What Practical Things Can Church Leaders Do to Encourage Unity in Their Church? ‍

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As Christians, living in unity is one of the most powerful ways we can demonstrate our faith to an onlooking world. But what does it mean to live together in unity? How do we demonstrate to our church what it looks like to make “every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit,” as Paul described in Ephesians 4:3? We asked a few of our previous conference speakers for their perspectives.‍

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Kyle Idleman‍

One of the ways that church leaders can encourage unity is not just to pray for it the way that Jesus did but to model it. One of the ways that we can model it is by being okay when people disagree with us over disputable matters, showing that it’s fine. We don’t have to agree on all these different things. In Romans 14, Paul talks about that, accept one another when it comes to disputable matters. And as leaders, we have lots of opportunities to put that into practice.‍

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Charlie Dates‍

I think the burden is on us to initiate conversation, developing relationships with people they might not otherwise find themselves unified with—meaningful, transparent conversation, in the context of trust, as leaders. And then watch it spill over like the oil flowed from Aaron’s beard down to the garment. It starts with the head.‍

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Matt Chandler‍

One, is we want to emphasize in preaching, teaching, and communication—whether that’s a weekly email or social—the things we have most in common. And then the second thing I think we have to highlight is the way that the world is trying to create division and create discord. And I think if people have a framework for, “This is what we have most in common, this is my primary identity, and these are the ways the enemy is working in this day to create drama,” it really strengthens the people to see one another as kind of a “one team, we’re in this together” mindset, as opposed to little pockets of people in a congregation.‍

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Nona Jones

We have to start by being honest about why there’s disunity in the first place. I would submit that I think most of the disunity is the result of people feeling misunderstood and unloved. When you feel loved and when you feel understood, there’s automatically going to be a sense of unity because there’s the presence of care. I think about the way Jesus conducted himself. Right? So, when he was confronted with people who maybe disagreed with him—and of course, he knows all things, so he knows they disagree with him—he actually led with curiosity. He asked the question in order to have them articulate what they thought and how they felt. And then he shared truth. But he shared it from a place of compassion. So, I think that the solution to disunity is honestly just being like Jesus. Seeking to understand before we seek to be understood.‍

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Ed Stetzer

People are sorting themselves out of their churches over ideological differences when they used to unite together around theological issues and the gospel. So, what is a pastor to do? I want to encourage you, first, to stay faithful to your calling. God has called you to lead well, to shepherd well, and to call people into relationship with one another. I think there are two key things that I would say will help us to bring a greater sense of unity, not calling for unity—calling for unity nowadays just seems like something people say. But I think if we elevate our ecclesiology, in other words, we help people see just how important these bonded relationships of community are in the life of the church, and then we engage the mission—helping people to join together and showing and sharing the love of Jesus—I think that’s what will help bring churches together in the context where we find ourselves. So, let’s elevate our ecclesiology. Let’s engage the mission. Let’s do it together in unity.‍

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Living in unity is difficult but worthy work. We can model unity and initiate conversation about it. And empowered by the Holy Spirit, we can lead with compassion as we engage in the mission of the church.

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How do you cultivate unity in your church? Watch sessions from RightNow Conference 2024, Together, for inspiration and practical applications. Click here to watch.  

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