Unity isn’t something we have to manufacture; it’s a reality Jesus has already accomplished that we are called to actively practice together. Pastor Josiah Armstrong—reformer, revivalist, and founder of The Body United —challenges us to cross denominational, cultural, and generational lines to steward what God is releasing across New England.
Dive into his blog reflection below, and register now for The Body United: A Divine Convergence happening September 11–12 right here in Boston!
P.S. If you are interested in learning how to lead your community in the peacemaking, reconciling Way of Jesus, consider joining us for the Online Beloved Community Lab. Applications are due this Friday August 21!
There are moments when God calls His people not simply to do more, or continue on in business as usual, but to shift and come together differently.
We believe we are living in such a moment.
Across Boston, New England, and beyond, God is stirring His Church. New believers are coming to faith. Churches are being strengthened. Leaders are being raised up. Communities are being served. New ministries and initiatives are emerging. There is a growing hunger for the presence of God and a renewed desire to see the Gospel embodied in ways that bring hope, healing, and transformation to our cities.
Yet in the midst of all that God is doing, we must ask an important question:
How will we steward what God is releasing among us?
No single church, denomination, ministry, or network can contain everything God desires to do. We need one another.
Psalm 46 gives us a beautiful picture: “There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God.” The picture is not of one stream replacing another, but of many streams converging into one river—bringing life to the city and ultimately becoming a source of healing.
Photo by Rolands Varsbergs on Unsplash
This is the heart behind Body United.
Body United is not an attempt to erase our distinctions or create another organization. It is an invitation to discover what becomes possible when the diverse expressions of Christ’s Church learn to walk together in the reconciliation Jesus has already accomplished for us.
The Apostle Paul reminds us that Christ Himself is our peace. He has broken down walls of hostility and made us one (Eph 2:14). Unity, then, is not something we manufacture; it is something Jesus has already given us. Our calling is to learn how to walk in it.
And this is where the challenge becomes deeply practical.
We live in a divided world. Political, racial, cultural, theological, and generational divisions are increasingly shaping how people see one another. Sadly, the Church has not been immune. We see silos between denominations, cultures, networks, theological traditions, generations, and expressions of ministry. We can faithfully labor in our own assignments while remaining largely disconnected from the rest of the Body of Christ laboring around us.
We cannot believe that this is the fullness of what Jesus intended.
Jesus prayed in John 17 that His people would be one, “as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You.” And He connected that unity to the witness of the Church: “that the world may believe.”
That means our unity is not merely an internal concern for the Church. It is part of our mission.
The question, then, is not simply, “Do we believe in unity?” The question is, “Will we practice it?”
What would it look like for us to intentionally cross the lines that have separated us? To sit at tables with people who don’t look like us, worship exactly like us, or share all of our theological language? To listen before we critique? To honor what God has entrusted to another part of the Body? To choose relationship over suspicion, reconciliation over rivalry, and love over territorialism?
This is where convergence becomes more than a gathering. It becomes a way of life.
I remember experiencing a small glimpse of this at a previous Body United gathering. Leaders who had served in the same region for years sat around tables together, some meeting one another for the first time. They came from different traditions and expressions of the Church, yet as they shared stories, listened, prayed, and discovered one another’s assignments, something began to happen. Barriers that had existed simply because people had never met began to disappear. What had been separate became relational. And what became relational suddenly became possible.
That is the power of convergence.
It is more than gathering in the same room. It is coming to the table—to listen, to honor, to learn, to pray, to discern, and to ask, “What is God doing among us, and how might we participate together?”
So, what do we do now?
We begin by saying yes.
Yes to relationship. Yes to reconciliation. Yes to the humility required to learn from one another. Yes to the hard and beautiful work of practicing the “one another” commands of Scripture across the lines that have historically divided us.
We begin by finding one another.
Pastors need to know pastors outside their denomination. Churches need to know the churches serving their neighborhoods. Ministries need to discover the resources and gifts present in other streams. Leaders need places where they can listen, discern, pray, and dream together. We need rhythms of relational connection that move beyond occasional events into sustainable patterns of collaboration.
And then we begin to work together- to build the kingdom side by side.
We pray together. We serve our communities together. We respond to needs together. We share resources. We strengthen and train leaders. We collaborate around mission. We celebrate what God is doing in another church as though it were happening in our own.
This is the radical shift required for the next season.
If God is entrusting His Church with a greater measure of His presence, influence, harvest, and responsibility, then we need a new wineskin capable of stewarding what He is releasing. We cannot carry a new work of God with old patterns of isolation, competition, suspicion, and fragmentation.
We need to recover the ancient paths in our modern times.
The wineskin must become relational as God always intended it- as a covenantal family.
It must become collaborative.
It must become mature.
It must look like a people who don’t merely preach reconciliation but embody it; who don’t merely sing about oneness but practice it; who don’t merely affirm the Body of Christ in theology but actually make room for the whole Body in relationship and mission.
This is the prophetic witness our divided world needs.
Imagine what Boston might see if the Church became a visible demonstration of another way of living together. Imagine Pentecostal and Presbyterian, Catholic and evangelical, charismatic and traditional, younger and older, Black, white, Latino, Asian, immigrant and native-born believers discovering that their differences do not have to prevent their love.
Imagine the city seeing a people who disagree on some things but refuse to divide over them; who honor truth without sacrificing love; who pursue holiness without losing humility; who carry different assignments but share one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one mission.
This is convergence.
Many streams. One river.
Many expressions. One Body.
Many assignments. One mission.
And one Lord who is worthy of a Church that faithfully reveals His Son.
The hope of Body United is not simply that we would gather. It is that we would become—a people increasingly formed into the likeness of Christ, walking in the unity He prayed for, and releasing through our relationships transformative good works and a visible witness of His glory.
As we converge, may God teach us to walk in the reconciliation He has given us, to embrace the gifts He has placed in one another, and to become a river of His presence that makes glad our cities and brings healing to the land.
Jesus, make us one. Teach us to walk together. And let our unity become a visible witness of Your glory.
Save the Date: Experience “Convergence” Live on September 11–12
If Josiah’s message resonates with you, we invite you to move from reading about unity to practicing it! The Body United 2026 Gathering is bringing together Christians of all backgrounds to seek God’s wisdom and vision for our cities. Through shared worship, strategic conversations, and relational networking, this event aims to build sustainable, long-term partnerships across New England.
Last year, over 1200 people attended from over 120 different churches and ministries! Space is limited for this regional gathering—click here to view the schedule and secure your spot!
