Practical Partnering: Church family with Mission Partners

Nicki - GC3: 
Pete, thanks for your time in sharing some of your recent learnings, I suspect they may be very helpful to others.  We know that churches want to support mission partners well, both at the beginning, as they are being commended, and over the duration of their service. As Ben and Hannah’s mission journey has developed, what has helped you identify ways the church could continue to assist and advocate for them?  

Pete Rhodes-Robinson: 
Prayer and encouragement are critical, but it became clear as we walked alongside Ben (and more recently, his wife Hannah), that there are practical pressures that sit alongside their mission calling. We came to understand that being a sending church doesn’t end at commissioning. It means continuing to listen, check in, and respond as situations and needs shift. We started asking simple questions like, “What’s your next step?” and “How can we help?” 

Nicki - GC3: 
At GC3 we often talk about mission as a shared responsibility between the mission partner, the sending church, and the wider mission community. I know you had some conversations with the team at GC3, how did that idea shape your thinking? 

Pete: 
The support and help we received from GC3 throughout the commissioning process was invaluable, and very much appreciated. The language used helped us understand that sending someone into mission doesn’t mean handing responsibility over completely and hoping everything works out.  

As a sending church, we came to understand that we carried real responsibility for Ben and Hannah’s wellbeing and having what they needed to serve well in the community they were called to. That didn’t mean we had to cover everything ourselves, but it did mean we couldn’t step back and leave it solely to them or assume other organisations would do that for us/them. 

Nicki: 
You’ve described your role as one of advocacy. What did that actually look like in practice? 

Pete: 
It’s involved being positive and enthusiastic about them, and championing/representing them in different settings. 

It’s also been practical and somewhat ordinary, jumping in occasionally to help with the awkward stuff e.g. having conversations on their behalf when those conversations may have felt difficult for them; helping think through budgets carefully and realistically; and following up with people who had expressed interest in supporting them. 

It’s also meant using our church connections and networks to raise awareness and support, rather than expecting Ben and Hannah to constantly promote themselves, which we’ve learned can feel like a real challenge to many mission partners.  

Nicki : 
Why do you think that kind of advocacy is so important for mission partners? 

Pete: 
Mission partners are people first. They are often highly gifted and skilled to serve in different ways but are still developing skills in other areas such as fundraising, administration, and promotional work. 

We understand how managing all of that on their own can be unnecessarily exhausting. Advocacy is a practical way of offering pastoral care and support. 

Nicki: 
In your situation, how did this approach shape the way the wider church engaged with Ben and Hannah? 

Pete: 
We understand that we need to help our church community stay connected with Ben and Hannah. We have tried to keep them visible by asking them to share video stories about everyday life, e.g. a video tour of their flat and local surroundings; and scootering to university when Ben was studying. We’ve also had them join by video link to the occasional church service/event. 

There's still work to do in that space, but our aim is for people to know them, even as the make-up of our church family changes over time.  New people joining our church are given context and story about Ben and Hannah, not just information. 

This has made it easier for the whole church to engage, pray, and feel a sense of shared ownership in the partnership.  

Nicki: 
What do you feel your church has learned most through walking with Ben and Hannah in this way? 

Pete: 
Supporting mission partners well requires more than enthusiasm. It requires ongoing presence, partnership, and care. Understanding our role has helped us move from simply sending Ben and Hannah to genuinely walking with them. And we’ve been encouraged as we’ve watched them grow and develop confidence. 

We’ve also learned to trust God with them, their ministry, and provision of their needs. We've been tangibly reminded of this in recent months as God has met their significantly increased budget for the next few years.

Many different people and organisations have come together to support them and there’s a real sense of God’s kingdom working the way he intended it to. Three other CCCNZ churches are helping support Ben and Hannah, which is a real encouragement to us as a church and church leadership. 

Nicki: 
If you were speaking to another church supporting someone as they go onto the mission field, what encouragement could you offer? 

Pete: 
I'd encourage them not to underestimate the power of walking closely with their mission partners. Primarily, it’s about your relationship and connection with them as individuals. 

You don’t need to have everything figured out, but you do need to be willing to invest time, to share responsibility and interest in their ministry/mission, to stand in the gap when needed, and ultimately to trust God with it all.  

Thanks again to everyone who is praying for, and financially supporting Ben and Hannah, who are listed in our Daily Prayer Guide on page 11.