Collective Impact: A Changing Mission Paradigm

Collective Impact: A Changing Mission Paradigm

The above link is a recent article which I wrote for Didache Journal. This reflects some work that I am doing related to an emerging paradigm in missions.  I welcome your thoughts and ideas.

The Church's Welcome Mat

by David Wesley

To find a balanced and Christlike response to the social challenges of our society is not easy for churches and pastors.  As a missiologist I often think about how the church interacts with "others" who do not consider themselves part of the church. Missionaries often deal with these issues as they interact with cultures other than their own.  The term often used for addressing these issues is contextualization.  Anthropologist, Paul Hiebert talks about three ways that Christian mission addresses "others".  One is uncritical contextualization in which there is no critique of a culture or religion.  Anything different is just accepted as good.  This really does no one any good since there are destructive and unhealthy things as well as good things in any culture. A second approach is no contextualization in which the Christian missionary thinks that anything that is different than their own cultural view of Christianity should be rejected or changed. Obviously, this is also unacceptable.  The third view of contextualization according to Hiebert is what he calls critical contextualization in which a person takes the time to listen and understand the "other" and to enter into real dialog in which both parties look to Christ together in a spirit of love and relationship.

As churches in the U.S. find themselves in a changing environment, there is a need for churches to think like missionaries who do the hard work of understanding others and being a christian witness with their lives and actions.

A good example of this is in the following video clip in which Bill Hybels describes their approach to homosexuality:

The attached video is an interesting example of intentional prayer and also an interesting example of 12 Presbyterian Churches that work together for Bible Translation in Cameroon in a form of congregational mission.

COLLECTIVE IMPACT AND MISSION

Some issues are simply too complex to solve with any single approach.  Global humanitarian issues such as the HIV/AIDS crisis, large scale starvation, and drought are such issues.  Likewise, local issues with similar complexity cannot be addressed with a single approach.

There is a growing effort in the social sector to address complex issues in the U.S. such as vulnerable families with children, high school dropout rates, and related areas through what is being called “collective impact”.  An interesting phenomenon that I am noticing is that some congregations are beginning to take a similar approach to missions.  I have especially noticed this as churches are working to address the earthquake crisis in Haiti as well as the HIV/AIDS crisis throughout the continent of Africa as congregation’s partner with relief organizations, local Christians, government granting organizations, and a variety of other sectors.

Collective Impact, has been defined as “the commitment of a group of actors from different sectors to a common agenda for solving a complex social problem”[1]

Collective Impact is distinct from practices in the social and business sector which has practiced a paradigm of “isolated impact”.  The false notion of isolated impact is that a single organization can create large-scale, lasting impact on its own.  In the church this happens as denominations and Christian groups assume that they can make a large-scale, lasting impact on their own.   As they realize that many problems are more complex and systemic rather than mechanically solving a problem, many efforts have resulted in large scale expense efforts (human as well as financial) with limited or negative results.   The emerging paradigm of Collective Impact has not been applied to international missions to this point, but I would propose that an approach to holistic missions to address the complex social issues which Collective Impact is being utilized to address is an interesting option which has merit.

As I work to find some conditions that offer hope for meaningful results in congregational partnerships I find many similarities in the conditions which give success to collective impact approaches[2]:

1.       Common Agenda:  All participants have a shared vision for change including a common understanding of the problem and a joint approach to solving it through agreed upon actions.

2.       Shared Measurement:  Collecting data and measuring results consistently across all participants ensures efforts remain aligned and participants hold each other accountable.

3.       Mutually Reinforcing Activities: Participant activities must be differentiated while still being coordinated through a mutually reinforcing plan of action.

4.       Continuous Communication: Consistent and open communication is needed across the many players to build trust, assure mutual objectives, and appreciate common motivation.

5.       Backbone Organization: Creating and managing collective impact requires a separate organization(s) with staff and a specific set of skills to serve the backbone for the entire initiative and coordinating participating organizations and agencies.

Isolated Impact vs. Collective Impact

Isolated Impact	Collective Impact
Funders select individual grantees that offer the most promising solutions.	Funders and implementers understand that social problems, and their solutions, arise from the interaction of many organizations within a larger system.
Nonprofits work separately and compete to produce the greatest independent impact.	Progress depends on working toward the same goal and measuring the same things.
Evaluation attempts to isolate a particular organization’s impact.	Large scale impact depends on increasing cross-sector alignment and learning among many organizations.
Large scale change is assumed to depend on scaling a single organization.	Corporate and government sectors are essential partners.
Corporate and government sectors are often disconnected from the efforts of foundations and nonprofits.	Organizations actively coordinate their action and share lessons learned.

