Module 6
Stronger Together: Partnerships and Referrals
“Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up.” — Ecclesiastes 4:9–10
Lesson
What You Will Learn
- Build a verified referral list by category
- Describe how to partner respectfully with treatment and medical providers
- Plan partnerships with re-entry organizations
- Explain volunteer clearance and conduct when serving in correctional facilities
Lesson Notes
The Good Samaritan and the Innkeeper
The Good Samaritan bound up the wounded man and then brought him to an inn, and took care of him. The next day he paid the host and said, Take care of him (Luke 10:34–35). He did not try to do everything himself. He partnered with someone who could provide what the man needed next.
A recovery ministry is one part of a person's care. Doctors, treatment programs, counselors, case managers, housing programs, and legal aid all have roles. A ministry that knows its partners can say, with confidence, Here is someone who can help with that.
Building a Referral List
A referral list is a verified list of local help, organized by category. It is kept at the resource table and given to every leader. Categories include:
- Emergencies: 911. Suicide and crisis: 988 (call or text).
- Medical care and detox or withdrawal management.
- Treatment programs, including programs that offer medication for addiction treatment.
- Mental health counseling (licensed professionals).
- Where to get naloxone.
- Domestic violence help.
- Housing and shelter, food, and transportation.
- Re-entry services, legal aid, and employment help.
- Other Christ-centered recovery groups nearby.
Call each listing to verify it before printing, write the date verified, and review the list every few months. Never distribute numbers you have not checked: ______________________.
Partnering with Treatment and Re-entry Organizations
Visit or call local treatment providers and introduce the ministry. Ask how the ministry can support their clients, what their referral process is, and whether they would welcome a resource table or a visit. Respect their expertise: a ministry encourages people to follow their medical and treatment plans, including prescribed medication.
Re-entry organizations help people coming home with housing, identification, employment, and case management. A recovery ministry can offer a welcoming church family, a weekly meeting, and mentoring. Agree on clear roles, and never share a participant's personal information with a partner without her written permission, except in an emergency or where the law requires it.
Serving Inside Correctional Facilities
I was in prison, and ye came unto me (Matthew 25:36). Many recovery ministries serve inside jails and prisons. Facilities require volunteer clearance, which may include an application, a background check, orientation and training, an identification badge, and approval for any materials brought in. Follow the chaplain's direction in everything.
Common rules include: do not bring in or carry out any item without approval; do not carry messages, mail, or money for residents; do not share personal contact information unless the facility allows it; dress according to the dress code; and report any concern to the chaplain or staff. Breaking a rule can end a ministry's access for everyone.
A facility ministry can also build a bridge for release: with the chaplain's approval and the person's permission, help connect women to a church group and resources near where they will live, and remind them that overdose risk is higher after release because tolerance drops.
Key Terms
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Referral list | A verified list of local help organized by category and reviewed regularly |
| Partnership | A respectful working relationship with an organization that serves the same people, with clear roles |
| Volunteer clearance | A facility's approval process for volunteers, which may include an application, background check, and orientation |
| Written permission | A participant's signed consent before her information is shared with a partner |
In-Class Activities
Who Can Help?
Read ten composite needs (for example, a woman wants to stop using and is afraid of withdrawal, or a man just released needs an ID and a place to stay). For each, write the referral category and what the ministry can still offer alongside the referral.
Partner Introduction Script
Write a short script to introduce your ministry to a treatment provider or re-entry organization: who you are, your purpose statement, what you offer, what you do not offer, and three questions to ask. Practice it with a partner.
Assignment: Referral List and Partnership Plan
Create the partnership section of your Ministry Launch Plan:
- A referral list with at least ten categories from the lesson. Include 911 and 988. Use blanks for local names and numbers you still need to verify, and a date verified column.
- Three potential partners (by type or name) and what each partnership would look like.
- A written-permission statement explaining how participant information is protected.
- If you hope to serve in a facility: the clearance steps you will ask the chaplain about and five conduct rules.
- Ecclesiastes 4:9–10 written out and one sentence of application.
Graded with the Module Assignment Rubric.
Reflection Journal
Ecclesiastes 4:10 warns, woe to him that is alone when he falleth. Who lifted you up when you fell? How can your ministry become a place where no one falls alone?
Prayer focus: Thank God for the doctors, counselors, chaplains, and workers who care for hurting people, and ask Him to build strong partnerships for your ministry.
Weekly Reading & Devotions
The Innkeeper
The Good Samaritan bandaged the wounded man, but he did not try to do everything himself. He brought him to an inn, and took care of him, and the next day he paid the host and said, Take care of him (Luke 10:34–35). He partnered with someone who could provide what was needed next.
A recovery ministry is one part of a person's care. Doctors, treatment programs, counselors, case managers, housing programs, and legal aid all have roles. God works through all of them. A ministry encourages people to follow their medical and treatment plans, including prescribed medication for addiction treatment.
A referral list is a gift you hand to every leader: 911, 988, medical care, treatment, counseling, naloxone, domestic violence help, housing, re-entry services, legal aid, and other recovery groups. Call each listing to verify it, write the date, and check again in a few months. Never hand out a number you have not checked.
I was in prison, and ye came unto me (Matthew 25:36). Serving inside a facility is a privilege that comes with rules: complete volunteer clearance, follow the chaplain's direction, and never carry items, messages, or money for residents. With permission, a facility ministry can build a bridge to a church group near where a woman will live after release.
Think About It
- Who has been an innkeeper in your life? ______________________
- Which referral category do you know least about? ______________________
- What would a healthy partnership with a re-entry organization look like? ______________________
Daily Devotions for Week 6
Two Are Better
Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up.— Ecclesiastes 4:9–10 (KJV)
No one should fall alone, and no ministry should serve alone.
Reflect: Who has lifted you up?
Pray: Lord, make us partners who lift others up.
Do: Thank someone who helped you up.
Took Care of Him
And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.— Luke 10:34 (KJV)
Compassion takes action and brings in more help.
Reflect: What does it look like to bring someone to the inn today?
Pray: Lord, give me practical compassion.
Do: Add three categories to your referral list.
Ye Came unto Me
Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.— Matthew 25:36 (KJV)
Jesus counts care for the sick and imprisoned as care for Him.
Reflect: Who do you know who is sick or in prison?
Pray: Lord, let me see You in those I serve.
Do: Pray for those inside a facility near you.
As Bound with Them
Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body.— Hebrews 13:3 (KJV)
We remember those in prison as if we were there with them.
Reflect: How does this verse shape a facility ministry?
Pray: Lord, keep me tender toward those in bonds.
Do: Write one way a ministry can build a bridge for release.
Labourers Together
For we are labourers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building.— 1 Corinthians 3:9 (KJV)
Ministries, churches, and partners labor together with God.
Reflect: Which partner would strengthen your ministry most?
Pray: Lord, make us good labourers together.
Do: Write a two-sentence introduction to a partner organization.
Module Quiz
- 1.
In Luke 10:34–35, the Good Samaritan:
- 2.
A referral list should be:
- 3.
When volunteering inside a facility, a leader should:
- 4.
A ministry may share a participant's personal information with a partner whenever it seems helpful.
- 5.
Why is overdose risk higher after release from incarceration?