Partnering with Parachurch

One of the things McKinney Church does really well is its partnerships with parachurch organizations in the community. We support several ministries in the community who are serving people we aren't equipped to serve as well - the homeless, battered women, women in crisis pregnancies, and others. Our only stipulations when we partner with them is they (1) do what they tell us they're going to do, and (2) are committed to sharing the Gospel with those they serve.

We don't require them to send people to our church, attend our church, serve in our church, or lead in our church. We want them to have great ministry where they're at, even if they go to the church down the street.

The philosophy stems from a bigger view of ministry than the local church. Our local church isn't the hope of the world - Jesus is. And if I can be partnered with someone who is sharing the hope of the world with the world, I want to do that - whether or not it adds numbers to my local church.

It's a weird philosophy for a lot of my friends in ministry, but I think it's one of the most important things we do at McKinney. We exist to help people have great ministry... people don't exist to help our ministry be great. There's a big difference.