These courses are essential to understanding the basics of partnership development.

Each partnership's purpose, people, and place are unique.  But all effective, durable partnerships share common experiences - no need to reinvent the wheel.  Acknowledging the principles enables success.  Ignoring them can spell disappointment, even disaster.  Though their appearance, cost, and mission are radically different, a single-engine private airplane and a 747 jet carrying hundreds of people and tons of cargo both fly because of the same aerodynamic principles.  Each design produces unique benefits, yet both planes fly according to the same laws of physics.  

Distilled from 20 years of ministry, this short course gives an overview of the Partnership in Missions suite of courses, an overview of the principles that power effective Kingdom partnerships, and the benefits they produce.  Around the world, every day, acknowledging these principles helps turn dreams into reality.

Enrolling in this course will automatically enroll you in every Essential course in the Partnership in Missions category.  Alternatively, you may self-enroll in the courses you wish to take.

The question is in the back of all our minds: Isn't it really easier and quicker to just do it yourself?  Why spend the time and energy trying to work with others - particularly people or ministries with such different ideas? 

The fact is, in powerful new ways partnerships are demonstrating that your vision or that of your ministry is more likely to be realized if you work with others rather than doing your own thing.  Motivation is everything.

It is essential that partnerships, their instigators, participants, and facilitators understand the theology behind developing partnerships. There are three specific areas of theology that we must explore: Relationships, Spiritual Change, and Life-Change Decisions.

Relationships have been broken since the Garden of Eden.  Our broken relationship with God has naturally affected our relationships with each other.  For partnerships to succeed we must address the broken nature of our relationships.

Spiritual change doesn't happen over night; generally it happens over a long period of many years.  We need ministries that disciple at each step in the person's process of spiritual change.  Partnerships need to acknowledge that other ministries serve the same people and provide important contributions.  Not every should evangelize.

Just like spiritual change is a process, there is a process to making the life-changing decision to become a disciple of Christ.  Partnerships would do well to understand which elements of a person's walk they aim to minister to and acknowledge the other ministries or persons that contributed.


As with all great ventures, there is a lot happening behind the scenes of an effective partnership.  Three of the most important include the development of a vision, a concerted prayer effort, and establishing the fact that partnership development takes a lot of time.

Great vision motivates partnerships.  Without it, no lasting, effective partnership is born, much less sustained.  Vision provides focus, motivation, a gauge for evaluation along the journey, and a basis for fulfillment at the end.  Partnerships are born when the vision is too big, too complex, or calls for resources too great for any individual ministry.

Spiritual breakthroughs are not a game of guns and money.  No human effort will alone produce lasting spiritual change.  Our partnerships must be informed and empowered by God's Holy Spirit in order to be effective.  This can only be dealt with in a process rooted in prayer.

Developing partnerships takes time.  Understand your partnership's development as a process, not an event, and you've taken a big step toward seeing your dream come true.

Life is a journey on which, all too often, we look for shortcuts.  All of us wish there were an easy way to overcome barriers, build relationships, develop trust and common vision, and see wonderful outcomes.  But the early, exploration stage of a partnership is no place for shortcuts.  Make your strategic investments of time, prayer, and energy here, and you will see rich dividends later.

This module will give a practical framework and specific tips and tricks on how to explore the possibility of a partnership primarily through personal interviews with Christian leaders in your region or topic of interests.

There are four major phases in the the partnership development life cycle.  1) Exploration, 2) Formation, 3) Operation, and 4) Maturity. 

The Formation phase is the critical "go/no-go" phase in the life of partnership development.  It's when potential partner ministries say, "We agree, the only way we can accomplish this vision is by working together."  Or, a time when they say, "At least for now, we don't think so."

In this module, we'll introduce you to what most important to give your partnership the best chance of being launched on solid ground - and with realistic, positive expectations.  It gives the big picture "why" but also the nuts and bolts of "how to."

The group you've worked so hard to assemble have taken that big, first step; they've said, "Yes, we want to work together on this challenge rather than do it alone."  But to get any real, lasting results, a partnership not only has to come together, it has to stay together.

This module helps you consider the challenges you're likely to face and provides approaches to help you move ahead successfully.  You may wish to work through the previous two modules Exploration and Formation before engaging with this material. 

Every collaborative effort needs a man or a woman deeply committed to the vision.  But who makes the best partnership facilitator?  Check out the qualities of men and women who have helped God's people produce the most significant spiritual change.  In this module, you'll also get a checklist of key things the facilitator needs to do and outcomes you should be looking  for.

Form follows function.  In other words, how we design is determined by what we're trying to do.  It's the same when we decide how to design and construct our partnerships.  We first must consider what our purpose is and what we hope to accomplish.  That will determine the structure of our partnership or even whether we need a partnership in the first place.  

In this module, we'll look at what a partnership is and isn't as well as the major aspects that we should consider when designing and constructing our partnership.


You've explored many topics in developing partnerships as you've worked through these modules.  Throughout the modules you've read many true-to-life stories as well as fictional anecdotes to illustrate the principles you're learning. 

In this module, you'll explore one story to provide you with an end-to-end perspective of what it takes to launch and lead a collaborative partnership.  It is fictional, but made up from many true events and situations.

Periodically, you'll be asked to respond to what you're reading.