What Joining the Patria Family Means
Please review the web page entitled "Who We Are" as a part of the information conveyed by this page.
How Patria Operates:
Patria is a family of leaders. Our relationships are built with the leaders themselves and not the organizations or ministries they lead. If a person becomes disconnected from the organization they led, their relationship to Patria does not cease. Patria, itself, is not so much an organization as it is an organism. This means we do not exercise governmental/denominational type control over our family members. We are, however, a real family and as such there are elements of accountability, responsibility, covering, direction, support and discipline that are a part of what a person should be prepared to expect when they join. These elements are based upon a far more significant concept than a governmental model. They are based upon a relational model. Our friend and mentor, John Paul Jackson, called this the Orbital Model. We function on the basis of spiritual authority and believe strongly in Spiritual Fathering (for more understanding of this topic see Michael's book - The Elisha Way).
Application Process:
The first step in the journey to become a part of the Patria family is to build relationship with an existing member of Patria. This person or persons will need to be referenced on your "application" form and will need to be able to provide a reference for you. Next, complete the form entitled "Patria Membership Application" and found here. As a part of the application process you will be requested to have BOTH a ministry leader or personal friend AND one member of the Patria family (with whom you have built some level of relationship) provide a written or verbal reference. Upon completion of the "application" you will be contacted by one or more members of the Patria Leadership team. The purpose of this contact will be both to build some initial relationship with you and to evaluate your leadership and ministry roles as indicated in your written application. This process may take some time depending upon the level of relationship that already existed with other members of the Patria family. If your request to join the family is approved you will be added to the website directory, included in the closed Patria Facebook page and connected with a member of the Patria Leadership Team to serve as a primary contact and sponsor. You are highly encouraged to attend the next annual gathering of the Patria Family (called a Patria Family Reunion) and in some cases may be requested to attend prior to final approval of your request.
Types of Family Members:
Patria recognizes that ministry comes in all shapes and sizes and that it is not necessary for a person to be engaged in full time vocational ministry in order to be a leader. As a result, we receive family members who fit a number of broad categories, including the following:
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Pastor: A leader or minster appointed over a congregation, whether that congregation be a formal/traditional church, a less formal setting (such as a house/home church) or some other form of congregation. In a more spiritual sense this is one who is called to feed the sheep or to guide a group of people in their spiritual journey. It should be noted that for purposes of defining this category we recognize that the term "pastor" is being used in a more modern and thereby limited sense and it is not intended to fully mirror the biblical/five-fold role of a pastor, though such a leader would be included in this category. This category may include any of the five-fold ministry roles if they are established as leaders over a set congregational group considered a church.
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Itinerant Ministry Leader: A leader who ministers while traveling from place to place or to a group of people not typically recognized as the congregation of a church. Such a leader may train, equip, mentor, counsel or otherwise lead groups of diverse individuals who call other places their church home. This category frequently includes those who see their call relating to prophetic, evangelistic or teaching ministries.
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Marketplace Minister: This terminology typically refers to those who lead activities directed toward the secular workplace as opposed to homes, churches or other specialized "itinerant" venues. For purposes of this category we choose to expand this definition to include leaders in the marketplace whose primary ministry is their work/business. Business owners, entrepreneurs, professionals, managers, supervisors, and others who are full time in the marketplace but function as a minister to and in their market are included in this category. These business/marketplace leaders often function as pastors, teachers, evangelists, prophets and apostles to their employees, customers, co-workers, suppliers and the like.
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Supporting Leader: A leader whose primary role is in the support of another pastor, Itinerant ministry leader or marketplace minister. This category includes (but is not limited to) functions often referred with titles such as: Worship Pastor, Associate Pastor, Administrative Pastor, Lead Intercessor, etc.
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Missionary: A leader who leader who is specifically called to pour into the lives of those individuals of a different cultural makeup or geographic area. Those who fit one of the foregoing categories, but minister across cultural lines or to specific groups in a particular geographic area outside of their home are considered a part of this category.
