THE PEOPLE
… of God have always had the call to reveal the glory of God. The beauty of the Church in being one is that it is every tribe, tongue, and nation.
THE PROBLEM
The problem in the last 500 years that we are still dealing with today, is that we, as the Church, aren’t just diversified, we’re divided. Other Christian leaders and congregations are not viewed as possible collaborators to be curious about, but competitors to be cautious of.
With over 200 denominations in the United States, along with countless independent churches, we are in need of a reformation again as God’s people. This time though, not about what theological and cultural lines we divide over, but who we are united in: Christ.
THE PURPOSE
We get a picture of the diversity of the Church in Ephesians 3 where it talks about the purpose of the church being to reveal the manifold wisdom of God. The point of the Church is to reveal all of the diversity of God’s wisdom, all the different forms of God’s power.
What would happen if all the different parts of God’s wisdom would function more and more in unity in our cities and towns? The oneness of God would be revealed though the oneness of the Church and Christ would be glorified. That’s what would happen.
THE PRAXIS
One Church Initiatives work toward a functional unity in the Body of Christ even among diversity.
Once people are connected and relationship strengthened in cohorts, we take the trust that has been built between leaders and congregations and help mobilize them. We start thinking about how the Regional Church can start functioning more faithfully and effectively together.
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Jesus in John 17
“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one—I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.”
Examples of One Church Initatives