By: Kelly Fassett, UniteBoston Team Leader

Thursday’s upcoming UniteBoston worship night is proving to be a momumental gathering within the Christian community. Here are 7 reasons why you should plan to come:

1. It is the prayer of Jesus

The longest recorded prayer of Jesus is for the oneness of His disciples: “I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” (John 17:20-21)

We come together because it is the direct expressed will of Christ that he prayed for, and the New Testament frequently references the need for unity among all who are claiming the name of Christ.

2. We rarely have the opportunity to gather together as the entire body of Christ 

Often, our churches function within our own congregational or denominational walls, which can be isolating. This is especially true in Boston, where being a Christian puts you in the minority. We need to capitalize on every opportunity to come together and see how God is working beyond our own context, because in doing so, we realize that we are just one small part of a whole. This strengthens the gospel movement that we are seeing locally and helps to identify opportunities for collaboration.

2. This event is designed to highlight different expressions of the Christian faith

There are many ways to worship and praise God, and this event is designed to highlight the beautiful myriad of Christian worship in our city. We are excited to hear of a dance team who is coming and to have Lori Dupre who will be worshipping through artistic painting!

Celebrating the unique gifts within each part of the body of Christ is core to our mission. Our leadership has intentionally brought together a worship team of Christians from diverse denominational and ethnic backgrounds. We are planning to sing songs with Caribbean, Gospel, Messianic Jewish, Traditional, Evangelical, and Mainstream Christian influence. We are hoping that there will be something for everyone, as well as the opportunity to experience the Christian faith in a new way.

3. You can see the great work that is happening within a variety of local churches and ministries

This year, we have sponsored tables, where a dozen or so different churches and ministries will sit at tables surrounding the perimeter of the event to share about their work in the city. This is a great way to see what is happening within the larger Christian community and see churches working collaboratively, side by side, which is models the body of Christ that we are created to be.

If you are interested in sponsoring a table, the cost is $100 to $250 depending on your organization size. All proceeds go to support the costs of hosting this event. You can learn more here and email Kelly at kelly@uniteboston.com for more information.

5. It’s a great event to invite friends and neighbors

This event is designed to minister to people who might not normally go into a church building. It’s a fun event with good music, in an informal park setting. In John 17, Jesus prays that we would be one, so that the world will know who He is. Thus, we unite not simply for unity’s sake but because our unity is evangelistic, a sign and a witness of a God who has reconciled all people to God and one another. Our goal is that all people would experience the love of Christ through worship and we will be training all volunteers to engage in conversation in a way that honors the people that we meet.

6. It’s endorsed by many different church bodies

This event has received endorsements from Highrock Church, the Catholic Archdiocese, the Institute for Christian Unity, as well as a number of local churches. We were even featured in this week’s Boston Pilot newspaper! Because of the efforts of many people to help get the word out, there are also over 1,300 people who are interested/attending the event on Facebook! Please come, and invite friends and neighbors to join you!

7. Worshipping together is transformative

There is nothing like joining our hearts together in worship, and throughout the eight years of UniteBoston’s ministry, we have seen that God really shows up when we come together from all of our different backgrounds to worship Jesus. Vito Nicastro, UniteBoston Board Member, adds that, “in this process, we discover our real, though imperfect, incomplete, unity with all those who are incorporated into Jesus Christ by faith and baptism. And that’s a powerfully encouraging and upbuilding experience.”

Let’s come together to see the Church in all her glory and splendor and sing praises over our city!