Beyond Borders: Why North American Leaders Must Learn from the Global Church
The future of mission is friendship. And the future of friendship is global.
A subtle yet inspiring shift is taking place in church leadership and mission worldwide. You can hear it in the voices of pastors in Nairobi, planters in São Paulo, and disciple-makers in Manila. It's evident in WhatsApp groups and Zoom calls across different time zones. This marks the start of a new kind of teamwork—a global chorus that not only sings to the nations but also sings with them.
And here’s the truth we need to face as North American leaders: We are not the center of the missional universe.
The Illusion of the Center
For too long, mission has flowed primarily in one direction—from the West to the rest. Our seminaries, strategies, and structures were exported with good intentions. But in many cases, we assumed leadership rather than offering partnership. We taught, but did not always listen. We shared our resources, but not our needs. We led, but not always with humility.
The result? We built strong systems but often weak friendships. And now, the global church is inviting us into something far richer—mutuality, reciprocity, and learning across borders.
This is not about shame. It’s about opportunity. North America still has much to offer: innovation, experience, funding, and infrastructure. But if we want to be part of what God is doing next, we must embrace what He is already doing everywhere else.
Polycentric Mission: The Shift We Must Make
The word “polycentric” might sound academic, but its meaning is revolutionary. It simply means that leadership, influence, and mission are no longer concentrated in one place—they are shared across many centers.
In a polycentric world, Lagos is as central as London. Bogotá is as influential as Boston. The global South is not just rising—it’s leading.
This shift is not just sociological. It’s deeply theological. If the Church is the Body of Christ, then no single part should act as the head. Only Jesus gets that role. And He is building a Church that reflects His global body—a diverse, Spirit-filled, interconnected family that cannot be reduced to one culture, nation, or strategy.
To lead in this moment, we need a new kind of posture: not dominance, but dialogue. Not control, but collaboration. Not expertise, but friendship.
Why North American Leaders Need the Global Church
You may be asking: What does this actually mean for me, my church, my network?
It means everything.
Here are a few reasons why we must intentionally seek out the insights, learnings, and friendship of the global Church:
1. They’ve Suffered, and Thrived
Many of our sisters and brothers in the global church know what it’s like to follow Jesus without privilege, platform, or protection. They lead underground churches, disciple without buildings, multiply under persecution. And yet their joy is palpable, their boldness contagious, their faith unshakable.
They’ve thrived in the margins. And as the North American church finds itself increasingly on the edges of cultural influence, we have much to learn from their resilience.
2. They’ve Innovated Under Constraint
While some of us scramble to adapt to shrinking budgets or shifting attendance, churches in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa have been innovating with far less for far longer. Movements are multiplying not because they have more, but because they’ve learned to do more with less—lean, local, Spirit-led discipleship that scales through simplicity.
3. They See Blind Spots We Don’t
Cultural Christianity. Consumerism. Celebrity. The global Church can help us name the air we breathe. Their perspective helps us repent of what we’ve normalized and remember what Jesus actually called us to: humility, obedience, justice, love.
One African pastor recently told me, “We thank God for your theology, but we want to give you our hunger.” That sentence still haunts me—in the best possible way.
4. They Want Relationship, Not Just Resources
Let’s be honest—too many “global partnerships” have looked like one-way pipelines. Money flows out, reports flow back, and not much changes in terms of the relationship.
But global leaders aren’t looking for donors. They’re looking for friends—co-laborers in Christ, willing to share life, wisdom, and responsibility.
We don’t need more transactional partnerships. We need transformational friendships.
Where Do We Start?
This shift won’t happen by accident. It takes intentionality, humility, and risk. But it’s also deeply joyful. Here are a few starting points:
Listen First. Read books, listen to sermons, follow thought leaders from the Majority World. Ask: What is the Spirit saying through them that I might be missing?
Build Real Friendships. Not every global relationship needs to start with a project. Start with coffee, conversation, and curiosity. Let the relationshipz shape the mission—not the other way around.
Invite Global Voices into Your Strategy. Don’t just consult them about the field. Invite them to the table where vision is set. Let them shape your leadership imagination.
Visit and Host. Cross-cultural experience is still one of the fastest ways to grow. Go with a learner’s posture. And when global friends visit your city, roll out the red carpet.
Tell Better Stories. Use your platform to amplify what God is doing around the world. Celebrate others. Normalize collaboration.
A Final Word: The Future Is Family
The Church is not a franchise. It’s a family. And families don’t outsource leadership to one continent. They grow together. They stretch one another. They sit at the same table.
What if the most strategic thing you could do this year wasn’t launching a new program, but building a new friendship? What if the next key to your leadership wasn’t found in the latest North American conference, but in the humble testimony of a pastor in Indonesia?
The invitation is clear: we don’t need to lead the global church. We need to learn from it.
Because when we listen, we learn. When we learn, we change. And when we change together—we just might see the kind of kingdom movement we’ve been praying for all along.
The world is already polycentric. It’s time the Church acted like it.
Cheering you on!
Patrick✌️
Patrick✌️
Postscript: To all of my global sisters and brothers, thank you so much for shaping me, challenging me, walking with me, and being patient with me as I learn. I hope to serve as a bridge between what’s happening in North America and the rest of the world, fostering understanding and connection. We are truly better together!