From these needs, Kingdom priorities, barriers to spiritual breakthroughs, and the resources available or needed, realistic priorities for action must be distilled and agreed. Partnerships are a process not an event. The start-up, exploration and formation stages of a partnership often take a long time. Call a formation or even exploratory meeting too early and you will likely kill the possibility of a partnership. Ultimately personal trust is required.
Effective partnerships are even more challenging to maintain than to start.
Making sure the vision stays alive, the focus clear, communications good, and outcomes fulfilling takes great concentration and long-term commitment. Effective partnerships are made up of partner ministries with clear identities and vision. They must have their own clear mission statements and live by them. Effective partnerships acknowledge, even celebrate, the differences in their partner agencies' histories, vision, and services. But partnerships must ultimately concentrate on what they have in common, like vision and values, and ministry objectives rather than on their differences.