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Have you ever seen an intense game of tug-of-war? Two teams straining to pull the other team over the center line. The best is when you have two equally matched teams, leading to a deadlock—neither side moving an inch as they pull in opposition to each other.

While this is a fun game to watch or play, far too often this is the approach followers of Christ can take with one another. Churches face the temptation to turn into teams competing against other churches. Instead of focusing on Christ’s mission in Matthew 28:19–20—“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world”—the mindset shifts to trying to “outdo” one another.

This attitude breeds tribalism and undermines the unity the Gospel calls us to. Paul reminds us in Galatians 3:28: “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.” Our unity in Christ runs deeper than cultural, social, or personal differences. We may not agree on every detail, but we can rejoice in the advance of the Gospel—just as Paul did in Philippians 1, when he celebrated that Christ was being preached, even if others did so from different motives.

So what does unity look like in practice?

  • We celebrate Christ’s work locally, nationally, and globally.
    God is at work in countless churches and ministries beyond our own. Instead of jealousy or discouragement when we see God blessing others, we can rejoice with them. We can celebrate His work at Faith and Grace Baptist in Kettering, at Grace Church with the Kosinskis, at Explore Church in Montana with the Hasenyagers, and in the miraculous fruit of our overseas missionaries. Wherever the Gospel is preached, God is glorified—and we should give thanks.
  • We personally take up the opportunities God gives us.
    Recently, one of our young ladies shared about a new friend she met at school and her intentional efforts to have gospel conversations. That’s what it means to live on mission—not leaving the Great Commission “to the church” as some abstract entity, but embracing it as members of Christ’s body. If we say we are for Christ and His Gospel yet fail to engage those around us, we are like a tug-of-war teammate who has let go of the rope. Apathy toward evangelism weakens the unity of the whole.

When churches compete instead of cooperate, or when believers disengage from the mission, it’s as if we’re pulling against each other—or worse, not pulling at all. But Christ has called us to something better. We are one in Him, and the rope we pull on together is the Great Commission. Let’s be a people who celebrate God’s work in others, who faithfully share the Gospel in our own lives, and who refuse to let jealousy or apathy divide us.

Serving Together, 

Pastor Derek