and simply talk. These myriad moments may not seem life-changing, but they are. These are the moments that fill our days, our weeks, our months, and our years; and the accumulation of these moments build the relationships we have with one another. Each experience, no matter how ordinary, strengthens the deep roots of relationship. Congregational partnerships work in a similar way. Amid the seemingly ordinary tasks of building, singing, preaching, praying, eating, sharing, listening, and learning, the roots of relationship grow deeper. During a recent Central Church trip to Havana, the team went with Mabel to the hospital. At the main entrance, Alexis*, a hospital staff member, met them to lead a tour of the facility. During the tour, the group asked Alexis if they could pray over a patient who was suffering. He hesitated at first, then agreed. During the prayer, Stuart, one of the team members from Kansas, was silently praying that Alexis would be overwhelmed by the love of God. Stuart watched as Alexis was overcome with emotion during the prayer. As the group concluded the prayer and followed him down the stairwell toward the lobby, Alexis was wiping a stream of tears from his face with a handkerchief. After he had collected himself, Alexis looked into the faces of the team, expressed his deep gratitude for their visit, and extended an invitation to the group to return at any time. Once again, the roots of a new relationship had begun to grow. PRIORITIZING THE PERSONAL When congregational teams from the U.S. arrive in other countries, we often arrive with busy agendas. But have we left enough room for relationship-building to take place? The partnership between Central Church and sister congregations in Havana continues to be formed through trial and experience. At first, schedules were planned to maximize the physical labor of the Central teams. Now, partners in Havana and Kansas integrate schedules that leave margin for God to break into their moments together. Leaders from both locales wrestle with the question, What is most important about our partnership? Does every team trip need
Clockwise from left: Mabel shows how the roots of relationship can grow through something as ordinary as sharing a piece of fruit. A youth baseball team in Havana poses for a photo. Lilly Fernandez, pictured here with her daughter, helps her husband, Otoniel, lead the partnership ministry of local churches in Havana.
to be arranged around putting up buildings? Could we begin instead to structure team trips around building relationships? With Stuart’s team, an agenda was set for buildings, but just days before the team departed for Cuba, work plans were exchanged for relational plans. As Stuart stood in the lobby of the hospital preparing to leave, he thought, Alexis has just begun to acknowledge that what took place in those few moments together was real.
who does the planting, or who does the watering. What’s important is that God makes the seed grow. The one who plants and the one who waters work together with the same purpose” (1 Cor. 3:7-8, NLT). It’s becoming more and more evident to Central Church and our sister churches that the day-to-day interaction with others is where roots of relationship grow. As Kansans and Cubans come together for shared times around baseball diamonds or dinner tables, the seeds of relationship are plantSHARED ROOTS, SHARED PURPOSE ed and watered, and then—by the grace of What can partners do in five or six days to God—they begin to sprout. That’s because if create lasting change that gets at a com- congregational partnerships are about anymunity’s deeper issues, such as poverty or thing, they’re about relationship. injustice? Honestly, not much. Individuals can, however, play baseball together, hold *Name is changed for protection. babies, pray over a new acquaintance, or share a piece of fruit. They can work alongside brothers and sisters who may not You can see share a common language but do share a more photos from Havana common mission. As we commit to walking in the digital version of with one another in mission and through the NCM Magazine on an iPad. seemingly ordinary moments of life, relationship is formed, and the church becomes Visit Apple’s Newsstand global in the most personal way. to download your free copy. The apostle Paul reminds us of our participation in God’s mission: “It’s not important Winter 2015 | 37