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Emerging Leader: An individual who is young in age, spiritual maturity or experience but is clearly called to one of the fore-referenced categories of leadership though not yet fully prepared to walk it out or in need of additional training, support or encouragement in order to walk it out. These leaders may or may not already be engaged in directing the activities of their own ministerial organization. Individuals who fit this category will often be highly motivated to serve others, have clear indications of their gifts and callings, frequently, though perhaps informally, influence others in their spiritual journey, exhibit high levels of character and integrity, be open to failing, learning and growing and/or have experienced some form of "call" to which they are attempting to respond.
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Friend of Patria: A leader who fits one of the foregoing categories, but desires to make a less formal connection with Patria for purposes of building further relationship and with the intention of pursuing a more formal relationship in the future.
If you do not feel that you fit one of the categories above it is possible that it is not yet time for you to become a formal part of the family. On the other hand, our list is certainly not exclusive, so we encourage you to provide us with the details of how your "ministry" functions and why you are a "leader" before simply deciding this is not the place for you.
Patria Core Values:
In addition to our Statement of Faith, which you will be asked to acknowledge agreement with, you should be aware of several of Patria's core values prior to seeking to join the family. These core values include (but are not limited to):
Messages on these values were delivered at the 2018 Patria Family Reunion and can be accessed by clicking on the links above. Please note that the Orbital Model message has significant audio issues that last approximately 6 min and the final 10 minutes of audio was lost, but the message is still worth listening to.
Financial Commitments:
A voluntary application fee is now requested in conjunction with the filing of your "Application for Membership". Please be aware that this fee is designed to demonstrate a well thought out commitment to becoming a part of this family. It is well established that as a people we place higher value on what costs us something and lesser value on what we obtain for free. Should the application fee present a burden to you that you cannot overcome, please note that it is not required in order for your application to be submitted, but it is beneficial for you to contact us and let us know.
Patria does not have a required financial commitment from it's family members either in the form of a specific dollar amount, nor a percentage of ministry income. However, this does not mean that family members have no responsibility to financially support the work of Patria as a whole. Most parents have experienced things such as taking their grown children to dinner and the children expecting the parents to pay. While this expectation generally does not negatively impact the parent/child relationship, it does indicate a lack of full understanding of the value of the family and it does bring joy to the parents when the children choose to offer their financial support to cover the costs of the nourishment they are receiving. This family dynamic guides the way Patria views the financial commitments "expected" from our ministry "children". We are often asked to tell our family members how much they should commit on a monthly or annual basis, but we have tended to avoid this advice when it comes to specific dollar amounts or percentages of ministry related income. While other organizations choose to set a specific requirements, we prefer that our family members seek the direction of Holy Spirit with an expectation that He will guide them to some consistent level of giving. In summary, it is expected that members of the Patria family will give in support of our mission, but no specific amount is required.
Ordination:
Please note that joining the Patria family does NOT directly equate to eligibility for ordination and that this step if requested will require review and approval by the Board of Directors, which may include fulfilling additional requirements. Patria does acknowledge duel ordination and it is not necessary (from our perspective) for you to give up ordination from another organization in order to be ordained by Patria (though in some extreme cases where core values of Christian Faith my be questionable in the other organization, relinquishing such ordination may be required). Transfer of ordination from another organization is no longer automatic and will also require approval. In some cases licensing may be required prior to approval of ordination. If you seek to obtain ordination from Patria it is essential that you begin by reading our Ordination Qualifications, Ordination Code of Conduct and Ministerial Removal Policy prior to making your request.
Extended Family:
There is no option to select this category on the "application" to join the Patria family due to the fact that in some respects this category includes the entire body of Christ. In a more specific usage, this category includes those who have close personal relationships to the leadership of Patria Ministries, but for various reasons have chosen not to formally connect with Patria.