Sent Together: Serving, Stewarding, and Laboring Side by Side

I love the biblical principle of mutuality. The phrase “one another” is used in the New Testament about 100 times, including 59 commands that describe how we are to relate to one another. This is part of our spiritual DNA as the Body of Christ, the Family of God, and as brothers and sisters in the Lord.

Sent as Apostles

“And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!’”¹

We are sent to proclaim freedom for the captives. We are sent as ambassadors of reconciliation—first with our heavenly Father, and then with one another. That is beautiful.

Our English word apostle comes from the Greek word apostolos, meaning “one who is sent.” There are the original “Big A” Apostles—a unique group directly sent by Jesus, who physically interacted with Him, witnessed His resurrection, and taught foundational truths for the church. In that sense, there are no more Apostles today.

At the same time, anyone sent on Kingdom mission with the good news—evangelists, missionaries, church planters, and others—can be understood in the broader sense as being sent ones.², ³

Sent as Servants

Jesus reversed worldly ideas of greatness and leadership by modeling humble service.

“Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, by taking the form of a servant…”⁴

“Whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”⁵

“If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.”⁶

“The greatest among you shall be your servant.”⁷

Sent as Stewards

We are called to help one another flourish, grow, and thrive as followers of Jesus Christ.

“For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.”⁸

“As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace.”⁹

Together: Sunergeo

Sunergeo is the Greek word from which we derive the English word synergy—the interaction or cooperation of people working together to produce a result greater than what they could accomplish separately.¹⁰

This is a powerful picture of mutual collaboration.

First, we are God's fellow workers:

“For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building.”¹¹

And we are fellow workers with one another:

“Yes, and I ask you, my true yokefellow, to help these women who have labored with me for the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the Book of Life.”¹²

The related Greek word sunergos means fellow worker, co-worker, or helper.¹³

Together as Couples

When I read 1 Timothy 3, I see a compelling model for husbands and wives serving together in shepherding roles—visiting those in need and helping provide an appropriate response. This can be a beautiful expression of being sent together.

Paul encourages marriage in a context where the worship of Artemis elevated virginity and childlessness, including teachings that discouraged marriage among those serving in her temple.¹⁴

A cousin recently shared that he and his wife are serving as the first elder couple in their CRC congregation. The experience has been so positive that their congregation has expanded to four shepherding elder couples over the past two years.

When I heard that the CRC Network theme for June was “Sent Together,” I immediately thought of them and reached out to learn more about their experience. What I heard was encouraging, beautiful, and deeply connective.

The idea emerged when my cousin served as an elder and his wife served as a deacon. They began making visits together and quickly discovered the benefits. Over time, their church restructured its council around this model.

We talked for nearly an hour, and they shared many positive outcomes: more visits being made, people feeling more at ease with a husband-and-wife team, stronger connections with elderly widows, the ability to pray together while maintaining confidentiality, shared burdens and responsibilities, deeper relationships with younger couples and families, and overall greater communication and connection throughout the congregation.

I would love to hear from other congregations that have experience with couples serving together on council. I am aware of other ministries where couples serve together on boards with significant impact as well.

Ministry titles may differ, but Scripture's preferred description may simply be this: fellow workers—brothers and sisters in the Lord serving the Kingdom together.