Why Partnership Matters
Written by Lizzey McFarlin, published October 2021
As I began to think about this blog, I had no idea how to start. Church partnership was something I believed in, but not for a reason I knew how to articulate.
Honestly, “believed in” is too strong of a phrase. To believe means to “accept something as true.” In the past, I partnered with churches if the process was clear and convenient with my schedule, not necessarily because I agreed that partnership was the correct way to go about things.
In college, I had faithful mentors tell me to stop “church shopping” as quickly as I could and get settled into a church home. I found a church I enjoyed, went most Sundays, even served in some various ministries within the church. I never made it my home though - I never went through the partnership process.
In my mind, I was fulfilling the call of Christians to be within the body of the church. I saw that Jesus calls the church his body (Ephesians 1: 22-23), I joined this body when I became a believer in Christ (1 Corinthians 12:13), and I even acknowledged the need to be in attendance at a local church separate from just being in community with other believers in Christ (Romans 16:16).
However, as I began to study scripture and pray for this blog, it was clear that regular attendance was not the sole goal of the early church.
I love how the early church is depicted in Acts 2.
“And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.”
Acts 2:42-47
I saw the church do many things in Acts 2.
They listened to teaching.
They spent time together.
They ate and prayed together.
They shared in awe at what God was doing in their midst.
They gave freely and generously to one another.
They enjoyed and praised God with one another.
They lived in unity.
The chapter tells us that the early church’s actions led to “[God adding] to their number day by day those who were being saved.” God is intentional about using the gathering of His followers to call people to believe in Jesus.
Though I was assured God wanted His people to gather, my question remained: why did I need to declare myself to one place? Why did I need to “partner” with a church?
This Scripture really opened my eyes to a new way of seeing my role in the church:
For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. (Romans 12:4-6)
In the above reading, God said we all belong to one another. The way He has created me is designed to complement and bless other members of His church body. We all have spiritual giftings that we bring to the table for the building up of His bride (1 Cor 12:7). I am not my own, but my body is a temple of the Holy Spirit that I’ve received from God (1 Cor 6:19-20). I am a member of a larger body and the fullness of Christ is revealed when we are committed to one another and dwelling together in unity.
Serving is not belonging. Having friends is not belonging. Partnership is how we, as the local church, form one body and belong to one another.
In all of Paul’s letters in the New Testament, he is writing to specific churches. He knows the people that he is writing to - they are committed to that church, whether it be the church in Corinth, Ephesus, or Galatia. This commitment is how we serve one another through our giftings, remove sin from our midst (1 Cor 5), love one another, and express God’s glory to a godless world.
I hope you will belong somewhere. More specifically, I hope you will belong to The Paradox Church, that together, we can partner with what God is doing in Fort Worth. That as equal members of the body of Christ, we can move towards godliness together (Hebrews 10:14).
The goal is for all of them to become one heart and mind—
Just as you, Father, are in me and I in you,
So they might be one heart and mind with us.
Then the world might believe that you, in fact, sent me.
The same glory you gave me, I gave them,
So they’ll be as unified and together as we are—
I in them and you in me.
Then they’ll be mature in this oneness,
And give the godless world evidence
That you’ve sent me and loved them
In the same way you’ve loved me.
John 17: 20-23 (MSG)