RMI 2.0, part 2

Connected Church to Church Partnerships
RMI is Connecting Churches Cross-culturally

The Sister Church Program has a new name!  Another sign of growth and a result of the re-branding process is the changing of the Sister Church Program name to C3 Partnerships.  The name change will enable us to better connect with today's church leaders.  It also aptly describes what our anchor program does: it connects church to church partnerships.  We enable churches from different cultures to connect with one another in a long-term strategic partnership.  A church becomes a "C3 partner" with a Sister Church in Haiti.  Once a church becomes a C3 Partner, then we begin to refer to their relationship using our normal "Sister Church" terminology.  It'll take some conscious re-training of our minds to make this change, especially for all of you who have been with RMI for a while.

Believe it or not, this is the first time our foundational program actually has it's own logo.  We are very happy to introduce it to you here.  We would be glad for you to use the new logo in your church, for publicizing your Sister Church, in your videos or other presentations.  Please email Debbie Shoemaker at debbie.shoemaker@rminet.org to ask for the appropriate format file for your purposes.

This change and the Starfish Strategy are meant to grow, enhance, strengthen and mature the C3 Partnerships.  We want to drive the relationships with a solid direction and purpose so they will have strategic and maximum impact on their Sister Churches.  This is why we've developed and defined the Starfish Strategy.  It will take a while to change our mindsets, and educate everyone familiar with the "old" Sister Church Program, but hopefully when all is said and done, the words "oh dear, our dates to go to Haiti are coming up -- what on earth are we going to do this time when we're there?" will not have to be uttered again.  RMI is working with our staff in Haiti to educate and shepherd our Haitian Sister Church Partners in this long term strategic planning for their churches as well.

Next week we will introduce you to the Starfish Strategy and it's 3 part logo.  Developing this has really added solid meat onto the "bones" of the  "old" Sister Church Program.  It has already been shared with several new and established Partnership churches.  It's been received with overwhelming enthusiasm.  One statement we heard from a new church prospect was that this was something the church could really "sink their teeth into".