One of the core values of Indigitous is collaboration. We believe that Jesus has called all of His followers to take part in His mission, and we can be more effective if we work together.
“We were created to be the body of Christ, with all the different parts working together in harmony, and yet our lack of collaboration is a major hindrance—if not the major hindrance—to the advance of the kingdom of God around the world,” says Kärin Butler Primuth, Lausanne catalyst for ministry collaboration.
“Where there is no collaboration in ministry, we inevitably find distrust, division, duplication, and ultimately a diminished ability to accomplish the Great Commission,” Kärin says. ““We cannot continue as isolated ministries, each doing their own thing. The world is becoming more complex, more interconnected. The situations are too complicated for any one ministry or any one approach alone.”
In the Bible, Nehemiah wept when he learned that the walls of Jerusalem were still rubble more than half a century after the temple had been rebuilt. So, he made a plan to rebuild the wall.
As you can imagine, he needed help. One man rebuilding the wall brick by brick would’ve taken more time than he had, especially once the Samaritans learned of his plans and decided to attack before the fortifications could be completed.
So Nehemiah recruited a team and made a plan. With an army heading toward them, success depended on good collaboration. “Half of my men did the work, while the other half were equipped with spears, shields, bows, and armor. The officers posted themselves behind all the people of Judah who were building the wall. Those who carried materials did their work with one hand and held a weapon in the other, and each of the builders wore his sword at his side as he worked,” Nehemiah wrote (Nehemiah 4:16-18).
Because the workers were so spread out, Nehemiah used trumpet signals to communicate. The workers rebuilt the wall in 52 days, while always being prepared for a surprise attack.
While we all probably recognize the importance of collaboration for construction projects, it’s less obvious for ministry work. Some people might have a personal ministry where they make evangelistic TikTok videos or share the gospel while streaming games on Twitch. Some people in full-time ministry work alone on writing blog content or developing a gospel app. But we can’t be as effective alone.
The early church in Corinth had a problem with divided, isolated ministries, with some saying they should do things the way Paul does and others saying to follow the example of Apollos. So Paul wrote a letter rebuking the church.
What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor. For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building. (1 Corinthians 3:5-9)
“While we may have different callings, different ministries, different approaches, different strengths, we have one purpose, and we are co-laborers, collaborators, in God’s service,” Kärin says.
We can do good things for Jesus alone, but we can make a greater impact together. Jesus told His followers (that includes us) to “go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19). It’s what’s called the Great Commission. Every nation? There are currently 195 countries in the world. According to the Joshua Project, there are more than 11,500 people groups in the world, so however you define “nations” in that passage, it’s clearly an enormous task — even bigger than rebuilding a wall!
Indigitous values collaboration in ministry because fulfilling the Great Commission is bigger than any of us. Collaboration is the key to completion. Together, we can run faster and farther. No one church or ministry has all the knowledge, tools, resources, staff, or funding to reach everyone God has called them to. By collaborating with others, we can increase our impact exponentially.
That’s one of the reasons Indigitous hosts #HACK, a global hackathon for missions. The hackathon is an event where Christians gather worldwide to build improvised solutions to further God’s mission. Different people have different talents and interests, so through collaboration at #HACK, people can apply their gifts to projects that need them.
Students, church staff, vocational missionaries, and professionals have collaborated at #HACK on projects like creating voice products to report online sexual exploitation, identifying where the least-reached people groups seek refuge from hostile nations, creating an interactive map to answer questions about the Bible, designing an app to help people pray for their city, and developing an animated video that provided the first digital Bible story in the Pukapuka language. None of those could have been accomplished without a team working together.
Indigitous also shows our value of collaboration by partnering with like-minded organizations to further the mission. We don’t care who gets the credit; we just want to see people come to know Jesus. Organizations and movements around the world have great strategies, resources, and insights that we can all learn from. Instead of duplicating work, we believe in working together, with everyone bringing something to the table for meaningful Kingdom collaboration. There isn’t going to be one approach, tool, site, app, video, or link that connects five billion hearts to Jesus Christ, so let’s work together, learn from each other, and share strategies and resources. The Great Commission is a big enough task that we need each other, working with the power of the Holy Spirit, to see it accomplished.
Everyone has a place in God’s mission, the Great Commission. We can accomplish more when we collaborate with others. Learn more about discovering your place in God’s mission and opportunities for collaboration.