The Theology of Partnership in Mission

Abstract

Summary Partnership in mission is not a matter of efficiency so much as a matter of theology. Mutuality in God’s mission is far more than ‘doing things together’. Before we become engaged in mission projects with partners in a different cultural context, it is important to reflect on the principles that God has revealed to us, primarily that mission is His; it is missio Dei. Out of that realisation we begin to ask what our role is and what mutuality means when it comes to different partners joining in what God is doing already. The present article focuses on the importance of a theological approach when Christians from different social and cultural contexts are in mission together. After a word on missio Dei, it emphasizes the value of identifying the God-given assets that each participant (be it individual, a group, a church, etc.) can bring into the mutual mission engagement. Subsequently, the article argues that all mission partners have to share their views on interpreting the missional needs. For a true mutuality in mission we not only need each other’s gifts, we also need each other’s insights. No-one has the monopoly of truth when partners engage in God’s mission. The ‘locals’ may know certain things better, but the view of the ‘foreigner’ is needed just as well.