In reading through the New Testament one thing that becomes clear is that the early followers of Jesus worked together. This is most evident when we consider the lives of some of the leaders in the first-century church. These leaders did not always get along (Acts 15:36-40; Gal. 2:11-16; Phil. 4:2-3) but God used them and advanced His Kingdom through them. In this article we will look at a small number of ministry partnerships in the New Testament.

The Twelve

Jesus initialed ministry partnerships among His followers. In Mark 3:13-19 He called twelve men to be apostles. The purpose of this call was so that they would be in close relationship with Him and that He might send them out to do ministry (Mark 3:14-15). A couple of things worth noting here are that all of the men received a divine call and none of them was allowed to decide who else was in the group. One point we can take away from this is that we don’t always get to decide who we work with in ministry. It was true then and it is true now.

This group of men were later broken down into smaller groups when Jesus sent them out to minister. In Mark 6:7 we are told that Jesus divided the twelve up into groups of two. This would allow the group to cover more territory, or minister to more people. We are not told specifically who was paired with whom (that would be interesting information to have). Each group was made up of individuals who had different life experiences and probably different personalities, but the work was the same. They all preached the message of repentance, healed the sick, and delivered the demon-possessed (Mark 6:12-13). They participated in the ministries of proclamation and demonstration. They declared the Word of God, and functioned in the supernatural power of God. The partnerships of these men, except for Judas Iscariot who took his own life (Matt. 27:5; Acts 1:18), were long-standing. Their association with one another lasted not only up until the death of Jesus but on into the years after it.

The Seventy-Two

After Jesus sent out the twelve (Luke 9:1-6) He later sent seventy-two others out in ministry. Here again, Jesus was the one who determined who was a part of this group; they had a divine call. Their mission was basically the same as the one Jesus had given to the twelve, namely preaching, healing, and deliverance. It is interesting to note that we do not know the names of any of the people in this group. We also do not know if any of them became leaders in the Christian movement. The Lord has a lot of unknown servants. I dare say He has more unknown servants than well-known ones. Being well-known is less important than being faithful to the call and doing the work. This group He also divided into groups of two, which allowed then also to cover more territory and minister to more people. There was now a larger group of ministers for the already large harvest (Luke 10:2). We know that this group experienced success in their ministries because we are told they were amazed that the spirits were subject to them in Jesus’ name (Luke 10:17). This group appears briefly in the New Testament, they are mentioned and then we never hear about them again. This partnership may have been a short-term partnership.

Paul & Barnabas 

As we move from the gospels into the book of Acts we find a new ministry team emerge; I am referring to Paul and Barnabas. We read about Barnabas first, he is mentioned in Acts 4:36. Paul (Saul of Tarsus) does not appear until Acts 8. At that time he was a persecutor of the church. However, in the very next chapter the arch enemy of the church becomes one of its most ardent preachers. It is clear from his experience and his testimony (Acts 9; 22; 26) that he has a divine call on his life. This was a great blessing for him and others as well (the church-see Acts 9:31). But Paul encountered a problem, after he believed in Jesus no one believed that he was a disciple, everyone was afraid of him (Acts 9:26). We do not have any details about Barnabas’ call to ministry, but I think we can safely said he had one, his life and service testifies to it. He was known as an encourager (Acts 4:36) and served as an advocate for Paul. He took Paul to the apostles and told them what had happened to him (Acts 9:27). As far as we know, this was the first time that these two men met. 

But it was not the last time that their lives crossed. Later, in Acts 11, Barnabas was sent by the church in Jerusalem to check out a new group of believers in Antioch (Acts 11:22). When he arrived he rejoiced at what he saw, encouraged them to remain faithful to the Lord, and threw himself into serving this new church. He invested in it; he gave of his time, effort, and gifting. He also went and got Paul and brought him to Antioch so he could help him instruct this new congregation. The two of them taught the church there for a year (Acts 11:26). In this case Barnabas seems to have initiated the partnership. Why he chose Paul we cannot say for sure. It could be that the Lord specifically told him to, or he could have recognized the gifting in Paul’s life and knew it would be a good fit for the needs in this new church. A point that comes out here is that sometimes, at least on the surface of things, it seems like people choose their own partners in ministry. Many in ministry probably wish that they could too.

Priscilla & Aquila

Earlier in this article we saw that the Lord does call people who are related. In the gospels Jesus called men who were part of the same family. I am referring here to Peter and Andrew (Matt. 4:18) and James and John (Matt. 4:21). Priscilla and Aquila were also related, but their relationship was different from the two sets of brothers I just mentioned. Priscilla and Aquila were married to each other (Acts 18:2). They were partners for life and partners in ministry. All of these cases show us that family members can be ministry partners as well. The apostle Paul speaks quite highly of this ministry couple (Rom. 16:3). Together they were leaders of a house church (1 Cor. 16:19). They were evidently gifted in teaching because they helped give Apollos a better understanding of the Christian faith (Acts 18:26).

