This past weekend, Tulsa and the surrounding area experienced the power of the Church.
On days that Noah himself would have considered wet, hundreds of volunteers and more than 10 different church congregations came together to serve Tulsa County on ONE weekend for Serve My City 2017! On top of that, local businesses, organizations and ministries were served and ONE name was represented- the Name of Jesus.
People were walked to their vehicles with umbrellas at Wal-Mart during flash-flooding. Meals were prepared and served to those in greatest need around the city. Health clinics were cleaned to the core, sanitized and prayed for in ways that they hadn’t been in years. A block party was even thrown for an entire neighborhood in the city for people to come receive groceries, haircuts, food and fun! The Church showed up in full force and showed that true care, love and power can break down all racial, denominational and economic walls.
Serve My City is a once-a-year, catalytic event set aside for congregations to work together across denominational lines to serve and love the Tulsa area together – as one unified Body of Christ. But, at its core, it’s more than that. Serve My City is a weekend that’s geared to inspire not only service, but true Unity within the Church, and inspire that service and unity to continue on an ongoing basis. These congregational partnerships and acts of service are expressions of the Church that should be shown more than one weekend a year. As the Psalmist puts it in Psalm 133, “. . .How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity!” It’s a beautiful sight to see God’s Kingdom working together through the Church serving to meet real needs around our communities head on, and the goal is that this will be a sight that is nothing out of the ordinary.
Following Serve My City this year was One Voice – the quarterly, citywide worship & prayer event. This month’s One Voice event was bigger than ever with more than 800 people in attendance, representing more than 30 church congregations, and it was just another accent to the beauty of unity that happened throughout the Church in Tulsa over the weekend! As each One Voice comes and goes, more congregations and believers around our city come together in unity to lift up the name of Jesus and spark the catalytic movement in the Tulsa area that is Church unification.
At the end of the day, Unite My City is not an organization; organizations fade. Unite My City is a movement. Serving, praying, worshiping, and building relationship – together, we are all creating a culture that can change the people and communities within our reach. And this is only the beginning. Join us as this movement grows and impacts our city for the glory of the Lord and the transformation of His people.
Together, we are UNITE MY CITY!