Why Unity?
Mission Central is excited to announce that our theme for this year is Unity—we’ll begin our exploration in September and build momentum toward our SERVE and CREATE conferences in January 2023.
For most people, unity doesn’t immediately come to mind when thinking about missions. Our minds jump more quickly to bible translation, learning to connect across cultural boundaries, or humanitarian relief. Here at Mission Central, however, we believe that unity is central to our faith and to how we share our faith with the world.
The Lausanne Movement’s Cape Town Commitment1 emphasizes the importance of unity in very stark terms: “A divided Church has no message for a divided world. Our failure to live in reconciled unity is a major obstacle to authenticity and effectiveness in mission.”
We all know we’re living in a very divided world. COVID, social change, and global unrest continue to create divides at every level: international, national, local, and even within our church communities. It would be nice to look at Christians and find a message of hope built on unity, but sadly, that often isn’t the case. We believe that can change.
Starting this fall, we’ll dive into why unity matters, and what it should look like. We’ll intercede for unity on the open prayer gatherings we host every Wednesday on Zoom. We’ll publish articles focusing on the biblical foundations of unity and how it can be expressed. And we’ll offer devotionals inviting each of you and your communities to consider how God is calling us all to go deeper into unity with him and with each other.
Mission Central has always valued unity. From our start as Missions Fest Vancouver, our goal has been to live out unity in practical ways for the sake of the Gospel, bringing churches together across denominations and cities, based on our common commitment to mission. Now, in our last year, our goal is to ignite a renewed vision and passion for unity among the people of God. We invite you, and all who love Jesus, to join us on this journey of discovery and hope.
When we live in unity and work in partnership we demonstrate the supernatural, counter-cultural power of the cross.
Footnotes
- In 2010, 4000 Christian Leaders from 198 countries gathered in Cape Town, South Africa, for the Third Lausanne Congress, to address a variety of issues impacting the church and world evangelization. The resulting Cape Town Commitment is a statement of shared Biblical convictions calling Christians all over the world to action. [back]
