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Join YWAMers around the globe in praying and hearing from God. He is inviting you!
The Cunninghams Meeting with (left to right) Justin Welby, Head of the Anglican Church; Pope Francis, Head of the Roman Catholic Church and Pope Twadros II, Head of the Coptic Church to End Bible Poverty
A great awareness has been taking place on a worldwide level that is bringing people from different confessions and denominations together in Christian unity. Recent events include a global gathering held in Jerusalem to link the east and the west; an event commemorating the 500th year anniversary of the Protestant Reformation in which Lutherans, Catholics and many other denominations celebrated Christian unity; and the upcoming annual Week of Prayer for Christian Unity January 18 – 25th in which many YWAMers and denominations are involved.
Some have described Christian unity as the process of becoming one or oneness vs. having a focus on one denomination’s distinctions over another’s. The process of becoming one involves having a greater focus on the workings of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit; affectionately loving our Christian brothers and sisters even if we do not agree completely with the doctrine of their denomination; focusing on the essentials of the Christian faith as opposed to the details of one denomination or another, and humbling ourselves like Christ. In humility, we can perceive that the Body of Christ exists within and outside different Christian expressions. Though we might agree with the theology of a particular church or denomination, we know that does not mean everyone who attends there is a believer, but there are also Godly believers who are members of churches or confessions with whom we might disagree. We all seek to have a Biblical faith and theology but we all reach different conclusions.
Jesus spoke of unity: “I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one—“ (John 17:22). Paul prayed for and encouraged unity:
May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.
Romans 15:5-7
One of YWAM’s eighteen foundational values includes being interdenominational. YWAM believes this denominational diversity is a positive factor that contributes to the health and growth of the mission. Some examples of YWAMers working interdenominationally for Christian unity are:
- YWAM Egypt’s work within Coptic churches.
- Based upon a long-standing relationship between a YWAM leader and the former Archbishop of Buenos Aires, who became Pope Francis, the Pope has received YWAM leaders and sent greetings to YWAM events. Watch this video of YWAM praying for Pope Francis: http://www.ywam.org/blog/avada_portfolio/alejandros-prayer-for-pope-francis-loren-cunningham.
- The work of YWAM’s Kerygma network (http://kerygma.network/) in the Catholic world.
- Many who teach in YWAM training schools have been drawn from a wide variety of denominations and confessions.
- In the Middle East, many of our staff and leaders identify themselves as Orthodox.
- Many YWAMers have joined in with regional and global Gatherings of Watchmen for the Nations, where unity has been a major theme over recent years, bridging divisions within the Chinese church and between Christians from different tribes and nations.
Please join us this month in praying for YWAMers and other Christians to have a heart for fellowship in the body of Christ across institutional barriers, even in polarized communities.
Read the full post at The Invitation – Unity – Building Bridges…