For the past few years, something has been developing in the Northwest section of Columbus inside 270. A collaborative initiative has developed out of relationships between churches of differing denominations and expressions. Pastors and leaders have been consistently curating sincere friendships which have served as the foundational component for the transformation of their neighborhoods. These churches have begun to ask the question, "If our church burned down today, would the community around us notice?” Through this foundation of friendships, self-reflection, and intentional effort, Love Our City Columbus was birthed.
For the past three years, the Northwest Network has hosted a week of service opportunities to sow good into their communities. As noted on the website, "Love Our City exists to reflect God's heart, compassion, and love accurately, showing our community that churches are not competitors, but partners in love.” Toward that end, numerous initiatives have been enacted in Jesus’ name, including the following from just a few weeks ago: a celebratory kick-off with prayer, worship, and strategic vision casting, clean up and landscaping at a local school, a car wash in the community which pays the driver $1 and offers prayer, a fun outreach to seniors at a care facility, and serving ice cream to OSU's international students alongside International Friendships Inc.
The posture of seeking to bless and honor, rather than to compete with other local churches and faith communities is exactly what Christians are called to lean into, and it's at the heart of our work at For Columbus.
We know it’s Jesus' desire that we pursue unity within the Body of Christ where and whenever possible (by all means). Jesus clearly prays for this in John 17: "I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” (Vs. 20-21). It’s when those who look to Jesus Christ in trust and hope begin acting on this desire of the Lord that the world will begin to take notice, and we may yet see what the early church experienced when they did the same in Acts 2:42-47: "And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.” (v. 47).
Explore more of the collaborative Kingdom initiatives that the Northwest Network of churches offers their communities here.
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