PARTNERSHIP

By intentionally committing to partnership with The Well, you are joining together with the other members of the body of Christ to accomplish something bigger than any of us can do on our own. As we mutually share the resources God has given us (time, talents, and treasures), we not only grow in a community where we are loved and known, but we can truly be the blessing to the campus, the city, and the world, that God has called us to be. We cannot accomplish that goal individually, but only as we intentionally partner together as the church.

We celebrate that you have a church family in the city you call home and rejoice that you have been a member at that church. We believe it is important to partner with believers in Jesus that you most closely share your life with. For many college students, they will spend far more time (and weekends) in San Marcos than they will at home. Therefore, we do believe it is an important step for you to choose to intentionally partner with a local church here in San Marcos as you seek to follow Jesus well. 

The New Testament is filled with letters to churches that are made up of groups of people in specific cities (Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians). Both in these letters as well as other New Testament letters, we see the reality of clear organizational structures that existed within the church where members of the body of Christ were in relationship with one another that included intentional partnership as they followed Jesus together (Philippians 1:1-5, Galatians 6:6, 1 Timothy 3:1-7, 1 Peter 5:1-4, Hebrews 13:17).

We welcome anyone and everyone to be a part of the community that God has brought about here in San Marcos and our hope is that many people will experience the goodness of God and the love of Jesus through His church. However, we are convinced that church was never meant to simply be a place you go, but instead is meant to be a people we belong to. In the same way that you belong to a family, and that family has certain traditions, culture, and practices, we believe it is important to intentionally commit to being a part of God’s family in the local church. If you want to experience the best of what God has designed His church to be, we are convinced that that will come through meaningful and purposeful partnership with other believers.

While the New Testament regularly uses “member” to describe the relationship of believers to one another within the local church (1 Corinthains 12, Romans 12, and Ephesians 4), we know that our cultural context often equates the word “membership” with fitness clubs and social organizations. In Philippians 1:5, Paul uses the word “partner” to describe his relationship with that church as they seek to accomplish the mission of God together. We believe that the word “partner” embodies the heart of what God desires for the members of His church. Partner includes the idea of an intentional commitment of two parties to one another for the sake of accomplishing a shared mission. 

Theologically, the Bible affirms that any person who believes in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior is a member of the body of Christ. However, you probably know many people who are Chrsitians but do not have a meaningful relationship with a church. Through partnership, we hope to cultivate a community marked by meaningful relationships with one another instead of just “going to church” together.

There are numerous expectations simply of what it means to be a follower of Jesus and belong to a local church (see this helpful list of what God calls us to in regards to loving one another https://www.mmlearn.org/hubfs/docs/OneAnotherPassages.pdf). While these are certainly expectations we have of one another, here are some specific examples of expectations in our own language:

• Enjoy God – While we long to be a people who say our next yes to Jesus, we want obedience to be fueled by enjoyment of the one we are obeying. We enjoy God by gathering together to worship Jesus, by listening to His voice through reading the Bible, through joyfully giving our resources to demonstrate His faithfulness, and a variety of other Christian practices for enjoying the God who saved us. 
• Grow together – We grow together primarily through being an active part of a house church where we are known and loved. We want to grow personally but we also want to help grow those around us by helping them say their next yes to Jesus. This will involve using the gifts that God has given us to help make disciples of Jesus. This will involve confession, repentance, serving, and a variety of other “one anothers.” 
• Live on mission – We want to be people who regularly share the good news of Jesus by not only sharing how He rescued us personally, but how God is longing for all to have a relationship with Him through Jesus. We want to be a blessing by praying for, listening to, eating with, serving, and sharing Jesus with those around us. We are convinced that as we bless those around us, that God will bring salvation to those on campus, in this city, and throughout the world. Check out this resource to learn more about BLESS (https://covchurch.org/evangelism/bless/)

The good news of Jesus is that He did everything necessary for us to be members of His body. Through believing in Him, His death, burial, and resurrection, we are as accepted as we’ll ever be before God. 

You do not have to give money to be a partner at The Well. With that said, here are a few reasons why we think giving to the local church should be a priority for every Christian, and specifically those who choose to partner with The Well: 

•  It demonstrates where our heart is. (Matthew 6:21)
• God calls us to be cheerful givers. (2 Corinthians 9:6-7) 
• It is better to give than to receive. (Acts 20:35)