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Partner Care
This program is intended to create a relationship tie between our Ministry Partners on the field and the members of Richland Creek. This ministry is all about encouragement, prayer, and communication between you, your
Ministry Partner, and the church. I want you to be an encourager, in our Ministry Partners’ lives! I want you to talk to other church members about what God is doing through Richland Creek Missions and your partner, and how they can be praying for them. I hope someday, God will even open the door for you to go on a RCCC Mission trip to work alongside them in their Missions Context in sharing the Gospel!
Expectations:
1. Pray for your Ministry Partner.
a. You may be thinking, well of course we would pray for them. I hope you do! Many of them are under both physical and spiritual attack, and they greatly need your constant prayers and encouragement. (Don’t forget to tell them you are praying.)
2. Talk about them in Life Group.
a. Any time I get a video update from our partners I will share it with you. If you have the AV capability to share that video with the class on a Sunday, please do so!
3. Reach out to them regularly.
a. You are the primary point-of-contact (POC) for your partner. So, take the lead on this and stay in communication with your LG leader as your secondary POC for your partner.
b. I guarantee they will be encouraged by each and every email or text you send/receive. So, communicate regularly!
c. Also, if you find out information that I need to know, ex: Sue or Bob is sick and needs our prayers, let me know! I may not have heard.
4. Video Chat with them in class or in a home.
a. Again, if you have the AV capability, and the time zone is not an issue, talk with them live in class.
b. If the time zone difference is a problem and AV is an issue, have your LG come over to your house, or the church, and chat with them at a time that works better.
c. I would suggest you to this quarterly, but that is up to you and your LG leader.
5. Send them care packages, birthday cards, and encouraging notes.
a. These are things that most partners will not receive much of while serving on the field. If you do things like this a few times a year, you will love and encourage them in ways that most other people back home won’t.
6. Be conscious of security concerns.
a. I will do my best to let you know of any security concerns for their region. However, you should also talk to them about what is ok, and what is not ok. It is possible that you can’t send them emails with words like: prayer, Jesus, Gospel, missionary, IMB... Keep these things in mind and never assume you are being conscious enough, always ask! You may even need to use pseudo names with your LG where only you and your LG leader know the real identity and location they serve.
In all things, encourage them in the hard and discouraging work of ministry alone in a foreign country. Love on them in all things and lift them up constantly in prayer! They are serving as the hands and feet of Christ, taking the Gospel to the nations and making His name great! Let’s make sure they are spiritually, emotionally, and physically equipped to do so as we pray for them and pray that God would bring about a harvest of souls placing their faith in Christ!
Member Requirements:
1. Must be an active member of Richland Creek, and active in their LG.
2. Must have a love for missions, and a deep, personal, and prayerful interest in the well-being and ministry of their partner.
3. Must understand, effectively communicate with their LG, and monitor the security concerns associated with partners serving in a closed country.
4. Must engage in at least one real-time (i.e. phone call/video call) conversation with their partner every other month and maintain regular email/messenger communication.
5. Must communicate clearly and regularly with your LG the needs, prayer requests, life updates, and ministry updates of your partners.
6. Must stay in regular communication with their “Team Leader” for reports on how the relationship is working.
7. Must attend any Partner Care Ministry meetings.
8. Assist, as necessary, their ministry partner with stateside visits and needs.
9. Identify a replacement if for any reason you have to step down.
Three Tiers of Ministry Partners:
Tier 1: People Richland Creek intends to maintain a long-term relationship with and has plans to send teams annually to works with them. Lean into that relationship as a Life Group and talk them up in the church. We plan to work with them long-term.
Tier 2: Reserved for people that Richland Creek has sent out from our church. These are long-term and critical relationships, that we want to maintain well, since they are part of our Body. Lean into these relationships just like Tier 1 but know that we may not be able to send a team to work with them each year.
Tier 3: Individuals that we either have a loose relationship, due to them not being part of Richland Creek, or are unsure if our partnership will be long-term. We certainly want to lift them up in prayer and promote what God is doing in and through them, but we also want to acknowledge that we may not continue or further invest in a partnership with them.
*Note: Ministry Partners may transition between one tier to another as the relationship develops or changes.