Kindred Exchange: What does ethical and sustainable partnership in mission look like?
May 10, 2021
That was the question Abby Littlefield (‘20) and Lauren Pinkston kept coming back to as they each reflected on their own experiences working in Ethiopia and Southeast Asia, respectively.
They met at Lipscomb in 2019 when Littlefield was a senior Business as Mission major looking for a mentor. “A friend of mine who was taking Lauren’s Introduction to Business course told me we had to meet! We shared a lot of the same professional goals and experiences.
We’ve witnessed something deeply personal as we broadened our worldview,” says Littlefield. “We’ve seen how rich and diverse the kingdom of God truly is and through many cultural fumbles and some personal reflection we’ve grown to appreciate what it means to live in a global community.”
A passion for that global community led them to start their own nonprofit, Kindred Exchange, which launched in October 2020.
“At Kindred Exchange we are creating a model for a modern, ethical missions movement,” says Littlefield. Pinskston adds, “We believe that the space between us is truly a kindred space and we want to honor the exchange between us and others with tenderness and authenticity. We can practice this through the way we spend our money, the way we design our ministries and the way we enter other people’s spaces.”
The first component they launched was a mercantile shop providing a platform for five businesses around the world, chosen and vetted by Kindred Exchange, who are using business as a social enterprise to create jobs and promote safety in the workplace.
Pinkston, who earned her doctorate in international development, witnessed firsthand the positive effect these kinds of organic business models can have on a community when she lived in Southeast Asia. “Business can be a transformative power in society and an authentic way to join into equitable relationships with people,” she says. “In missions there’s a concept called ‘rice Christians’ where we give someone rice and ask if they want to be a Christian without cultivating any relationship before or after that one interaction. That’s not equitable. Instead of entering a space with our own ideas of what people need and pushing that on them, we want to enter in a spirit of relationship and walk with people as we experience the love of God together.”
Through the second component of Kindred Exchange －a coaching network－ they offer that same spirit of relationship to organizations, churches and teams who want to unpack, reevaluate and broaden their vision for how best to steward the gospel of Jesus Christ across cultures. This coaching arm of the nonprofit will launch on July 17, 2021 with a one-day virtual gathering on the future of short-term missions in partnership with Lipscomb Missions.
“With many borders still closed due to the pandemic, now is a good time to take a look at how we have been engaging others and lean into that kindred space together,” says Pinkston.
To learn more about Kindred Exchange or register for the virtual conference visit kindredexchange.co.
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