This summer I found myself refilling hundreds of water bottles, dancing along with 'Express Yourself' by Labrinth and jumping over makeshift hurdles wearing a flag on my head. No I had not gone crazy at the Olympics, I was simply playing a small part in our local children’s holiday Bible Club. I was one of 454 volunteer helpers who supported the thousand children that came along each day, and each one of us had a fantastic time and learned something about God. This annual partnership of 20 local churches makes an enormous impact on my little town.

There is more that unites us

I constantly hear about other projects around the country that tell the same story: churches working together making significant inroads for the gospel. Whether it is street pastors, food banks, or Christians Against Poverty centres, there is something beautiful about churches laying aside their differences and their own agendas for the sake of the gospel, for the sake of unity and for the sake of the community. There’s something powerful about what this communicates to our localities: there is more that unites us than separates us.

But pursuing Christian unity is tough

It is often easier to reinvent the wheel when it comes to ministry than teaming up. It is often less trouble to sustain our different tribes than combine them. It is easier to squabble over the petty issues than contending together against the bigger ones.

Paul knew this. He wrote:

As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit— just as you were called to one hope when you were called— one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. (Ephesians 4:1-6)

Making every effort for Christian unity 

I have no reason to believe that the Christians in Ephesus were anywhere near as divided as we, the UK church, are at the moment. Yet Paul pulls out the big guns in his argument for unity. He draws on the audience’s sympathy for someone in prison. He calls his audience to live worthily for our calling. He asks us not just to make an effort, but to make 'every effort' to keep the unity that the Spirit has given us. He then turns to a poetic form (is this a first century rap?) reminding us of just how much we have in common 'one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God.'

Christian unity is a top priority 

Finding direct calls from Paul for the church to work at unity is strangely a lot easier than trying to find a direct call to evangelism, and yet Paul was clearly driven by his passion for lost people. For Paul unity is a top priority as you can hear in his tone and his choice of language in many occasions (See Phil 1; 1 Corinthians 12).

The unity of the Spirit is a celebration of these core aspects of our faith, and a commitment to full-blooded vital Christianity that seeks first the kingdom of God above our own agendas or preferences or tribal differences. Let’s make every effort to keep the unity of the spirit and fill our towns and cities with examples of the church together living lives worthy of the calling we have received.