I was in a church recently that struggles with disunity. The pastor has a great vision and is supported by most everyone, but the church has two dominant factions, mostly split over a denominational issue. In working with the church, I quickly assessed they had a unity problem. I felt like a genius consultant, but the truth is I only discovered what they already knew.
The problem wasn’t discovering the problem; it was in finding solutions. The church needs to come together if they hope to move forward and complete all the opportunities God is sending their way.
How do you create unity in a church?
Here are 7 thoughts on creating unity:
Avoid the core DNA when making changes
There are some things that are not worth changing, especially until unity returns. It makes no sense to create further disunity in an area where the church is already unified. For example, if the church is overwhelmingly supportive of Sunday school but you are a proponent of small groups, don’t try to make that change now (if ever) until unity is achieved.
Find common ground
What do people agree upon? Again, maybe it’s Sunday school, but perhaps it’s reaching the community’s lower income families. It could be a ministry of adoption or homelessness. There are probably numerous ministries or interests within the church about which everyone is passionate. Find some and pour energy into them. The more of these you can identify and rally people around, the more unified the church will become.
