I agree with the premise that to have a good working partnership, “Their goals and yours must be the same.” Too many times franchisers try to sell their agenda to others and hope it becomes a partnership. As a facilitator, I try to find people who have similar vision and see how I might fit into our compatible aspirations.
For the past four years I have been working with some really wonderful people who share a similar goal as mine – taking the Gospel to those who have never heard (Rom. 15:20). I realize that is a generic and sweeping vision, but you’d surprised how few programs there are in the world that focuses primarily on the two billion people who have never heard the name of Christ.
I met Dr. Vijayam three years ago. I was told he had a training program that focused on making the Gospel available to the 4000 unreached people groups of India. TENT (www.tentindia.org) philosophy is interesting because they approach ministry that is truly holistic. Concentrated primarily on the spiritual needs of people, they also are very much concerned with the physical needs of a country where 80 percent of the population (of over 1 billion) live on less than $2 a day. TENT, therefore, provides training for bi-vocational Christian workers and equips them with the tools necessary to establish micro-business enterprises and life skills in agriculture, animal husbandry and appropriate technology. My part in this training is teaching how to communicate the message of Christ in a cross-cultural setting.
I have worked with many national leaders and programs over the past thirty years and think I can discern between hype and legitimacy. What impresses me most about TENT is the integrity and spiritual commitment of everyone involved in this ministry. TENT does not create programs to attract outside funding, but rather create programs that help people and furthers the mandate of the Great Commission. Funding, though important and vital, is secondary, which is rare in today’s market driven church.
I believe TENT has a lot more to teach me in the field of holistic ministry. Next year I am planning on visiting some of the field works where TENT has established micro-financing projects. If you would like to join me in a learning about micro-business, finance and holistic ministry partnership, let me know.
