Over 1,200 Churches Unite to be 'Unstoppable'
More than 1,200 churches around the world have teamed up this month for an "unstoppable" campaign aimed at breaking denominational barriers and uniting believers.
The annual "One Prayer" initiative launched on Sunday with some 718,000 Christians hearing preachers talk of an unstoppable God and an unstoppable church when united.
"What would happen if the church came together ... what if we dropped denominational differences, what if we were united around Christ?" posed Pastor Craig Groeschel of LifeChurch.tv.
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One Prayer is the brainchild of the fast-growing and innovative LifeChurch.tv in Oklahoma City, Okla. Since its start in 2008, the initiative has brought together thousands of churches and millions of Christians in an effort to simply be one church.
This year, participating pastors are exploring the theme "unstoppable" with their congregations and swapping pre-recorded video messages over the next few weeks.
"When we share teaching, we have the opportunity to learn as a global body of believers," Bobby Gruenewald, innovation leader and a pastor at LifeChurch.tv, told The Christian Post. "It's incredible to think that a message recorded in Australia can change a life in Costa Rica or that a pastor in a small American town can influence people in Ghana, Guatemala, and points in between."
"As we freely share resources during One Prayer, it also helps foster a spirit of generosity between churches."
Many churches were introduced to video teaching – a once hotly debated preaching method – through the One Prayer initiative and so far the response has been positive.
"After seeing how effective it is in their environment, it has opened the door to other opportunities where they can use video teaching in their church," said Gruenewald, whose church has 14 campuses, including an Internet campus.
In a message that will be beamed to hundreds of congregations throughout the month, Pastor Groeschel challenged believers to take up "unstoppable courage."
"God is going to call some of you to increase your risk and decrease your security and live by faith," he preached. "Normal people rarely live by faith. Normal people always have excuses of why they can't do this or that. Normal people rarely ever face their fears. Normal people live with regrets."
"What is it that God has called you to do that you're not doing?" he asked.
Those with unstoppable courage do not look at their fears, but rather look at God who says all things are possible, the LifeChurch.tv pastor highlighted.
During the One Prayer campaign, which runs through this month, churches are encouraged to spread God's love by giving to an organization or cause they're passionate about. Over the last three years, participants have also helped support the planting of over 1,600 new churches in India, Cambodia, China and Sudan.
