The Beauty of Gospel Partnerships

There are moments in ministry when you sense you are standing inside a prayer that Jesus prayed.

Last night was one of those moments.

Every Thursday evening we gather for Freeway Sanford, our midweek outreach service aimed at reaching the hard to reach in our city with the gospel of Jesus Christ, one broken life at a time. But this Thursday was different. It was fuller. Richer. Heavier with glory.

We have always known that we cannot reach the hard to reach alone. Since the earliest days of Restoration Church of Sanford, when we met in the back of a diner with little more than a burden for the lost and a confidence in the gospel, the Lord has used partnerships to carry the work forward. Churches, nonprofits, local businesses, faithful believers who believed in the mission. From the beginning, this has never been about building our small kingdom. It has been about advancing His.

And last night, that reality came alive before our eyes.

As I pulled into the parking lot, I saw something beautiful. A new partner, Lifeway Community Church in Sanford, another Southern Baptist church plant led by Pastor Gerald Brown, had come not merely to observe but to serve. They took over the night in the most Christlike way possible. Their worship team led us in song. Their members served meals. Pastor Gerald preached the Word with clarity and conviction. It was a full Lifeway takeover, not to spotlight their church, but to magnify Christ.

And this was not their only act of partnership.

Parked outside the building sat a brand new van wrapped with “Freeway Sanford” across the side, a visible testimony of generosity and shared mission. Lifeway Community Church donated $25,000 so that we could purchase that van. That vehicle will now go into neighborhoods across Sanford, picking up needy neighbors, families, and children, bringing them to hear the gospel and returning them home safely.

Lifeway could have used that $25,000 of donor money for their own internal ministries. They could have upgraded equipment, expanded programming, or invested solely in their own congregation. Instead, they chose to invest in a greater kingdom work.

What a testimony.

That van is more than transportation. It is a banner. It proclaims unity. It declares that the gospel is bigger than any one congregation. It is a rolling reminder that when churches lay down small kingdoms, the kingdom of heaven advances.

And the beauty did not stop there.

Markham Woods Presbyterian Church, led by Reverend Joe Wendorph, came alongside us as well, bringing more than 60 meals that evening. Quietly, faithfully, they did their part. No spotlight. No stage. Just service. Their generosity helped ensure that hungry men and women were fed before they were preached to. It was another visible thread in a tapestry of partnership.

And all of this was happening inside the chapel of Central Church in Sanford, led by Pastor Ethan Crowder, in the very room where Pastor Josue Ramos shepherds the Spanish congregation.

Pause and consider that picture.

Four churches. One room. One city. One gospel.

Central Church opened its doors. Lifeway Church brought their people and their gifts. Markham Woods Presbyterian Church brought meals. Restoration Church gathered with them. And in that chapel sat men and women who are lost, addicted, broken, and searching for hope.

This is the kingdom of God on display.

At the end of the night, I sat quietly and looked around the room. I saw Central members. Lifeway members. Restoration members. I saw pastors praying together. Volunteers linking arms. Worship leaders lifting one voice. And I saw lost people responding to the gospel, walking forward for prayer, kneeling at the altar, confessing sin, seeking Christ.

And in that moment, John 17 felt less like a distant prayer and more like a present reality.

Jesus prayed, “that they may all be one… so that the world may believe that you have sent me” (John 17:21).

Our unity is not cosmetic.It is missional.

The watching world does not need to see impressive programming. It needs to see a supernatural unity that can only be explained by the gospel. When churches lay down rivalry, pride, territorialism, and insecurity, and instead join hands around the person and work of Christ, the world sees something it cannot manufacture.

The apostle Paul reminds us that there is “one body and one Spirit… one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all” (Ephesians 4:4–6). That theological unity must become visible unity. Not a unity that compromises truth, but a unity rooted in first-tier doctrines, centered on Christ crucified and risen.

Last night was not about blurred lines or doctrinal minimalism. It was about shared convictions. It was about churches saying:

We agree on the gospel.

We agree on the authority of Scripture.

We agree on the exclusivity of Christ.

Let us labor together.

The Gospel on Display

The pinnacle of the night came when Philip Carlton stood before us.

Philip is the second graduate of our one-year Freeway Sanford men’s recovery discipleship program. A year ago, he was another broken life in need of grace. Last night, he testified to the transforming power of the gospel. He spoke of repentance, of Christ’s mercy, of the slow and steady sanctifying work of the Spirit.

But even his story is a testimony to partnership.

Churches prayed. Volunteers discipled. Central Church hosted. Lifeway Church served. Markham Woods Presbyterian Church fed. Bible college partnerships, such as Mission University, have opened doors for his future. This fall, Philip plans to attend Bible college, a step made possible in part because of kingdom-minded relationships.

No single church could have orchestrated that story alone.

But together, under Christ, we witnessed grace at work.

This is what the apostle Paul described when he thanked God for the “partnership in the gospel from the first day until now” (Philippians 1:5). The word partnership carries the idea of shared participation, shared resources, shared sacrifice, shared joy.

We are not competitors.We are co-laborers in the same field, “God’s fellow workers” (1 Corinthians 3:9).

A Vision for Sanford and Beyond

Sanford does not need more isolated efforts. It needs churches that love one another deeply and labor side by side boldly.

When pastors become kingdom-minded rather than platform-minded, when churches care more about Christ’s name than their own, when we pray, “Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10) and mean it, something powerful happens.

Darkness begins to retreat.

The kingdom advances not through one impressive congregation, but through many faithful congregations united around one glorious Savior. We push back darkness not by building empires, but by building people. Not by protecting turf, but by proclaiming truth. Not by competing for sheep, but by rescuing the lost.

Jesus said that the gates of hell shall not prevail against His church (Matthew 16:18). Not His churches in isolation, but His church as one body under one Head.

Last night felt like a foretaste of heaven.

Different congregations. Different backgrounds. One song. One gospel. One Savior. A van in the parking lot. Meals on the tables. Pastors shoulder to shoulder. And broken sinners being welcomed into the family of God.

This Is the Way Forward

If we long to see lasting kingdom impact in our cities, the path is clear.

We must partner together.

Church planters and established churches. Large congregations and small. English-speaking and Spanish-speaking. Baptist and Presbyterian. Historic and newly planted.

Surrounded by shared first-tier convictions and united around Christ, we can do far more together than we ever could alone.

This is how we will reach the hard to reach.

This is how we will see more Philips stand and testify.

This is how we will push back the darkness in our city.

Not by one church striving alone, but by many churches standing together under one King.

May the Lord give us the humility to lay down our small kingdoms, the courage to lock arms with brothers and sisters, and the joy of seeing His kingdom come in Sanford as it is in heaven.