From a descriptive perspective, what I am noticing in congregational partnerships is a move away from isolated impact and a move toward collective impact. In ways that are probably similar to the business sector, there still exists a large degree of isolation, or organizations which are all working together but not entirely collectively.  To a large degree, however, there appears to be a movement toward congregations which are engaging a cross section of organizations to address major global issues.  This movement has various implications for congregations, for mission agencies as well as those with whom they partner.  Beyond that, for organizations which have moved strongly toward a model of church growth in which the measure of success is building the isolated organization, a collective impact model which focuses on the common good regardless of return to the organization will pose challenges to existing structures. 

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[1] See www.fsg.org/OurApproach/WhatIsCollectiveImpact.aspx downloaded 4/9/2012

[2]  The list as well as comparisons come from HanleyBrown, Fay Kania John and Kramer Mark. 2012. Channeling Change: Making Collective Impact Work: An in-depth look at how organizations of all types, active in diverse settings, are implementing a collective impact approach to solve large-scale problems. In Stanford Social Innovation Review. Downloaded April 9, 2012 from http://www.fsg.org/Portals/0/Uploads/Documents/PDF/Channeling_Change_SSIR.pdf

Bearing the Burdens of Those Outside the Gate: Another Story of Lent

By David Wesley

“Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost – Isaiah 55:1-3

I am ending my time in Africa and will be going home on Monday. So far I have interviewed more than 100 people including ministry leaders of incredible ministries in a very complex context, those who care for sick and dying as well as those who are sick and dying, those who give out of abundance as well as those those who give out of scarcity, those who submit their life in worship to God as well as those who believe that they can control power through magic, those who live in Africa as well as those who live in the U.S. Needless to say, I will be working through all that I have collected for some time. During my data gathering process, I was interesting in a water well focus that has a fascinating long and involved story which I will not explain fully here, but the short version is that much needed, solar panel water pumps are being established in Swaziland through the collective work of an engineer from a U.S. church who came to Swaziland with a volunteer church group, a South African businessman working in Swaziland, a U.S. based grant writer and developer, funding from Coca Cola, and a network of Nazarene schools and clinics. These much needed solar powered water pumps are being installed throughout Swaziland and will undoubtedly make a long term impact on primarily the rural areas of Swaziland. Early in my time here I spent a day visiting several of the sites where the pumps had been installed. At one of the sites I noticed that the pump was connected to a medical clinic and a school. When I spoke to a person at this site, I asked “does this well provide water for the whole communitty?” He said “no, only for the school and clinic. This is our water”. When I got back in the car I asked the person who was with me, who had written the grant for the wells, if there was danger of this well running out of water if the community had access to it. She said, “this well would provide twice over sufficient water for the whole surrounding community. The people who managed this well were functioning out of a mindset of scarcity”. A couple of weeks later, I was at a church in a rural community to see a child development center which the church had developed and which a church in the U.S. was building a partnership with. When I had interviewed the pastor of this church, she told me that the people of her church had been caring for a large number of children in their community whose parents had died of AIDs related illnesses. The number of orphaned children they were caring for was near the same number as people in her congregation. She explained that up to now the people of this rural community would take food from their homes and take some of their own children’s clothes in order to care for these children. During my time at this church I had an interview with three young women who are a part of the church. One woman was the cook for preschool, who cooked meals for the children outdoors in a large cast iron pot over a wood fire. One of the women was a teacher in the preschool for the children and the other was a member of the church who helped with the preschool. We sat on wooden benches with no backs underneath a large shade tree for the interview. They explained to me that the church had a child development center with a pre-school to help children in the area who are very poor and many are orphans. I then asked them about the water well which their new church partner from the U.S had helped install just the day before. I noticed that there were various spickets for water outlet. There were eight are in the garden areas, there are 4-5 throughout the property and one just outside the property. I thought this was interesting after visiting the other location a couple of weeks ago that wanted to keep the water for themselves. One difference was that the one I saw earlier was not connected to a church but to a medical clinic and school. The earlier one said that they would not provide water for their community even though that had plenty to do it. It was a scarcity mentality rationale, so I thought that it was interesting that this church had deliberately placed one outlet outside of their property. I first asked them who decided to put the water spicket out side of the property. Was it the church from the U.S., their pastor, the contractors, or someone else? They said that the church committee made that decision. I asked, “why did you put water access on the outside where everyone from the community could use it instead of putting it on the inside where they could control how much was being used?” The three of them laughed at me like that was a stupid question. They said “we put it outside because we are Christians. We didn’t make the water, God did. If we kept it to ourselves, we would not be Christian. We have to share with those around us”. That same attitude could be seen as they took from their own limited resources to provide food and clothes for an overwhelming number of orphaned children. This is the same spirit that I have seen over and over again. As Christians provide medical care for witchdoctors, as churches provide assistance to those outside. In every case, it isn't a question of whether you are a potential client for my church, but rather, living into an authentic Christian identity. During this season of lent, I am reminded of the same thing that I have seen over and over again here in Swaziland that we are called to bear one another’s burdens, just as Christ bore our burdens. I am reminded that giving sometimes comes out of abundance, but often comes out of our identity in Christ. I am also reminded that the church does not exist just for the needs of those inside the fence, but we are called to be Christian as we provide for those outside the fence as well.

