In the 17th chapter of John, verses 20- 23, Jesus prays for unity among his followers. He indicates the pattern for that unity is the relationship that is modeled within the Trinity. Jesus goes on to pray that the unity among his followers would be a sign to the world that would lead some to believe in Him. In other words, if we looked at the followers of Jesus from the point of view of the fish (those we seek to introduce to Christ) we should see unity, not discord and division.

Unity in action
Recently, a team from The Mission Society saw such unity in action. A church in Jasper, Georgia asked The Mission Society to lead a Global Outreach Weekend. After the schedule was posted, we received a call from New Mercies Christian Church asking if it would be possible for some of their people to attend the workshop in Jasper. We contacted Pastor Chip Wilson at the Jasper church, and he graciously extended an invitation for them to come. The differences between the two churches are striking. Geographically, the Jasper church is located in the North Georgia Mountains, while New Mercies is located in metro Atlanta. Racially, the Jasper church is predominantly white, and New Mercies is predominantly black. Numerically, the Jasper church is midsized, and New Mercies is a megachurch. Denominationally, Jasper church is United Methodist, and New Mercies is non-denominational.

For many churches any one of these differences would be enough to keep them apart. For example, in a Mission Society leaders’ training session, the instructor offered how beneficial it would be if local churches of different denominations came together, not just on special occasions but regularly, to bless the community. A pastor in the group responded by saying, “Different denominations? We can’t even come together as churches in our own denomination to bless the community.” A missions pastor in a large church was bemoaning that he could not interest other churches in partnering with his church because the smaller churches felt the larger church would siphon members away. Stories such as this are all too common. However, on this Friday night as we began the GO Workshop portion of the Global Outreach Weekend, these Jasper United Methodist Church and New Mercies Christian Church members came together beautifully. It was a great time of learning, interaction, and challenge.

Saturday morning proved to be especially rewarding. As part of the missions focus for the weekend, Jasper UMC had scheduled a Stop Hunger Now packing event. The workshop participants along with 50 or so additional church members joined together to package dehydrated meals that are used in crisis situations and in feeding programs for schools and orphanages in developing countries around the world. Assembly stations were set, beginning with the raw ingredients of rice, soy, dehydrated vegetables, and a flavoring mix with essential vitamins and minerals. These were placed in small plastic bags and sent on to the weighing stations where rice was either added or removed to meet the weight criteria. The individual bags were then sent to the sealing stations where a hot press sealed the bags. Finally, the bags were sent to the packing station where 36 bags were placed in a box and sealed for shipping.

It was evident something special was happening when above the general chatter could be heard, “One! Two! Three! Four! Shake it, baby, shake it!” as the mixing station added the ingredients and shook the bags to settle their contents. For each 1,000 meals boxed, a gong was sounded, and the entire group would celebrate with applause and shouts. In less than two hours that group had assembled and boxed 10,000 instant meals to be shipped to needy places around the world.

Even greater harmony
The workshop continued that afternoon with an even greater sense of harmony. In fact, had one not known otherwise, it was as if those present were all from the same church. During the session on Building Kingdom Partnerships, the following quote from The Power of Partnership by Phillip Butler was presented:

“The church has the people, money, prayer resources, and technology to fulfill the Great Commission in our age. But it will not be fulfilled by chance. It can only be fulfilled through godly unity and cooperation.”

The point was then made that the reality is none of us individually – and none of our churches or organizations – has all the gifts and resources on our own to accomplish God’s purpose of bringing all the peoples of the world to know Him, love Him, and worship Him. But when we’re willing to be connected to others who share the same mission and calling, God can use us to do very significant work. In Jesus we have a common life, a common calling, and a common purpose. We must not allow “unity” to remain just a catchphrase, when in reality we continue to do our own thing, all the while failing to work hand-in-hand in dynamic relationships with others in the body of Christ.

If we expect to see transformation in our own life, in the life of our church, and most importantly, in the lives of those that are not, as yet, followers of Jesus, we must come together in unity. Remember. The fish are watching us.

Stan Self is The Mission Society’s senior director of church ministry.