by Jillian Orlando, jillian@uniteboston.com

Sunday Night Boston University Agganis Arena was filled with thousands of worshippers praising Jesus together at United Night of Worship (UNOW).  I can’t tell you the name of the host church or denomination, because there is not one church, or even one event to write about.  It is a collaborative movement that began in 2007 when Zenzo Geoffrey Matoga felt called to leave Malawi, Africa and come as a missionary to New England with a vision to “mobilize worship leaders across cultural, denominational and social lines to simply worship our Lord Jesus.”

Worship songs and styles ran the gamut from revved up hymns, to soulful gospels, to the current chart-topping worship songs, with 130 worship leaders sharing the stage.  The crowd of worshippers spanned many nations, age groups, and denominations.  Zenzo spoke of his vision for believers to come together in worship, let go of divisions, and see the Holy Spirit move in New England.

“We are here, we are praying, we are gathered together in unity.  This is the beginning. God is hearing our cries,” he proclaimed.

Zenzo was speaking of the beginning a movement.  Not a concert, but rather a unifying time of worship, where new relationships in the body of Christ are formed and the foundations for revival are laid. 

“A movement that truly changes individuals at the grassroots level so that they can go back to their churches and promote true revival that dramamatically changes lives andimpacts the local community with the power of Christ,”  said Daniel McCarthy of UNOW.

Sunday’s time of worship was a night of rejoicing and praise, but the path of unity also presents real questions and even some struggles as Christians join together in deeper ways. “Jesus prayed three times that we would be one as he and the Father are one. But after tonight, how do we do that?  How does a charismatic unite with a non-charismatic?  How does a Baptist come together with a Presbyterian?  How do Protestants and Catholics unite?  Around the choice to follow Jesus Christ. Our hope and our prayer is that when we leave tonight that we would go home and continue to walk in the path of unity,” said Steve Scott as he shared the stage with Zenzo to present the vision for this unity movement to the crowd.

The group then turned to Philippians 2:2-5. “Make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus.”

PRAY Whether or not you were in the stadium on Sunday, our worship and prayer for unity and revival does not stop there. It would be an honor to pray Philippians 2:2 today, and live it out together.  This is just the beginning! Let’s continue to pray together, worship together, and gather to learn about our brothers and sisters in Christ across all social, cultural, and denominational lines.  

CONNECT  with the unity movement today! Visit our calendar or forums to start learning about and praying for other Christian churches in your community.  Share the Christian unity message with your friends by tagging this blog.  Learn more about the United Night of Worship movement at http://unitednightofworship.com  

DISCUSS:  How can we share this vision for unity in the body of Christ in our churches and communities?  Join in the discussion on our facebook wall