An African Story of Lent

by David Wesley

I am in Africa during most of the season of Lent and somehow that seems fitting and unfitting at the same time. It is unfitting because the landscape as well as the people around me are beautiful. I am not suffering, I am able to stay in a comfortable place, and I am getting to do exciting research. It is fitting, not because I am having to give up things (other than my family) in order to be here. It is fitting, however, because I have been able to witness a very Christian tradition of bearing another’s burden.

Last night I had dinner with some friends here in Swaziland. Over dinner one of the North American friends said, “I have a theological question, why would God give me such a spirit of compassion for suffering and yet He didn’t give me the ability to fix the suffering that I see around me.” She made this comment after she had spent the day working in the hospital where she had seen children who were abandoned as well as challenging situations in the hospital. That is probably a question that nearly every North American who comes to places with overwhelming challenges such as the highest HIV/aids epidemic in the world.

This past week I spent some time with the Swaziland HIV/AIDS Task Force with the founders, Mary Magagula and Evelyn Shongwe, who work with a team of almost 200 volunteer caregivers providing home-based care to those primarily dying of AIDS. The Task Force encourages communities to form co-ops for gardens and have 95 children supported through child sponsorship.

Upon arriving at the office there were seven large (and very heavy) nylon bags which were part of what we were going to take to each home. Each back contained large bags of meale, peanuts, beans, rice and cooking oil. These are staple products which can be easily prepared, can go a long way in preparing food, and according to Evelyn have high nutritional value. I helped load the bags into the back of the 4X4 truck and we heading toward the area where we would make home visits. Along the way I interviewed Mary and Evelyn.

After a 30 minute drive on pavement we arrived at a marginalized community on the mountainside of Manzini. We left the paved road onto a deeply rutted dirt road for a ride that was similar to a bucking bronco. At points the ruts were extremely deep and the heavy vegetation made the roads very narrow. Evelyn and Mary pointed out that these communities are extremely difficult by vehicle but for people who are struggling with severe illnesses, it is impossible for them to find medical help.

The first home that we visited was a cement structure with a tin roof. A 2-3 year old girl with a frilly red dress that was torn in several places and with a very runny nose was standing in the doorway to greet us. It is difficult to describe, but there was the same dynamic in every home we visited. These were all homes where people are in the process of dying soon under difficult circumstances. In every case, Evelyn was like a light coming into a dark room. She has a jovial spirit in which she brought a sincere and appropriate laughter to these situations. As we entered the house I noticed the cement walls with peeling paint and at all of the electric outlets the wires were hanging loose. The house was, however, incredibly clean and well kept. Near the door of the house was the woman that we came to visit who was HIV positive and also had TB (which was the case in nearly all visits that we made). She was lying on the floor on top of cushions that had been taken from the couch and placed on the cement floor. The woman was skeletal and could hardly move or speak. Her grandmother who brought her to her house along with her daughter greeted us and was grateful to have visitors. Evelyn and Mary gave the family blankets and hats which people use although it is around 90 degrees. They also gave them food which is helpful for people who are limited by finances as well as mobility. Mary and Evelyn also have a sub-nursing level of training which is recognized by the government – in every visit they went through a chart that was kept at the house related to the medications that people took and when they were taking them. The medication was very basic pain relief with medications for stomach issues, skin care for drying skin, etc. In everyone of these home visits, Evelyn and Mary would hold people’s hands, hug them and demonstrate a sense of solidarity with people who were going through a very difficult process.

As we drove along, I asked the women if they had fear of contracting sickness or diseases through such contact with people. Evelyn laughed at me and just said, “and what would that matter, we still have to do what Christ told us to do”.

I cannot help but think that the attitude of Evelyn and Mary is not really abnormal for Christians. The attitude to preserve ourselves and hoard resources is what is abnormal. Evelyn and Mary are simply living out their Christian identity.
This identity can also be seen in an interesting piece from the second century:

Martyrs, Who Died in the Great Pestilence in Alexandria
From Eusebius, Hist. l. 7, c. 21, 22, p. 266.
A. D. 261, 262, 263.

