Spotlight: our unity team

It’s been a lively time for our recently formed team, having just returned from having undertaken tours of north and southwest England. With growing representation across regions, our team travelled more than 1,300 miles (ranging from Lancaster to Truro), gathering more than 400 leaders together across 14 locations to lay solid foundations for collaboration.

These have been encouraging times of sharing and listening to how local leaders are reaching their communities. We also shared some big-picture insights about what God is doing across theUK and created opportunities to forge new connections.

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Here are four takeaways from our regional tours so far which we hope inspire you at such a time as this. Now is the time to lean into evangelical unity.

1. In a post-lockdown, polarised society, we understand the temptation to retreat or try to go it alone. Some leaders feel isolated, while others are experiencing tensions within their denominations. We need to lean in and support one another in a way that hasn’t felt necessary before.
2. The growing unity of local churches is varied and inspiring! Many leaders are gathering and working well together: friends grabbing coffee and sharing life, while others are meeting to pray, some are using their time to plan and discuss strategies. It is exciting to see the different ways that leaders are working in unity.
3. There is expert guidance to help local Christians navigate difficult topics. Many Christians do not realise the opportunities and freedom we have or how to navigate challenging topics. Whether is it sharing the gospel at work, talking about race, navigating pronouns or gender identity, there is so much help for local churches to equip their congregations. Check out eauk​.org/​r​e​s​o​urces to explore more.
4. There is an expectancy about what God is doing. In every single place that we visited there was a palpable sense of excitement and expectation about what God is going to do next. Against the backdrop of challenges, there is a growing hopefulness and hunger that God will bring renewal and revival to our communities. Let’s keep praying!

We have been inspired by the use of a prayer walking app where, as people pray for each street, the colour on the

map changes and we are witnessing the church uniting through prayer. The app’s developer, Phil Harwick, has seen it in use across multiple cities: ​“We’ve seen churches come together who wouldn’t usually work together, people’s hearts have been stirred for the streets around them and it’s given a way to track and form a daily habit of prayer. It’s a real encouragement to see the streets change colour and know everyone has been lifted up to the Father.”

To find out how this app can work in your community, visit: prayerwalk.app

Christians in Lincoln are seeing unity develop around action and prayer. A significant project they have seen as a result is the Night Light café initiative – a partnership between the local churches and the local NHS Trust. These evening cafes offer a safe space for anyone experiencing a crisis in their mental health. Trained volunteers provide a warm welcome between 8pm until midnight, in a peaceful environment created to calm those who attend. These are now being replicated right across the county of Lincolnshire and beyond.

Sian Wade, church leader at The Bridge Church and active faith lead of the Transform Lincoln Network, says: ​“It’s incredible what can be achieved when Christians meet around specific needs. The suicide rate in our county was above national average and we knew this broke God’s heart. It is too overwhelming for one church but bring 10 churches around the table to pray and dream about what is possible, then you start to see something quite miraculous and special happen. This was just the start of a brilliant relationship between the faith sector and the NHS.”

We are so inspired by the different expressions of unity across the nation. Our prayer is that of Jesus in John 17, that the church would be brought to complete unity so that our communities will come to know God’s love for them.

Please continue to pray for the unity team and the Evangelical Alliance as a whole as we continue to support Christians all over the UK.