What is Church to Church?The Willow Creek Association (WCA) and Compassion International (CI) are true kindred spirits in the belief that the local church, through Christ, is the hope of the world. The WCA is in relationship with more than 4,000 resourced churches and CI is in relationship with some 5,000 under-resourced indigenous churches. Through a joint venture with CI, churches can have the richness of part of their mission expression being in long-term holistic relationships with other churches in under-resourced parts of the world. The key word is relationship. It's about connecting a well resourced church with an under-resourced church to bring about holistic transformation for both, the church that has the resources, and the church that doesn't have the material resources, and really working together for Kingdom value. The vision is that two churches would share, dream and pray together, so they can serve one another—and the broader body of Christ—in love. Many of CI's 5,000 churches in these under-resourced parts of the world are not connected to another well resourced church. They're struggling it out, and battling it out alone. What we ask from our churches in North America, is not to replace how they do missions, but to add a partner church, and a relationship—Imagine 5,000 under-resourced churches in relationships with churches across North America. The global impact is a game changer. It will change your church, it will change their church, and it will change the hearts of your congregation. See the long-term impact of your partnership and service in your life and others'.
"God used our trip to India with the Church to Church program to broaden our vision of what God is up to in the world; to raise our hope for the future as we saw significant, strategic ministry taking place in some every needy areas; and to stir our passion to be involved. When Compassion says they are Christ centered, church based, child focused and committed to integrity, believe them; they are living those values in some of the most challenging places on earth."
Steps Toward PartnershipSTEP 1: Cast your vision The first step is for your church to fill out a profile on your church to discover where your heart and passions are to serve. CI then reviews it, and since CI knows their churches in the under-resourced parts of the world, they are able to look at your profile and try to find a custom fit. Sometimes it's a denominational connection, otherwise it can be around a particular cause or a passion. CI finds that fit and makes the link that makes sense. CI has a whole church team dedicated to this; to listen, to talk, and to find out your heart, your vision and your church's mandate that God's given you to begin to discover this together. It's as simple as connecting with us and learning more. STEP 2: Commit to partnership Partnership begins with bringing together a relationship between your church and an under-resourced church. The program is really not a cookie cutter approach. It is about what the vision is for both churches, the church in the field and the church here in the United States, the well resourced and the under-resourced. What are those two visions? Since these relationships are custom matched, you're better able to connect in partnership together. Your church will then go through a training program to learn about some of the cross cultural challenges that you are going to face, and continue to stay connected with them into a long-term partnership with the assistance of CI throughout the process. These are some of the roles that you can play in partnership and support:
We seek to help your church accomplish what the Holy Spirit has authored in your missions program in ways you might not be able or comfortable to do on your own. The expectations for a U.S. Church to Church partner:
If you are excited about the possibilities and comfortable with the challenges, Church to Church may be a useful tool for mutual transformation in your church and your church partner. STEP 3: Contact us Our goal is to align your passion and resources in a relationship with an under-resourced church with the same passion. To join us as a part of this movement, call one of Compassion's Church Relations Representatives at (866) 441-7184, Monday through Friday, 9:00am to 5:00pm MST, email C2C@compassion.com, or find out more at Compassion. |
"We had a long history of involvement with world missions. We wrote a check every month and sent it to our denominational headquarters and they would disburse the money. One of the things that was missing for us was the relationship building with people. This new wave of missions, the idea of building relationships with people and churches around the world is what God wants us to do. We're going to grow from that. They're going to grow from that. Our people's lives are being transformed. We see an increased level of generosity, passion and awareness. It's not about us. It's not even about our own community. It's about communities around the world that are under developed and unresourced that we can become partners with to make an eternal impact for the kingdom of Jesus Christ."
"Our relationship through Compassion is not only assisting in doing a significant work in caring for needy children; it also highlights Jesus' precious Bride, the Church. I am so grateful that we have a church that we stand beside in seeing to gospel delivered in word and deed. The level of accountability, humility and impact I saw on display was both instructive and challenging to me." 
