Hopes and Expectations Between Global Marketplace Multipliers and Appointed Global Partners Missionaries
The connection between Global Marketplace Multipliers (GMM) and appointed Global Partners Missionaries (M) is all about voluntary relationships. GMMers are not employees of Global Partners, and so that can at times cause some lack of clarity on what the relationship is or what it could be as it grows. Because of that, GMM has equipped mission directors and leaders who have GMMs in their country with a Hopes and Expectations Guide.
This guide has become useful in shaping conversations that help us understand each other’s thinking and dreaming about evangelism and disciple-making going forward. In these conversations, the guide helps us recall our relationship history and how we might be more intentional in the future.
One of the tricky things for M’s and GMMs is when they both meet the same Christian expats and M’s in the same country. This conversation helps us re-clarify how to describe our relationship with each other to such expats as well as when meeting other non-Christians in the country (nationals and expats). Sometimes the answer for these groups is different, thus the need for clarity, and why we emphasize what level of confidentiality we should have in discussing each other or why we are here. This helps us be mindful of both potential security issues for the M, and workplace sensitivities for the GMM.
Talking big picture dreams and our hopeful impact in the country can be the best part of these dialogs. We also make time to celebrate how both the M and GMM already contribute to the vision and values of the mission work in their own unique ways. Then we get into the specifics of the kind of engagement in the vision and values that is most desired from one another, and what would be unwelcome behaviors and how to bring them up if they emerge.
Often a GMM will begin in the country with a very limited engagement with the missions work, related meetings, and other ways to volunteer. Over time that can change and so these annual hopes and expectations conversations are part of the re-calibration to sort of “define the relationship” as it may be time for the GMM to be invited to step up, or to see what their best play might be. At times, of course, they may need to dial back from previous commitments, and these conversations provide the opportunity to bring that up too in a routine way.
Our intent is that the first of these conversations start, whenever possible, even before a GMM enters a country. This helps everyone get crystal clear on any expectation of logistical support for the GMM in transition to the country or are they planning to independently get set up in the new country. We cannot have too high of expectations on the M for this. In this we clarify that it’s not an M’s job to provide GMM logistics, but perhaps some things they may volunteer to help with. It’s important that we emphasize that it is up to the M to offer this, or for the GMM to ask, and if so, the M can say no.
In that and so much else, clarity solves most problems that could develop. As you no doubt have seen, most disappointments or hard conflicts develop because of sometimes unclear, perhaps overdeveloped or even inappropriate expectations.
GMMs have a platform and entry to places our M’s are not able to engage in, and the marketplace is a way for us to gain access to even more people without enough access to the gospel, and this Hopes and Expectations Guide process is designed to make sure we continue to be effective in partnering together.