21st Century America Is Poised for a Church/Parachurch Partnership

Churches who are unwilling to work with other ministries are doomed. In the past, one of the reasons that churches and Parachurch organizations have had a hard time working together was the issue of

Right & Wrong

Vs

Life & Death

In a very real way the Community and Seeker Church mentalities have paved the way for a strong Church/Parachurch partnership. There are powerful influences in the church today that are saying that Life & Death are more important than Right & Wrong. They are not prepared to throw out their theological convictions; but they are not likely to see the timing of the Rapture as a make or break issue. We have far more important issues to be concerned about then the timing of the Rapture, we have a Post-Christian culture to be concerned about. Anyone who is familiar with American and European history has to be concerned that the U.S. is on the fast track to becoming as secular as Europe.   

Historically, American churches, operating in a Christian culture, have felt that they had the luxury to stake out their theological turf based on their many “distinctives.” They could afford to fight about questions like the timing of the Rapture. But today churches no longer have the luxury to have a long list of distinctives. The list is still there but for most groups the distinctives, that they are willing to die for, comprises a very short list. There are just too many pressing social issues in a culture that is rapidly being paganized. Even the government is pleading with faith-based organizations to get involved with social action ministries.

One Advantage of the Para church Approach is: There Is No Address

The church was the most effective during its first 300 year, before it had an address. One great advantage the Para ministries have in the area of mission is that they rarely depend on their addresses or facilities. The ministry impact of most Churches, on the other hand, tends to be defined by their addresses and facilitie

Para organizations have a history of strategizing to reach various people groups on the fly. They are not slowed down by buildings, they are passion-based, not location/facility based. Para organizations do not need to provide collective worship and edification to be authentic. Therefore they can travel like Wesley did, “lean and mean.”

Our experience on church staffs has taught us that it takes a huge investment for churches to accommodate their ministries, especially their children’s ministries. And the children’s ministries may be the most important ministry that a church has, so it is a good investment. While churches have seen the value of well-developed children’s ministries, they seldom see the value of well developed ministries to the hundred plus people groups in the U.S. But the good news is that churches do not have to start from scratch to reach the people groups, there are already good organizations in place, and we just need to travel with them.