Denominational Pastoring of Pastors Partnerships
“As God’s fellow workers (partners)...” (2 Co 6:1)
“I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself;
he can do only what he sees his Father doing,
because whatever the Father does the Son also does.
For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does.” (Jonh 5:19, 20a)
“What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul?
Only servants, through whom you came to believe –
As the Lord has assigned to each his task.
I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow...
For we are God’s fellow workers (partners);
You are God’s field, God’s building.” (1 Co 3:5, 6, 9)
“There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit.
There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord.
There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men.
Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.
The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts;
and though all its parts are many, they form one body.
So it is with Christ.
The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I don’t need you!’
And the head cannot say to the feet, ‘I don’t need you!’
Now you are the body of Christ,
and each one of you is part of it.” (1 Co 12:4-7, 12, 13, 21, 27)
The life of the Body, taught in 1 Corinthians 12-14, Romans 12 and Ephesians 4 and illustrated in Acts 2.42-47, should be expressed in Christian organizations beyond the local church. Churches, denominations and para-church organizations should work together as partners. Only in this way will we “reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ” (Eph 4:13).
Although the title above indicates a focus on denominations, we would like to clarify that this page and its links also apply to partnerships with pastoral counsels in any city, para-church organizations that seek involvement with pastoring of pastors, and missions concerned with the pastoring of their missionaries.
See the following links to deepen the subject of partnerships.
- Foundations of Biblical partnerships in 1 Corinthians 12-14
- Fifteen principles for efficient cooperation in the Kingdom of God
- Perspectives of denominational leaders about pastoring of pastors
- Implementing pastoring of pastors in a denomination
- Catalyzing a pastoring of pastors movement
- Other resources
Return to the MAPI homepage.
Note: We respect and are fully supportive of churches that have women pastors. At the same time, for the sake of simplicity we will not repeatedly say "his or her," "he or she," or other similar differentiations. Please understand that when we use the masculine we are including the feminine.