It is likely as you read the title to this post, your first thought is, “huh!?” Let me explain and end the suspense up front. This post is about partnership–specifically, partnership between Help One Now and the Church. Help One Now believes the church should be on the front lines of the fight to end extreme poverty and to care for orphaned and vulnerable children.  We not only believe that in theory, but we enable, equip, and empower the church to actually make it happen!  Help One Now is committed to providing church partners with inspired Kingdom stories that fuel the work of missions along with simple and effective tools they need for leading their communities towards creating lasting impact in our world. DRIVING Take a moment to imagine the interstate without one minor detail–those little white markers that divide the road into lanes.  The reality is that without these lanes, there would be CHAOS, DISORDER, and CONFUSION.  Efficiency, and the purpose of the interstate, would be greatly diminished and lives negatively affected. At Help One Now, we have established clear lanes of opportunity for your church to get involved and for Kingdom impact to occur within the communities we serve, eliminating the chaos, disorder, and confusion.  Levels of partnership have been defined to ensure a positive effect and experience for your church. DANCING The word “dance” means to move rhythmically following a set sequence of steps.  Partnering with Help One Now is like a ballroom dance.  There are three key components to ballroom dancing that directly apply to church partnership with Help One Now: 1.  Relationship.  Without an establishment of and commitment to relationship, a ballroom dance would never happen.  It takes two to tango!  Without an establishment of relationship, partnership will also fail.  As a church partner of Help One Now, we desire to know you and be known by you, establishing a dual commitment to journey with one another for impact. 2. Reciprocity.  A ballroom dance is all about exchange.  If one side of the partnership is initiating every move, the flow of the dance simply would not happen.  In a successful ballroom dance, both parties win.  For a Help One Now church partner, there will be precise exchanges of benefit and sacrifice established.  We will create win/win opportunities for both your church, our local leaders, the children they serve, and the surrounding community. 3. Responsibility.  When dancing, the flow can quickly swing in a negative way when one party fails to withhold their obligation to treat their partner with respect.  Being unmindful of a dancing partner will inevitably create a bad dance and could potentially physically hurt the partner.  Help One Now is committed to be responsible in our approach in serving our leaders and their communities.  We will ask our church partners to be committed in the same way–to strive for excellence and walk within a deep mindfulness, as we seek to establish lasting change. Church? Let’s take a drive.  Let’s dance.  Your involvement is essential!  Join us, as we strive for impact and struggle for progress.  Together, we can do this.  We WILL see communities transformed, lives changed, and the Kingdom advanced. Email me at payton@helponenow.com to further connect and learn more about church partnership with Help One Now.