Memorandum of Understanding
Presbytery International Partnership 

Presbytery:              Shenandoah

Overseas Partner:    Illubabor Bethel Synod
                                Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus 

                                                                     Contact Persons: 

Shenandoah Presbytery   Rev. Bill Cox, Rt. 1, Box 227, Greenville, Va 24440, U.S.A 

Illubabor Bethel Synod:  Ato Mersha Seyoum, President, Illubabor Bethel Synod, P. O. Box 11, Mettu,  lllubabor, Ethiopia 

Background 

Shenandoah Presbytery and the Illubabor Bethel Synod have been in a formalized fellowship for over five years. Prior to the beginning of this period of partnership there had been many communications and several significant exchange visits between us. Members of the original Partnership Committee of Shenandoah Presbytery felt a strong sense of the Lord's guiding in these early communications and in the establishment of our partnership. The years of sharing and growing together since then have brought many blessings to our respective church bodies and individuals and congregations within them. 

Our original S‑year partnership agreement expired at the end of 1994. This partnership renewal agreement will extend our partnership another five years until December 2001. This Memorandum of Understanding will be reviewed, amended and endorsed by the leadership of the Illubabor Bethel Synod following an exchange visit for the Synod's meeting in January 1996. It has already been approved by the Global Mission Partnership Committee of Shenandoah Presbytery and its parent Division, the Division on Faith and Action. Following approval of this or an amended Memorandum by the Illubabor Bethel Synod this partnership agreement will be presented to the mission council of Shenandoah Presbytery and voted on by the subsequent meeting of the Presbytery of Shenandoah. The Global Mission Partnership Committee will oversee the continued implementation and growth of this partnership. Members and leadership of this Committee have valued and sought the wisdom, input, resources and support of the General Assembly's Global Mission Division in the past and will continue to do so in the future.   

Needs to be Addressed Within Each Partner Church

 Shenandoah Presbytery's needs within this global mission partnership were identified in surveys done with church sessions in 1987 and confirmed during the past 6 years of partnership activities. We need: 

spiritual renewal and formation. to experience the vitality, depth and richness of faith found among Christians in Ethiopia. to challenge our young people with the gospel. and the call to Christian discipleship. to experience more directly the global nature of the church of Jesus Christ and the call to tell the story of God's love in Jesus Christ to all people. to understand how our denomination is involved in mission around the world by participating more concretely in its mission in one part of the world. to experience a more concrete involvement of Christian sharing and discipleship through direct relationships and communication with partners in mission to experience the solidarity we share with brothers and sisters in Christ across all language, cultural and national boundaries as we sit at tables, pray, worship, talk, play and work with our Ethiopian brothers and sisters. to discover a stronger desire to share our faith in our own communities; to call people to turn and move toward God; to invite and encourage people's participation in the Church of Jesus Christ. to grow in our willingness and ability to share our abundant monetary, talent and faith resources. to enlarge our view of the world and human life through direct experiences of other cultures, political and economic situations and the development of relationships with people of those cultures. 

Illubabor Bethel Synod's needs within a global mission fellowship were listed in our original partnership agreement as follows: The training of church workers and the equipping of the laity in the knowledge of the word of God to take care of and nurture their respective congregations. Persons with specialized nursing and agro‑mechanical skills and with deep commitments of faith. Short‑term exchanges and visits of people to equip and build up the laity and to express the international nature of the Christian Church. Reaching the unreached through evangelism outreach in targeted areas. Church building projects. Prayers and relationship with other churches including the above mentioned exchange of people and expression of solidarity and oneness with each church's special mission and situation. Funding for development and evangelistic work of the synod. Financial support for integrated development projects currently pending funding. Funding for specific evangelistic outreach, church development and leadership training projects.

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Mutually Agreed Upon Objectives

(from 1989 Memorandum of Understanding)

 The most valued, fruitful and lasting aspect of our past years of partnership has been the development of relationships between our respective church bodies and the congregations and members thereof. Our experience has validated the wisdom of our partners in Ethiopia who desired to prioritize the development of Christian relationships even in naming our relationship a fellowship rather than a partnership. Within our relationship we have experienced something of the unity, oneness, equality and blessedness of Koinonia  Christian Community. 

We reaffirm the belief stated in our original Memorandum of Understanding that the. church of Jesus Christ is one Body in spite of physical and cultural differences (I Cor.  12:13). Within our fellowship each is equally important and each receives God‑given grace and love for enriching the Body. Standing together we are enabled to live out our God‑given life in the world to bring into this Body the many that do not yet belong to Christ's Church (John 10: 16) In this relationship mission is two‑way in all aspects, each mutually and equally sharing and receiving. The Biblical justice seen in the Holy Communion that invites all to partake in the Body shall be experienced fully amongst us. Accordingly, we set forth the following objectives for our Fellowship/Partnership: 

1. to grow together in quantity and quality 

2. to witness and bear suffering together in the world for the sake of our faith. 

3. to encourage and motivate one another to reach out to the unreached people with the
    Good News of salvation in Jesus Christ

4. to encourage one another to live as disciples of Jesus Christ, committed to sacrifice all to minister to God's people, and the world as called ordained leaders and laity 

5. to understand and embody our ministry to one another and to the world in a holistic manner. 

Specific Commitments of our Fellowship 

1. We will pray fervently for one another. We will promote the first Sunday in February and the last Sunday in September as days for prayers for our respective partner church. 2. We will communicate regularly through letter, quarterly phone calls (prior to meetings of Shenandoah Presbytery), fax and personal visits. 
3. We will allocate $5,000 annually from Shenandoah Presbytery's budget to support the evangelistic work of the Illubabor Bethel Synod. 
4. We will encourage church‑to‑church partnerships within the larger relationship of our church bodies. 
5. We will continue to schedule yearly exchange visits. 
6. We will seek to recruit a committed Christian with useful skills and training from Shenandoah Presbytery for longer term work within the Illubabor Bethel Synod. 
7. We will explore supporting a year long visit of a leader from the Illubabor Bethel Synod as a missionary within the Shenandoah Presbytery.

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