My church wants to get involved with Crosslinks - how?
Crosslinks links churches into world-wide mission by the Stakeholder scheme. Fundamentally Stakeholder exists so that churches in the West can form a direct link with Crosslinks Mission Partners and other work abroad.
Our Mission Partners are working all over the world, in all types of work, seeking to further God’s kingdom with the gifts God has given them. Click here to see a list of mission partners, and then go on and look at some of their latest news
For less than £1000 a year your church or even home group could pay the tuition fees for a BEST (Bursaries Enabling Strategic Training) student studying for ministry usually in their home country.
On a yearly basis Crosslinks selects some worthy projects which smaller churches and home groups can adopt and support both financially and in prayer. Click here for current details
Rather than trail through lots and lots of different people’s work, why not let the Crosslinks Church Partnership Team do it for you? If you can provide some information about your interests, then Crosslinks staff will try to link you with a suitable person/project. They have up-to-date financial information which means they can ensure as far as possible that your support goes to the place where it is needed most.
I want to encourage people in my church to get more involved with Mission - how?
Being involved in Mission outside the parish or neighbourhood boundaries will encourage the congregation to think more seriously about mission.
The Church Partnerships Team will also be able to help you in this task - offering visits, mission consultation, prayer and fundraising ideas.
Locally your church needs someone who takes the responsibility of keeping mission in the attention of the congregation. This may include:
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distribution of relevant prayer letters to interested members of the church.
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short news updates presented in services about the linked missionary / project.
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informed prayer about the linked missionary / project in services
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arranging and then making the best use of visits from Crosslinks staff or mission partners to the church
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keeping mission information boards tidy, up to date and interesting
It may be possible to arrange a visit / working party to your link missionary or at least to their area.
What is Stakeholder and what happened to "Team"?
Stakeholder is the new scheme that Crosslinks is using to link churches with Mission Partners/BEST/ Projects/etc. It replaces the old "Team church" arrangement. If you are an existing "Team" church, the new name does not need to affect you at all. We hope your commitment will continue unaltered. Our aim is to raise the profile of a church’s connection and therefore ‘stake’ in their Mission Partner’s work through this new scheme and make church leaders more aware of the benefits and responsibilities that accompany their link.
Stakeholder is primarily designed to be the vehicle for churches which are not yet aware of the distinctives of Crosslinks’ work. Having said that, this may be a good time for your church to review the commitments you have made to world-wide mission through Crosslinks.
If you would like to be sent a printed copy of the stakeholder leaflet, please email with your name and address.
Maybe you could explore the idea of linking with some other aspect of Crosslinks’ work or Mission Partners? Let us know what area of the work interests you or what type of work you are keen to support, we will try to find something suitable for you to develop a ‘stake’ in.
If you as a church are already supporting Crosslinks this would be a great opportunity to update all the information we have on record by completing the “We would like to register as a Stakeholder church” form
What are the benefits / responsibilities of becoming a Stakeholder church?
Being a Crosslinks Stakeholder church has the following
Benefits:
A stake in one or more mission partners / projects in which you can have real confidence, since both the people and placement have the backing of an experienced mission agency
A mission partner sent by Crosslinks has support structures provided by the mission - difficult or impossible for an individual "sending church" to provide. These structures include:
- initial selection and training
- practical preparation and orientation
- placement
- fellowship network
- pastoral care, supervision and accountability
- financial services (e.g help with fund-raising, pension, etc)
- support for prayer letter production
- exit strategy, contingency planning
- endorsement from a recognised organisation
You have the services of our Church Partnerships Team - which exists to serve the churches
- preaching visits from the team and mission partners
- consultation on mission
- active assistance in reviewing / enlarging your Stakeholder portfolio with new mission partners / projects etc.
You can receive a boost to becoming a church focussed on mission - in the parish / the nation / the world. This will stimulate your church to take cross-cultural mission seriously at home. It will impact on your members' own willingness to consider their involvement in Gospel work
Responsibilities:
- to maintain contact with the work you are supporting
- prayerful support
- keep the financial commitments made