Partnerships Across Contexts

Elmstead Baptist Church and Church on the Moor (pictured above) have spent the last couple of years developing a partnership that blesses both fellowships.

As well as joint prayer meetings and pulpit swaps, they practically support one another with ministry and resources to help the gospel flourish in both communities.

The idea of exploring a partnership originally came from the FIEC podcast In:Dependence. Ollie Land, pastor at Elmstead, heard the story of New Life Church in Middlesborough partnering with Banstead Community Church in London.

UK mission

“It came at a time when we were reviewing our mission partnerships,” said Ollie. “As part of that process, we wanted to have mission partnerships that represented the wide variety of mission that takes place – including in the UK. We had money to donate, but it soon became clear that a partnership with Church on the Moor should to be much deeper than financial.”

Elmstead had been introduced to Church on the Moor in Cleator Moor near Whitehaven via Medhurst Ministries – a ministry set up to serve churches in forgotten places. Initially, the church had just wanted to bless a Medhurst church with a donation, but Joe Pearson, pastor at Church on the Moor encouraged Elmstead to think about something more.

“It’s true that we were looking for more regular income,” says Joe. “But the key thing I pushed for was a deeper relationship. In the New Testament, it is clear that financial help always comes from relationships, and that is what we wanted to do with Elmstead.”

Over time, the churches got to know each other and began to pray for and with each other, as well as supporting one another’s ministry.

Joe and another trustee from Church on the Moor visited Elmstead, Joe preached and then helped the elders at Elmstead to think about ministry in deprived areas. Meanwhile, the Elmstead elders helped Joe think about developing an eldership team.

Now, the churches will sign an agreement about their formal partnership, seeking to bless one another in their different contexts.

Gospel partnerships across contexts

Joe added, “There is a great need up north to help gospel-preaching churches. Those with more resources in wealthy parts of the UK can bless churches like ours and can really meet a need.

“When the Spirit works in poorer communities, the people who are saved often have more complicated pastoral needs. In addition, they can often only support the financial needs of the ministry a little. The last four people to come to faith here are a painter and his wife, and two unemployed people. Our contexts are very different, so we can help each other to see our blindspots.”

Seeing these partnerships develop is the reason FIEC is holding a partnership day with Medhurst Ministries on Tuesday 19 November. Our hope is that more tangible partnerships between churches in different contexts can spring up as a result of these introductions.

Ollie would love to see more churches in wealthier places consider these kind of links: “UK-based partnerships with churches in different contexts bear fruit. This kind of partnership has a chance to be more real and meaningful in a way that some overseas partnerships can’t because of the geographical realities.

“Our church in London has a real heart for the work and ministry in Cleator Moor, and Church on the Moor can see that. The Lord is knitting hearts together and our partnership is proof of that.”

Ian Williamson, Executive Director of Medhurst Ministries would love to see more partnerships like this develop and added:

“I am grateful to have had the opportunity to introduce Ollie and Joe to one another and have been extremely blessed to watch their gospel partnership develop over the last few months. I am also excited to see what other partnerships might develop as a result of the partnership between Medhurst Ministries and FIEC.”