Last week I began a series of articles focusing on our values. We first looked at the value of Meaningful Relationships which is the foundation of the second value – Purposeful Partnerships. If our mission is to be a network of churches partnering for the gospel to reach the northland and the nations, then partnership is the key ingredient of accomplishing that mission. Therefore, we value cooperative efforts among churches to accomplish common mission objectives. We believe that by working together we can more effectively expand the kingdom of God through joint ministry and mission endeavors. Indeed, we can accomplish more together than we can alone. The blessing and benefit of an association is that it provides the natural network to foster common bonds and shared mission goals. Out of these partnerships are forged leading to synergistic ministry activities such as joint evangelistic events, youth discipleship weekends, disaster relief efforts, leadership training, church planting and more. I am thankful for the collaborative spirit that exist in our association and look forward to seeing that grow and expand in the days ahead through purposeful partnerships. – Dr. Gary Mathes