Most of us have heard the statement, “We can do more together than we can do on our own.” Our Cooperative Program was founded and guided by this statement for decades, but I wonder how many of us really believe that. Not that we do not give to the Cooperative Program, Lottie Moon, Annie Armstrong, or Janie Chapman offerings, because as SCBC churches we certainly do. But, rather, do we believe it enough to actually have partnerships in our communities to help us do more together than we can do on our own?
AtkinsAs I write this article I am riding, not driving, down I-85 to Atlanta to a very large SBC church that is partnering with Powdersville First Baptist Church and Connection Fellowship. I use that term “partnership” very subjectively because this partnership is very one-sided. They are creating an atmosphere of “recycled church resources” by allowing other churches to have what they are no longer using. They are donating video equipment, sound equipment, old sets from productions, and a trailer load of other things to be reinvested in other churches. Our role in the partnership is to get these resources out of their way and then redistribute them to other ministries. In a way, we feel like Fred and Lamont Sanford heading out to get a load of “junk” that others no longer want, but to us this “junk” is pure gold. The larger church is willing to partner with a smaller church in providing resources the smaller church could not afford. Together, all of us are doing more than we could ever do on our own.
The reality is that many of you who are reading this could do the same for ministries in your communities. The church that is recycling their resources is larger than the combined memberships of Powdersville First Baptist, Connection Fellowship, the Neighborhood Church, Pathways, Origins, and the other church plants and ministries that will benefit from these resources. Because of their vision for reinvesting, items that would have been stuck in a closet or boxed up and forgotten will now help other churches empower their members to be “Great Commission Living” in the coming year. Their generosity will now empower these churches and ministries to recycle their unused resources, which will help even more churches, and the partnerships just keep growing.
The other reality is that many of you who are reading this would love to have a church partner with you, to help enable you both to do more together than you can do on your own. This is where partnerships start coming together, when churches and ministries of all sizes begin to reach out to each other. Everyone needs to realize that we are all on the same team, and that we are not in competition with each other. We should never look lustfully at how God has blessed another church or ministry in the area of resources or relationships, and we should never become hoarders of the resources God has blessed us with. We are all on His team, all of our resources are His, and He has given each of us a calling to fulfill the Great Commission. Partnerships can empower all of His churches and ministries to have Great Commission Living in 2012.
– Atkins is pastor of Powdersville First Baptist Church and president of the South Carolina Baptist Convention.