Picture of a World Impact Associate

Recently, one of the church planters World Impact is working with said something surprising to one of our missionaries. He said, “The biggest help that you have given me is believing in the call God has placed on me!” This is what World Impact’s Associate program is all about.

The Associate program is built to be a mechanism of encouragement. At the end of the day it signifies to each Associate that we see God’s calling on their lives and we want to get behind what they are doing in ministry. The financial stipend allows them breathing room so they can minister more effectively. Our missionaries are also able to provide them with resources so that they are freed to minister more effectively.

How do World Impact missionaries find Associates to partner with? Many people are doing good ministry in the city, but we are looking for something unique for the World Impact Associate program. One of the first places we look to identify associates is from our current pool of ministry partners. We could have potential partners in an Urban Church Association or in someone who is already working with a missionary on a ministry project. Oftentimes though, God simply brings a person into a relationship with a missionary in unexpected ways. Recently, a missionary met a potential Associate while watching a training video in a local prison.

One of the first things we look for in a potential Associate is their heart for ministry among the under-resourced and forgotten. When we listen to their heart for those they are serving, we listen for a passion and vision and we look for an existing active ministry. Our Associates are not people who simply want to give a handout to people, or who feel sorry for a community. We look for ministers who believe that God can enter into broken people and broken communities to change hearts and lives. We want associates who are willing to invest their lives to minister in their community.

One potential Associate a World Impact missionary is working with right now is in the middle of getting ready to plant a church. He moved across the country, leaving his family, friends, and support network, to honor God’s call on his life. He is active in ministry, teaching a TUMI satellite, and is currently an unpaid associate pastor at an urban church until he is ready to launch his team. These are the kinds of ministry partners we want to plug into the Associate program.

It is such a blessing to serve with such selfless men and women of God, and to be able to support and encourage them as they minister among the forgotten and the lost.  

Click here to read more about how World Impact resources urban leaders.