The UB Story
UniteBoston was created to help fill a need in Greater Boston: to better unite the Christian community. This concept developed from observations at casual summer gatherings and believers praying toward a common purpose to address a disconnectedness felt in the Christian community.
Mike Lloyd recognized the relational gaps between different Christian communities within the city after hosting barbecues during the summer of 2009. While observing a number of his friends begin new friendships in his backyard, he realized there was not an intentional, effective way for members of different Christian communities to connect.
Around the same time, the Young Adult Group from Cambridgeport Baptist Church felt led to address the disconnectedness amongst Christians in the city, and was waiting expectantly on a large grant that would help with their efforts. When Kelly Steinhaus, one of the group members, began visiting Boston-area churches as part of the process, she realized a breakdown of information between churches regarding other ministries, happenings, and needs within the Christian body, but outside of their individual communities.
“Each group was so unique, so beautiful, like a puzzle piece,” Kelly says. “And yet each puzzle piece was not fitted together with the others.”
The group did not get the grant, but Kelly’s desire to see these groups connect only grew. In the winter of 2010, a mutual friend who had taken notice of their similar interests introduced Kelly and Mike. They soon teamed up and spent the next eight months planning for the official launch of UniteBoston.
Finally, in September 2010, UniteBoston held its first official event in a crowded upstairs room of a downtown Boston restaurant. There was an enthusiastic response as Christians throughout the Greater Boston area began registering for the weekly newsletter, and churches and ministries began sharing event information and expressing interest to learn more. The wide variety of events including prayer nights, social gatherings, times of worship, and serving with local ministries represented different neighborhoods, denominations, and cultures of Greater Boston.
With the amount of information and readership growing, UniteBoston.com was launched in April 2011, expanding to including a monthly events calendar, blog, and forums to increase connectedness among Christians in more ways. Snapshots of the Christian community and the Biblical call to unity are highlighted in the blog. Through the forums Christians can find roommates, volunteer opportunities, and new jobs while churches can post needs or resources to share with the community.
Within the first year the website was visited 8,757 times by people from 37 countries and 699 cities, showing the global reach of the Christian community here and the impact of increasing unity. In 2013, UniteBoston launched a cohort of UniteBoston Reps to localize the united bridge-building efforts across Christians within specific geographic areas of the city and catalyze shared mission. This merged into the UniteBoston Neighborhood Dinner initiative that launched in November 2017.
UniteBoston is also known for our united prayer and worship services. We coordinate two large initiatives each year to celebrate the incredible diversity present within Christian churches in Boston and gather God’s people to worship and pray – the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (January 18 to 25 annually) and a summer worship night annually in August.
The organization has connected with over 300 churches, and continues to bring together more than 3,200 people every week through the weekly newsletter and in person at events. Each day in new ways connections are being made throughout the body of Christ in Greater Boston.
Thank you for joining in the mission to better unite the Christian community in Greater Boston, a mission that was just a dream a few short years ago. We look forward to sharing the next chapter of this story as it continues with you!
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