The African American Church and University Partnerships: Establishing Lasting Collaborations

This article highlights the experiences of the Health Wise Church Project, a community outreach initiative between a diverse group of African American churches and a university health education program. The objective of the program was to develop early detection and illness prevention networks among older church members. Not all partnerships result in long-term collaborations, and this article makes a clear distinction between different types of “working together” arrangements. The project discussed in this article presents a four-stage model to illustrate how organizations achieve collaborative partnerships. Involving community partners in the early phase of project planning contributed to the success of the church-university collaboration. This type of shared planning helped to sustain community interest during the project’s implementation.