Zambia Hunt

Healthy missionary partnerships thrive when both the church and the missionary understand their roles. As a sending and supporting church, Kitwe Church desires to provide biblical care and oversight for those serving on the field. Here is our attempt to clarify expectations for our church and for our supported missionaries.

What a missionary can expect from us

1. Prayer Support – we will continually and creatively encourage our people to pray for our missionaries. 
2. Financial Support – we will pay our promised support every month for their term. We plan to support those we send at a minimum of 20% of their financial support level.  At the end of a given time, both parties will evaluate to see if we want to continue this relationship. If there is a change in ministry and location, an immediate evaluation will be made to continue supporting this ministry. 
3. Consistent Communication – we will attempt to keep our missionaries up to date on what is happening at Kitwe Church and inquire about personal details in their lives so we can keep up to date on what is happening with them as church members for whom we are accountable. 
4. Practical Assistance – if a missionary needs housing, transportation, furniture, etc., while in our area or other kinds of needs while on the field, we will attempt to meet those needs somehow. 
5. Team Relationship – we want to be viewed as part of the team behind our missionaries. They can expect us to be concerned for them and their ministry. We desire openness from both parties. We want to continually develop the attitude of a team ministry that results in a closer relationship. 
6. Report to Missions Committee – our missionaries can expect to meet with the Missions Committee whenever they are home on report ministry. They will also be given adequate time to report to the entire church congregation.

What We Expect from Our Missionaries 

1. We desire close communication with each of our missionaries. We request correspondence from them at least monthly, either by email or phone. We want to know how the missionary is doing and inform you how the ministry progresses. 
2. As part of the team, we would like to be informed of any change of plans for ministry strategy and location. 
3. To help us better plan for a missionary being in our area, we would like to know as soon as possible when they will be visiting Kitwe Church next. 

Our Relationship With Mission Agencies and Para-Church Ministries 

Mission agencies and Para-church ministries are Christian ministries that do not meet the accepted criteria to be churches. While not mentioned in the New Testament, mission agencies and Para-church ministries are not unbiblical and are often helpful. They exist to assist the work of local churches.

At Kitwe Church, we will work with mission agencies and para-church ministries. Supporting missionaries connected with such ministries does not endorse all aspects of those ministries, their beliefs, or practices.

Conclusion

We desire to cultivate and maintain an edifying relationship with the missionaries we support and send. This requires clarity of expectations, because the work of missions is a shared labor in which the sending church and the missionary partner together for the advance of the gospel. Kitwe Church commits itself to faithful prayer, financial support, and consistent communication, and we expect our missionaries to maintain open communication with, and a meaningful connection to, their sending church. While mission agencies and other para-church ministries may serve a helpful role in the process, the primary relationship must remain between the missionary and the local church. We dare not delegate or neglect our God-given responsibility to provide spiritual authority, relational support, and biblical accountability for the missionary work of the church.