Partnership
Partnership is the final step of our Assimilation Process at The Austin Stone. This process is designed to help unconnected people connect to our church community. Partners are the men and women who have decided to become accountable, proactive participants in the mission God has given us as a church.
The Partnership process is designed to give participants a sufficient knowledge about the identity, convictions, and practices of The Austin Stone Community Church so that they can make an informed decision about whether or not to partner with us. The process has three major sections:
- Small Group Discussions OR One All-Day Teaching Session
- An Elder-Led Large Group Class (with Partnership Video)
- Individual Partner Affirmation Meetings
A brief description of each section is below, along with links to the resources for each section.
Option 1A: Small Group Discussions
Groups of approximately five to ten participants will meet together for four sessions in a home or classroom setting to walk through the Partnership Guide. The guide covers the eight convictions of The Austin Stone, how these convictions are lived out in the life of our church, and the related Partnership Commitments. The guide also includes information about our identity and mission statements.
These groups will be led by a Discussion Group Leader who will be selected by congregation leadership. These group leaders will use the Partnership Leader Guide in order to facilitate their discussion time. The Leader Guide is written in such a way that the group leader himself does not need to have any prior knowledge of the church in order to facilitate the discussion. Much of the guide consists of large sections of text for the leader to read aloud and discussion questions to help the group process the information together. If a small group member or the group leader himself has a question that is not answered by the Leader Guide, the group members are encouraged to write down the question to be brought to the final, Elder-Led Large Group Class.
The Partnership Leader Guide and Partnership Participant Guide are available at the links below in the blue box.
Ideally, the groups going through this content are existing MCs or Small Groups that contain men and women who are not yet partners. These groups should be encouraged to go through the Partnership material by their MC Coaches or by congregation staff, elders, or deacons. Experiencing this content in an already existing group has several advantages, including a sense of togetherness in the gospel and a built-in group accountability to the Partnership Commitments.
If congregation leaders identify men and women who are not in already existing groups that wish to become partners, they may either recommend that the individual takes the Connect Class and joins a group first, or they may appoint a leader to lead a temporary small group of individuals through this curriculum. This second option comes with the risk of helping men and women join to our church who do not "feel connected" to the life of our church.
Option 1B: One All-Day Session
Because the five-week small group discussion model does not work for all future partners or all congregations, some congregations decided to put all the content in one day of training. The Austin Stone Institute has created this resource to best move through all eight convictions in one day.
The Partnership Leader Guide and Participant Guide can be found below in the blue box.
2: Elder-Led Large Group Class
The content reserved for this final session is best communicated by elders and pastoral staff because it includes our view of church government and any potentially sensitive topics. Participants will come to this session having walked through the four sessions of the Discussion Guide and having read our Affirmation of Faith. They may desire additional clarification on what they have read and heard, and have been encouraged to write down their questions and bring them to this final session.
A Partnership Elder Script is available at the link below in the blue box. This script will serve as a guide to the elder(s) leading this class, ensuring that all necessary topics are covered.
The blue box below also contains a link to our Partnership Video. This video is designed to share the story of our church, including how it came to be, how God is using us, and where we are headed. The Partnership Elder Script indicates when this video should be showed.
Each congregation should regularly schedule these large group classes so that any group that has completed the four sessions of Partnership content can attend and complete this step of the Partnership process.
3: Individual Affirmation Meetings
Each candidate for partnership will have an individual affirmation meeting with an elder, deacon, staff member, or trained leader. These individual meetings are an important part of the Partnership process, for the following reasons:
- Partnership candidates have the chance to personally meet and dialogue with a leader from their congregation.
- Partnership candidates who have lingering questions about Partnership can have them answered.
- Affirmation meeting leaders have an opportunity to discern if the candidate is a regenerate believer and to share the gospel if he or she is not.
- Affirmation meeting leaders can inquire as to why the candidate left their previous church in hopes of identifying any cases where the candidate left for reasons of church discipline.
- Affirmation meeting leaders can identify any potential areas of unrepentant sin and help church leaders determine next steps for these candidates.
- Affirmation meeting leaders can identify any objections to the Partnership Commitments and work with church leaders to determine next steps for these candidates.
The Partnership Affirmation Meeting Guide below gives the affirmation meeting leaders a script to use when meeting with Partnership candidates.
At the end of the Affirmation Meeting, the Partnership candidate will review and sign the Partnership Commitments on the Partnership Affirmation Card linked below. After the candidate leaves, the affirmation meeting leader will fill out the back of the Affirmation Card, giving elders and staff the information they need to know for next steps.
For any questions regarding the Partnership process or materials, please contact the ASI Managing Director, John Murchison, at john@austinstone.org.