2) Ministry effectiveness depends on cooperation. For those who are more motivated by the practical over the theoretical, the Ecclesiastes 4 passage cited earlier rings true. I’m inclined that way myself. Ministry done togeth­er strategically multiplies our effectiveness.

It’s also wise, if we want to finish the race. Not only is the “Bible math” principle compelling, but linking with others in relationships will probably save our bacon at some point. On the road of life, Solomon pointed out, our wheels will eventually end up in a ditch. We all get in trouble sometime. Who’s going to pull you out of the ditch when it’s your turn? All this wisdom points to a lifestyle characterized by deep interpersonal relationships, vulnerability and intentional cooperation. Only pride could stand in the way.

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Mike Higgs points out how important prayer and relationship are to unity: “love and unity are part of His purpose in creating us—so that He might share with us the intimate Trinitarian expression of love and unity. Which is why true spiritual unity is best cultivated in the crucible of united prayer; for it is there, in the context of relationships, that our love and unity receive Divine impetus, sanction and blessing.”

3) We belong to one church in many congrega­tions. God’s design for the church is that it have a united, com­munity-wide expression and identity. In my study, I quickly found seven passages from Paul’s letters in the New Testament that spoke clearly to unity and community (see margin). A common denominator among these passages is that they were addressed to the church of a city—not a single congregation. To receive and apply these principles only within a congregational setting would be taking them out of context.

It is certainly true that unity should be a priority within a con­gregation. But that was not the context of the letters Paul wrote. The church met in houses or synagogues, but the letters were addressed to ALL the believers in the city—not just one building.

It makes a difference how we read a verse like 1 Corinthians 1:10 from a “citywide-church” perspective. “Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment.”

How can we draw lines based on what one congregation or denomination believes as long as we agree on the historic tenets of Christian orthodoxy? The Psalmist (119:63) said, “I am a companion to all who fear You.” We don’t have to agree with another youth worker on every point of doctrine. Men or women; Baptists or Pentecostal; black, white, Asian, Native American or Hispanic—it shouldn’t matter.

I believe Rupertus Meldenius had it right in 1627 when he said, “In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity.”

Doug Clark (dclark@nnym.org) is Director of Field Ministries for the National Network of Youth Ministries in San Diego, California. Doug was a youth pastor at an Evangelical Friends church for 16 years before joining the Network staff in 1990. He graduated from Fuller Seminary. Besides helping youth workers cooperate to reach teenagers in their cities, Doug helps coor­dinate promotion for See You at the Pole, a movement of students praying for their schools. He is married to Debbie and has a daughter and a son.