians 2:1-4) 21DR. EMMANUEL OGUNYEMI

DR. EMMANUEL OGUNYEMI President, Life Builders Ministries International

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