Christians of all cultures and contexts face the challenge of collaborating to make Christ known. Throughout the Bible we gain inspiration and insights about creating, managing and evaluating generous, collaborative and partnering initiatives and relationships in God’s mission. Ministry in today’s world provides us with endless opportunities to make cooperation a priority in Christian mission and ministry; locally, regionally and globally.

This unit examines factors and complexities involved in understanding and creating partnering and collaboration as a missional strategy in various types of contexts. Methodologies and frameworks are evaluated for effectiveness in creating, implementing, managing and evaluating different types of partnerships in ministry. Contexts that influence collaborating in mission are considered. These include the importance of the relational dimension of generous partnering as well as the effects of power differentials in missional partnerships. All of these factors are developed on a theological foundation for partnership and an exploration of a biblical theology of partnering and collaboration.