Purpose:
To build relationships among pastors that foster unity, prayer, and a greater impact on our city for the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Practices:
We cultivate relationships that break down walls of division, distrust, and jealousy, while building bridges of unity, love, and support.
We meet monthly to pray for each other, our churches, and our city.
We encourage pastors to further build one-on-one relationships with each other.
We expect that pastors speak well of one another and refuse to receive gossip, criticisms, or evil reports about other pastors.
We support and serve pastors to improve their spiritual, emotional, and mental health.
We are not directive or prescriptive in our approach, recognizing the autonomy of each pastor and the church he serves.
We encourage communication between pastors when members transfer from one church to another. This can help ensure a healthy transition, uncover troubling issues, and hopefully decrease the amount of “church hopping” in our city.
We embrace the principle of “intervention by invitation.” Any pastor facing challenges in their church can invite the FCCN board to provide counsel and support, but we will not impose ourselves.
We also embrace the principle of “accountability by permission.” We recognize accountability comes primarily from each local church’s leadership, but pastors can submit to further accountability from other pastors or the board.
We promote and maintain unity by encouraging reconciliation between pastors when division or conflict arise.
Partnership: We believe meaningful partnerships will emerge out of the relationships we build. We encourage pastors and churches to join together in ministry and outreaches designed to build the body of Christ and reach our community with the Gospel.
FCCN does not typically organize city-wide events, but when we do, churches are not required to participate. Churches are invited to engage as led by the Lord.
We place a high priority on unity among pastors and churches. We desire to fulfill Jesus’ prayer in John 17, ”that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that You sent Me and have loved them even as You have loved Me.”