Partnership in their day-to-day living for Christ is a key component for the success -- indeed the survival -- of believers in Pakistan. "We are deliberate in the way we choose to relate to our brothers and sisters in Christ," Bishop Hizkiel observed, "we always support one another in any way we are able."
The support of which the Bishop speaks, the deliberate partnership, is seen in the way the CEEC congregations lift up the work of the Gospel - regardless of which of the other Christian communities is playing host. For example, the Bishop recently led a service in one of the local Salvation Army congregations, as can be seen in the photo at the top of this page.
For the church in Pakistan, partnership is the life blood of the work. It is core to the ministry of the CEEC, and extends both into Pakistan and out of it.
It is a fact of life here that the lowest paying and dirtiest occupations are always reserved for Christians. This severely limits their financial resources, and even impacts the ability of the leaders to communicate among themselves.
External partnerships help fund critical ministry and events. One CEEC congregation, Redeemer Church in Ponte Vedra Beach FL, recently provided the funds that allowed Bishop Hizkiel to travel from Punjab to the Sahiwal District so he could ordain the CEEC's newest Pakistani priest and plant our newest church.

Coordinating the publication of these needs and facilitating the distribution of the gifts is a major focus of the CEEC's International Commission on World Mission. "Of course, there is no way that we can meet every need that is presented," observed Abp Robert Gosselin, who serves on the ICWM, "but many of our CEEC congregations and ministries have a deliberate focus on missions, and their generosity makes a huge impact."
In Pakistan, gifts are currently focused on making ministry possible; never for salaries or regular expenses, but always for smaller congregations and critical ministry functions.

Right now, for example, we have a Pakistani church that cannot meet in its building due to a hole in the roof, and the local congregation does not have the $510 needed to repair it. Once it is repaired, the government will allow them to use their church building, but not until.
There are two churches waiting to be planted in new locations, one in the Zubair Colony of Faisalbad and a second in the capital if Islamabad. While the new congregations will able to handle the small costs of operations once they have been established, the start-up costs for each new church plant run from $750 to $800. This amount is out of reach to them, and so they wait and pray that God will send a partner to help.

Distributing Bibles to those who have none allows for discipleship and spiritual growth. Using other donated tools to equip local believers to do all that the Lord calls them to do has been very effective for our churches in Pakistan.
"Partnerships, inside and outside of Paksitan, keep us effective," Bishop Hizkiel says. "They keep us humble, and allow the Lord to show us where He wants us to focus our efforts."