Lest someone think that the only time a woman can be a ministry partner with a man is if the man is her husband let us remember the experience of the apostle Paul. He as much as says that he is not married in 1 Corinthians 7:7. But in Philippians 4 he mentioned two women, Euodia and Syntyche, whom he describes as workers at his side in the gospel (Phil. 4:3). How this ministry partnership was forged we do not know. 

Partnerships Across Barriers

Up to this point in our survey most of the people involved in partnerships were Jews. But the scriptures specifically reveal that there were also some cross-cultural partnerships. That is, people who were ethnically different from one another teamed up to work for the Kingdom of God. Paul was a Jew (Acts 21:39; Phil. 3:5) just before the second missionary journey Paul enlisted Timothy to work with him. We are told at that time that Timothy’s mother was Jewish, but his father was not, he was a Greek (Acts 16:1). Paul reached out and established a partnership with a man who was different than he was to work together for the Lord. Paul came to highly value him, in Philippians 2:20 he wrote that he had no one like him. This partnership was longstanding, it lasted for years. Timothy was not the only cross-cultural partnership that Paul had; his partnership with Titus was another one. In his letter to the churches of Galatia Paul tells us that Titus was a Greek (Gal. 2:3). 

In the church, where there are to be no divisions (Gal. 3:28; Col. 3:11) and no partiality (Jas. 2:1-4), we should be able to work with those who are different than we are. Ministry leadership does not belong to one segment of the church; Scripture makes this clear. In addition to racial or ethnic differences, in our day we might also make an extended application of this truth of embracing those who are different than we are. We should be able to have ministerial partnerships with people who are denominationally different than we are. None of us can choose our ethnicity but we can choose our denominational affiliation. However, I do not think our denominational differences should keep us apart from other Bible-believing Christians. I believe that we can, and should, embrace ministerial partnerships with believers who are in some ways different from us. Remember, Jesus prayed for the unity of His people in John 17.

Elders in the Churches

Ministry partnerships were common in the first-century church. The word “elders” (note the plural) was used in reference to the leaders of the local congregations. There were elders in the church in Jerusalem (Acts 15:6; 21:18), in the church in Ephesus (Acts 20:17), and in the church that James addressed in his letter. (Jas. 5:14). The elders provided pastoral oversight to the local church; they were to lead and teach the church (1 Tim. 5:17). This included equipping God’s people for ministry as Paul wrote in Ephesian 4:12. 

How did people become elders? Who decided who the elders would be? According to 1 Timothy 3:1 a person may desire to be an overseer (elder, pastor), and that desire may be from God. But it appears that in addition a candidate would need the acknowledgement and affirmation of their call by one who was already a recognized spiritual leader. In short, their call needed to be affirmed. In a couple of different places in the New Testament the Scriptures indicate that elders were appointed. In Acts 14:23 we read of Paul and Barnabas appointing elders in the churches in Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch. In the book of Titus Paul’s instructed Titus to appoint elders in the churches on the island of Crete (Titus 1:5). 

The plurality of elders is the New Testament norm. This ministerial partnership can do much to bless the church as each elder contributes their unique mix of gifts to the encouragement and up building of the congregation.

The Proximity of Partners

We might think that partners are always together in the same location. In ministry, however, this is not always true. Paul and Timothy were partners. At times they were together, such as during the second missionary journey when they traveled and ministered together, but at other times they were apart. For example, Paul wrote to Timothy in Ephesus in order to give him instructions, because Paul was away from the city during the time. Titus also was at times with Paul (2 Cor. 7:6; Gal. 2:1) but they were separated at other times. Paul wrote to Titus on the island of Crete because he was away (Titus 3:12). Distance does not end partnerships. One can have a ministry partner locally or on the other side of the world. This is, in fact, how a lot of missions work gets done. In this day of great technological advances it is easier to do than ever. 

Conclusion

The examples in this article are a small sampling of the kinds of ministry partnerships that are found in the New Testament. There are many that I did not cover, these include partnerships that involved individuals such as: John Mark, Silas, Luke, and a host of others. But these few demonstrate the variety of ministry partnerships that existed and how they were formed. As we establish our own ministry partnerships let us thank God for them. We need these and they are part of God’s plan for us to minister more effectively to the world and the church. These partnerships are for this time in which we live (Esth. 4:14) that we might better serve the purposes of God in our generation (Acts 13:36), expanding and strengthening the Kingdom of God.

John P. Lathrop is a graduate of Zion Bible Institute and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and is an ordained minister with the International Fellowship of Christian Assemblies. He has written articles and book reviews for a number of publications including: the Pneuma Review, the Africanus Journal of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, Christian Trends Magazine, in India, and  Berita Mujizat and Jurnal Jaffray, both in Indonesia. He is also the author of four books.