Andy Frost says church unity is not an optional extra!

In summer 2022, the Gather Movement hosted its national summit drawing church unity groups together from across the nation. The theme was ‘Dwell. Build. Seek.’ A number of key notes, workshops and times to dream, gave delegates an opportunity to explore the places we have been called to, the things we are building and what it means ultimately to seek God’s best for our communities.

At the core, Gather Movement is about city and town church unity groups seeing social, spiritual and cultural change. Social change is about bringing social justice and environmental solutions to help communities to thrive. Spiritual change is about seeing the church unite in fellowship, prayer, evangelism and discipleship; releasing Christians to play their role in society. And cultural change is about seeing the values of Jesus shape how people relate to each other personally and corporately.

From the presentations, the fact that unity is core to who we are was reiterated time and time again. Jesus has one church. Church unity is not an optional extra.

The importance of church unity was also shown to be vital if the church wants to play a role in the social recovery of our places. Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, addressed the summit explaining that the challenges we are facing are not just a year of recovery but may take 10 years. He challenged churches to work together more closely so that the church could be more co-ordinated and strategic in working with civic authorities tackling some of the most pressing social issues of our day.

Stories of church unity illustrated his point time and time again. From Lincoln, the story was shared around how the churches are working closely with the NHS providing Night Light Cafes to tackle issues of poor mental health and well being. From Ipswich, the story was shared about how churches are working together with civic leaders to welcome Ukrainian refugees. From Bristol, the story was shared around churches working collaboratively with the mayor to tackle the waiting lists around adoption and fostering.

Throughout the summit, there was a tangible sense of what is possible. The last couple of years have left many of us tired, and with so many needs we can feel overwhelmed. But it does seem that God is at work in giving people a fresh dream for their place and a new way of working. From across the nation, there were a number of really encouraging stories of the church unifying, becoming more strategic and making a real difference in communities. 

Written by Andy Frost
If you feel called to church unity in your place, we’d love to connect.

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