by Joshua Paxton (Author), Enoch Wan (Author)

The illustration of the Universal Church as a body is prevalent throughout Scripture. It is most clearly demonstrated in 1 Corinthians 12 where Paul uses it to demonstrate the unity that believers should share amidst the diversity of their various gifts. However, the Church has not always demonstrated this principle well to a watching world. Today, while we speak often of partnership many of the Church's activities remain siloed in various institutional forms. Missions history also demonstrates that, like a dysfunctional body whose hands don't cooperate with the arms and the legs, these cultural forms have not always played well with one another.

Partnerships that bring glory to our Triune God will be based on His relational nature. Partnerships begin not with MOU's or articulation agreements but rather the shared unity that believers have in the Body of Christ, the Universal Church. This essential unity allows for the diverse outworking of our gifts to prepare and raise up the next generation of missionaries.

This book explores a relational approach to building partnerships through the Synergy process at Calvary University. Our prayer is that it will help pastors, educators, and mission agency leaders think Scripturally about how to build relational partnerships for mobilizing the next generation of missionaries.