What's next for your city? Are you interested in beginning a Movement Day conversation in your place?
This transformational movement really made a big start with Movement Day UK in October in central London where over 1,000 leaders met from unity movements, businesses, churches, education, health, media, arts and local government.
The aim was never to create a yearly national event but catalyse strategic conversations across many cities about the future of those places and the role the whole church has to play in God’s plan of transformation. So as we move forward, we are inviting leaders from every city and town to consider if your place needs a Movement Day.
A Movement Day process works across a city looking at two distinct expressions of a Movement Day Gathering and a Movement Day Conversation.
The aim is for a city/town to host a yearly Movement Day Gathering over the next few years. The event then becomes a place for the whole body of christ to meet, to press forward a vision for the city, to gather more in unity, effect deeper partnerships, and empower more christians in the work place. The event is the catalyst for inspiration, conversation, goal setting, and partnership.
However the Movement Day Conversation is about the 365 days before the event and the 365 days after the event where the real work is done. This will begin a series of conversations and working groups to cover some key strategic actions.
THE LONG TERM AIM OF A CITY WIDE MOVEMENT DAY IS ABOUT:
1. Vision
With the aim to develop a city wide 15 year monitorable vision for its future. Looking at the city from 3 perspectives:
2. Unity
See more effective strategic and co-ordinated relational values based unity among the churches and christian organisations for the sake of the city.
3. Partnership
See more effective strategic and co-ordinated working between the Body of Christ and the public, private and third sector.
4. Christians in the Spheres of City Life
Validate, empower and network christians in the key cultural spheres of the city to effect transformation.
some key questions to discuss
On the one hand it will be easier to begin a Movement Day process if you do have a developed unity movement across the city however a Movement Day process can kick start more unity. Dallas Movement Day had very little unity in the city and Movement Day has acted as a catalyst for better unity and mission. It became the event that brought people together in the same room, fostered friendships and created city goals. They have now had 5 annual MD’s with a variety of working parties on different city agendas.
This depends on the vision and scope of the unity you have been developing. Some cites are very good at growing unity amongst pastors and beginning to work together in mission as churches, however they are less developed in catalysing and resourcing the church fellowship's members into sphere networks and are less connected to the structures of civic society. The Movement Day process is about a whole body approach to the whole transformation of the city and may serve you and give you fresh momentum in building on the great work you have already been doing.
No, the Gathering part of Movement Day could be between 1 and 3 days. Many cities around the world keep the event to one day, it's whatever suits your city best. You could have a two day event with a Friday focusing on church leaders and a Saturday focusing on christians in the spheres. We would suggest, if you are aiming to have a one day event, you hold this on a Saturday to enable christians in the spheres to attend.
Every city will be different in the content and context of the event, however we advise there are some key similarities:
It's all about values, scope and vision.
All 5 aspects must be present in a Movement Day to be defined and recognised as a MD expression.
There is a small central Movement Day team being developed to help support cities but the aim is for the wider Gather Network and a team of christian organisations to help support cities.
Providing:
Movement Day UK has grown out of the Gather Network which was set up over 7 years ago. Gather networks over 130 unity movements in cities and towns across the UK and, through the global Movement Day network, has met and connected to many other expressions of unity around the world.
Gather exists to find and network existing places with developing unity movements for best practice, peer to peer mentoring and support. To help catalyse new unity movements. To resource and inspire movements sharing the stories and experience from the nation and around the world. To raise the awareness of unity for a transformational, missional approach within the wider Church in the nation.
Gather is very much about promoting the values that all transformational activity is built upon such as honour, kingdom not empire, diversity, humility, respect, forgiveness, friendship, peace keeping etc.
Movement Day is building on the work of this vibrant network and creating a model that accelerates the transformation vision across the whole city by the whole body. Movement Day is a structure built on the Gather values that is about developing a 15 yr monitorable strategic vision, strategic partnerships and sphere networks in each place.
If Gather is the foundations then Movement Day is the house on top of the foundations.
Movement Day and Gather recognise and deeply respect the calling and vital importance of other christian organisations to serve the body of Christ in cities and towns. Movement Day is not seeking to duplicate or replace those vital ministries. Many cities and towns welcome the work of the Trusell trust in setting up food banks, the service of the Evangelical Alliance in evangelism and public leadership, the work of CAP in serving those in debt, the work of the Cinnamon Network in helping set up social projects, the ministry of the London Institute of Contemporary Christianity - LICC in developing the whole life vision, the service of Redeeming our Communities ROC in linking civic and church life and supporting some great social projects.
Movement Day is a model to bring all that activity (and much more beside) under one strategic conversation. It is asking some key questions “How can we work together better across the city?”, “How can we be more strategic and co-ordintated?”, “How can we release the people of God to effect transformation?”, “ Can we develop a 15 yr monotorable vision across the city?".
In effecting this long term vision, cites and towns will need all the help they can get, that is why the role of national Christian organisations is vital in the dream of a changed city. Movement Day will be seeking to promote the work of these and other organisations within the cities and towns it works with.
Our overall dream is to see significant social, cultural and spiritual transformation in many cities, towns, boroughs and islands across the UK by the whole body of Christ blessing the city by forming strong friendships, praying together over the long term and working together in a co-ordinated and strategic mission.
What could be achieved over the next few years?