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It was February 1996, and the Georgia Dome in Atlanta was full of clergy from all over the world. Promise Keepers was at the height of their movement, and the challenging, two-fold focus of their “clergy conference” was moral purity and racial reconciliation.

Speaker Max Lucado was given the assignment of addressing denominational reconciliation. His words still ring in my ears. “Unity matters to God; disunity disturbs God… the world has not yet seen a unified church, and we blame Hollywood…The great sin of our era is not the immorality of society, but the disunity of the church…If unity creates belief, could it be that unity is the key to reaching the world?”

My own passion for unity (denominational reconciliation) began in high school. It was during the explosion of the “Jesus movement” in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Our little town of Ojai, Calif. held a Billy Graham-type crusade.

We saw the youth of the community come together in amazing ways to support the event. It felt like I was a part of “one youth group” even though we represented various churches throughout the city (Assemblies of God, Presbyterian, Baptist, community churches, and others).

We worshiped, prayed, played, and evangelized together. We brought our strengths and our passions to the table. It was an amazing time. My desire to see the body of Christ be “better together” was birthed out of those relationships and the things we experienced with God. We made each other better. Unity matters to God!

A few years later, during my first youth ministry position, my passion for unity continued. I was a part of a group of youth workers who met on a monthly basis. We were called the Salem Area Youth Directors Fellowship. Thirty years later, it still has that name.

We met to encourage each other and walk life together. Because of our heart for seeing teenagers in Salem, Oregon reached with the good news of Jesus Christ, we asked ourselves, “What can we do better together that we couldn’t do separately?” We knew we could not do it alone. We needed each other. Unity matters to God!

One of Jesus’ last prayers, recorded in John 17, still rings loud and clear: “May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.” As the signature networking verse, it sometimes seems overused. But can we ever really say, “Been there, done that?” I don’t believe so. “Been there, done that” should never apply to the core issue of unity in the body of Christ today.

There are days when we don’t seem to be any closer to a unified church than when Jesus prayed that prayer. We remain isolated, fragmented by our theological persuasions, busy with our own agendas, and continually concerned about who gets the credit. We say we believe in the prayer and the concept of unity, but have not yet demonstrated it to the world. Unity matters to God!

I hear it all the time as I meet with busy youth leaders: “I don’t need more relationships. I have enough resources and strategies.” Or: “Strategies? I don’t even have time for what is already on my plate!” My reply is: “Who wins that one?”

In Atlanta, Lucado said, “Satan’s master strategy is disunity. The sin of disunity has caused more souls to be lost than any other sin.” I believe the adversary sits back and rejoices that he has managed to keep us busy with good things and not the best. We build little communities of the kingdom everywhere, but we’re missing (God’s intent of) the intersection of our lives as The Kingdom. When the body of Christ is unified, putting aside our differences and focusing and encouraging our strengths, the world can dare to believe in Jesus.

Paul reminds us in Ephesians 4:3-4, “Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future.” (NLT)

We must not lose sight of God’s heartbeat for unity. As I said before, I believe it bears repeating: “Been there, done that” does not apply to unity. I hear Jesus praying for His followers to love one another and I wonder, “How does that happen if we don’t have relationship with each other?” Unity matters to God!

God is using many leaders today to speak to this generation. These leaders champion causes that Jesus calls us to; causes like social justice, compassion, and service. These are very important issues. But what concerns me is I’m not hearing many call us to be “better together.” We need to preach the good news to the poor, set the captives free, and the recovery of sight to the blind…but do these things together.

I propose that it’s time for those who champion the heartbeat of God to include the cause of unity; to encourage today’s youth worker to grapple with the idea that the world has not yet seen a unified church. I’m not saying they should do everything together. But what could they come together for that could accomplish something they could never do on their own?

There are no easy answers – and sometimes no answers – for the difficulties that arise when working toward unity. But we must persevere through the messiness of relationships and our own agendas if the world is ever to see us truly love.

What would it look like if the Presbyterians, Baptists, Assemblies of God, Wesleyans, other denominations and para-church organizations came together and shared their people, resources and time to serve their community?

What if youth workers left conferences and seminars with a passion to not just know the youth workers across town, but to really know their heart, their passions, joys and struggles?

That kind of relationship just might look like Jesus to those who watch. And I suggest that if we do anything less than this, we have missed the heart of God.

A. W. Tozer wrote: “God is looking for (people) through whom He can do the impossible—what a pity that we plan only the things we can do ourselves.”

Unity matters to God.