Every November churches from across South Florida come together to demonstrate what unity for the sake of mission looks like. Linking arms with other churches in their region, God’s people are sent out to Love South Florida — to pray for, serve and give towards the flourishing of their neighborhoods, workplaces and cities.

This year we are kicking off with Unsinkable, a region-wide sermon series. This series is meant to strengthen, catalyze and reorient Christians to the fact that THEY are the sleeping giant waiting to be deployed out to share faith, give hope and extend the love of Jesus Christ towards those within their influence. The Unsinkable sermon series is meant to be a catalytic moment in the life of the Church in South Florida and it is such an appropriate beginning to this year’s Love South Florida initiative.

As West Pines Community Church Pastor Robey Barnes put it, “The best way to go and reach those who do not yet know Jesus is to unleash the army that is the local church. You see, when those in our pews are electrified by the Gospel, it ignites in them a desire to love their neighbors like never before — it gives them a whole new set of lenses by which they view the word.” If we want to see South Florida look more and more like heaven on earth, we’d better start with mobilizing God’s people — reminding them of their calling and the power of their influence and then deploying them out to be agents of God’s kingdom.

Church history reminds us that the power and voice of the church isn’t so much the skill and giftedness of those behind our pulpits, but rather those in our pews. Billy Graham once famously said, “One of the next great moves of God is going to be through believers in the workplace.” To translate that into our context here in South Florida today, I believe the next great move of God has already begun as more and more Christians begin to connect their Christian faith to Monday morning’s work and are reoriented back to being God’s plan A to demonstrate the hope and love of Jesus Christ. That is what Love South Florida is all about.

 

Love South Florida

Love South Florida is meant to tangibly demonstrate what unity for the sake of mission looks like. At its core, LoveSFL is an outreach effort powered by the churches of South Florida. We encourage our local congregations to pray, give and serve together as they put down their individual logos and Love South Florida together as one, united body of Christ.

 

How it works

1.Pray: Prayer unites the Church like nothing else.

2.Give: Uncommon generosity adds up to something big. Real Big.

3.Serve: Volunteer at least 3 hours of your time to serve alongside a local school, ministry or nonprofit.

4.Youth and Children’s ministries: WE NEED YOU! 2019 Initiative: The Little House Project.

 

The Little House Project

This year we have the incredible opportunity to collaborate with Broward County Government, the City of Fort Lauderdale and the United Way to provide rapid re-housing and wrap-around services for homeless families and individuals through what we are calling the “Little House Project.”

How does it work?

Using the “Little House” coin banks we provide, simply work with your church, business or ministry (i.e. Sunday School Classes, Kids Ministries, Youth Groups, Schools, Businesses, etc.) to collect change (or donate directly online), and 100% of the funds will be used to provide rapid rehousing and wrap around services to some of the most vulnerable in our community.

Step 1:

Visit churchunitedfl.com/lovesfl to learn more and request the number of coin banks you’ll need.

Step 2:
Distribute the coin banks and have them returned to your church or business by the first week of December.

Step 3:

We’ll pick them up and deposit the money raised.

 

Celebrating what the Church does Together

When it’s all said and done, we celebrate what the Church does together. If you’re reading this, you are invited to join churches from all over Broward County for the Church Untied Night of Worship and Celebration on Wednesday, December 4th at Calvary Chapel Fort Lauderdale from 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. We are gathering to celebrate and praise God for the increasing unity we are witnessing throughout the body of Christ in South Florida! We will be joined by special guest, Village Hymns, our own local worship leaders. They will be debuting their latest album, “Songs of Our City,” which gives voice to what God is doing in and through the Church in our region. You don’t want to miss what may be our favorite service of the year!

 

Edwin Copeland serves as the Director of Church United with the National Christian Foundation of South Florida where he works to unify the Church through collaboration and celebration to see faith, hope, and love spread throughout South Florida. To learn more about Church United, visit churchunited.city.

Read more articles by Edwin Copeland at: goodnewsfl.org/author/edwincopeland/