A voilent pestilence laid waste the greatest part of the Roman empire during twelve years, from 249 to 263. Five thousand persons died of it if one day in Rome, in 262. St. Dionysius of Alexandria relates, that a cruel sedition and civil war had filled that city with murders and tumults; so that it was safer to travel from the eastern to the western parts of the then known world, than to go from one street of Alexandria to another. The pestilence succeeded this first scourge, and with such violence, that there was not a single house in that great city which entirely escaped it, or which had not some dead to mourn for. All places were filled with groans, and the living appeared almost dead with fear. The noisome exhalations of carcasses, and the very winds, which should have purified the air, loaded with infection and pestilential vapors from the Nile, increased the evil. The fear of death rendered the heathens cruel towards their nearest relations. As soon as any of them had caught the contagion, though their dearest friends, they avoided and fled from them as their greatest enemies. They threw them half dead into the streets, and abandoned them without succor; they left their bodies without burial, so fearful were they of catching that mortal distemper, which, however, it was very difficult to avoid, notwithstanding all their precautions. This sickness, which was the greatest of calamities to the pagans, was but an exercise and trial to the Christians, who showed, on that occasion, how contrary the spirit of charity is to the interestedness of self-love. During the persecutions of Decius, Gallus, and Valerian, they durst not appear, but were obliged to keep their assemblies in solitudes, or in ships tossed on the waves, or in infected prisons, or the like places, which the sanctity of our mysteries made venerable. Yet in the time of this public calamity, most of them, regardless of the danger of their own lives in assisting others, visited, relieved, and attended the sick, and comforted the dying. They closed their eyes, carried them on their shoulders, laid them out, washed their bodies, and decently interred them, and soon after shared the same fate themselves; but those who survived still succeeded to their charitable office, which they paid to the very pagans their persecutors. “Thus,” adds St. Dionysius, “the best of our brethren have departed this life; some of the most valuable, both of priests, deacons, and laics; and it is thought that this kind of death is in nothing different from martyrdom.” And the Roman Martyrology says, the religious faith of pious Christians honors them as martyrs.
In these happy victims of holy charity we admire how powerfully perfect virtue, and the assured expectation of eternal bliss, raises the true Christian above all earthly views. He who has always before his eyes the incomprehensible happiness of enjoying God in his glory, and seriously considers the infinite advantage, peace, and honor annexed to his divine service; he who is inflamed with an ardent love of God, and zeal for his honor, sets no value on any thing but in proportion as it affords him a means of improving his spiritual stock, advancing the divine honor, and more perfectly uniting his soul to God by every heroic virtue: disgraces, dangers, labor, pain, death, loss of goods or friends, and every other sacrifice here become his gain and his greatest joy. That by which he most perfectly devotes himself to God, and most speedily and securely attains to the bliss of possessing him, he regards as his greatest happiness.

A part of our true Christian identity is not necessarily the ability to fix all of the problems around us by helicoptering in as I have done this month. The true Christian identity, is an identity of lent as I have seen it in many African Christian brothers and sisters such as Evelyn and Mary and many other. It is the incarnational presence of Christ which chooses to actually bear on another’s burden.

That identity leaves me and other North Americans who come in for a short time in a difficult position. John 1: 14 says, the word became flesh and dwelt among us. Phil. 2 says that we should have the same mind in us which was in Christ Jesus who although he was God, he humbled himself and became obedient even unto death on the cross. At best, I cannot really fix all of the suffering around me and perhaps that really isn’t my calling. I can, however, open my eyes while I am here and learn from some amazing saints and I can come along side them as together we live into the mission of God for us both. More importantly I have to ask myself some difficult questions about how I bear the burdens of those who live in my own home town, even at my own risk and in doing so, live into my Christian identity.

I am finding that there are so many things to learn from the amazing Africans. The picture above is a picture that someone sent to me yesterday of an African brother who asked if he could pray for me. I have been prayed for many times in my life, but never quite like this. The picture looks like I am praying for him, but he is definitely the one praying for me. I am thankful today that a brother from whom I have so much to learn walked together with me to the presence of God. In the words of the umbuntu philosophy, “I am because of who we are”. Our identity is found in who we are together and as we bear one another’s burdens.

Can Mega Churches be Missional?

In a few weeks NTS will host a group of pastors who pastor churches of more than 1,000 per week in worship. Part of the conversations that we will be having together and which I will be leading is related to the changing nature of mission involvement particularly in large churches that are forming long term partnerships. There has been considerable discussion in recent years as to whether a mega church can actually be missional in nature. Over the next few weeks leading up to these meetings on October 10-11th, I will be posting resources on this blog related to an interesting emerging phenomenon in which mega churches particularly have a connectional nature within the congregation which leads to new patterns of mission engagement. I am posting the following video as a lead off piece for this discussion since it brings the argument related to mega churches and missional to the forefront.

Ed Stetzer & Dave Fitch - a missional conversation Part II from Medri Kinnon Productions on Vimeo.