10 keys to city unity made simple and effective

A geographic pastors’ group annual planning guide

This short guide has been created from a desire to help city and town pastors groups achieve their next level of effectiveness – yet very simple.

There seems to be a growing desire across our nation for a type of unity that goes beyond relationships, to engage with our cities in a more consideration and practical way.

What might the keys to a ‘next level’ in function together be or look like? What might a realistic plan for this look like?

It’s about creating a context – and here are 10 keys that can help you to do that!

 

1. Think and plan with reference to a four-term year

New Zealand operates on a four term school year. Align with this calendar. This creates a natural and simple rhythm for vision, gathering and application.

With four focus-periods in a year now defined, mentally plan to share vision afresh with the pastors’ of your city or town at the start of each of these. Help them – and your group together – to see the opportunities you have in the 12 weeks ahead.

This brings meaning and focus to your gatherings.

2. Define priorities – to create a ‘low expectation option’ for your city’s pastors

Our observation is that a monthly pastor is meeting might attract 20% of church leaders in a city, though possibly 80% or more in a smaller town, or maybe 50% in a larger town. Most pastors are not going to come to your monthly pastors’ meetings – especially if you are in a city.

If you can accept this is the reality, you can let it change the way you lead, match another natural rhythm. These pastors aren’t opposed to unity! They just don’t have capacity to think beyond their own congregation, or alternatively a sense of calling to serve the city as a whole.

To do: Identify just three or four things you would ideally like every pastor to be at – and then ask that they attend just these things.

For example:

• One pastors group meeting to start the year. (We are working toward the suggestion of a specific breakfast, for a specific purpose.)
• Just one of your combined church prayer gathering.
• A mayoral prayer breakfast – because representation is important
• One other similar occasion – like a Waitangi Day Dawn Service.

3. Each quarter, discuss key upcoming seasons and two of the spheres of influence

However, before asking questions about the initiatives of local churches and their people, always remember to invite any quick praise reports related to key efforts in the prior school term first.

The purpose of the ‘spheres of influence’ discussion (2 spheres per term, thereby covering all 8 every year) is to create awareness of what the Church of your city as a whole is doing – then very briefly applauding and praying blessing on each initiative noted.

This simple 20 minute exercise can be TRANSFORMATIVE to the thinking of your church leaders. Awareness will re-shape how they perceive God’s Church in the city – and their relationship to it.

This helps pastors “see” the city rather than only the own church.

This changes the way pastors think and engages in their regular work for the Lord – as part of a wide-reaching and effective Church, rather than only the comparatively small and sometimes quite meagre efforts of their own local congregation.

To note: What is the path to a more functional unity? The answer is singular and specific, ‘We commit to talk about it!’ There is no other possible path. We choose to discuss this matter and vision – because we value it – and then we pray into it. As we engage in this process together God will lead us each to our next level.

>> Conversation is the path.

>> These matters must be intentionally discussed!

4. Establishing relationship with the Mayor and local Councillors through a Prayer Breakfast or similar

The local Council is your local government. They need the support, prayers, wisdom and encouragement of spiritual leaders. However, we do not live in a culture within which many of them will instinctively perceive this. It rests with us to reach out with a generous spirit to initiate. Where this is done, there is often receptivity – while ideas for how a simple programme could be run are readily available from the places that are already doing this.

Remember, if 15% attend church regularly, church leaders together represent a significant portion of the community, and a significant portion of its charitable and volunteer work. (That is 25,000 people in Tauranga, or 60,000 in Christchurch.)

5. Plan a combined the church prayer service or event

Quarterly combined church prayer and worship gatherings are held in many places across New Zealand. Some larger cities are currently starting or rebranding their prayer gatherings early in the year under the ‘Open Heaven’ banner.  All of these are good options.

Regarding timing, planning quarterly prayer gatherings with recognition to the school terms can bring freshness to their purpose. You can pray for calendar seasons ahead (Mothers’ Day, Kings Birthday, ANZAC Day, Matariki, Marriage Week, Christmas…). You can then pray for the work of God’s people in your current two spheres of influence (as discussed among pastors, as per point #3 above). This can be highly meaningful, while also encouraging and inspirational.

These gatherings can be profound in their effect, beyond their enjoyment in the moment. This is because your greatest goal isn’t the unity of your church leaders – but instead that of your church members within their own spheres of interest, involvement and influence.

6. If it is a Hope Project booklet delivery year, note this so you leverage it

There is nothing else in the NZ calendar like this. I do not include this only because we head the effort up. To note it, we also work in 5 others areas, none of which are mentioned.

Due to this willing spirit of collaboration there is across our nation, a unique citywide and nationwide gospel is enabled with ease. This helps churches in each locality achieve some outcomes that are unlikely to come about otherwise, and with great efficiency. It is one of your easiest and widest-reaching wins.

The effort is also entirely about those who do not know Christ – in contrast to combined social services initiatives or other in-house initiatives like combined prayer gatherings.

To note: The booklet delivery component is now only every second year, while the wider online promotion to visit ‘to a church near you’ continues to give profile to your churches annually.

7. Relationship with Iwi

Being connected with some Iwi leaders or representatives, to know the local story, and to have a bridge for connection at pertinent times, is important.

Consider the slips on The Mount in Tauranga  in 2025 as an example. With deaths having occurred, Iwi leaders were invited by Governmental agencies to bring Karakia each morning during the rescue / recovery. Only because our Iwi leaders and some church leaders are connected were pastors then able to make contact, then being invited by the Iwi leaders to join them. Being connected is important.

One of the easiest connection points would be collaboration in a special Dawn service for Waitangi, or similar. Storytelling can give reference to both the good and bad of our history, while esteeming hope together. Churches could rally their members, endearing encouraging attendance.

8. Do one thing together that connects with an identifiably with a widely felt community need

This is a common and widely embraced strategy to help churches together within cities and towns (a) become more widely engaged (b) while meeting a real need through their combined resources, (c) with benefits to their profile and reputation then also resulting.

This can help churches that are only relationally connected to one another to transition toward a more functional unity that looks beyond themselves.

There are many possible programme examples that could be shared.

9. Unite to promote your marriage and parenting support citywide
   

   This is one of the easiest and often most underutilized wins for local churches together in their cities and towns across New Zealand.

Identify together the parenting, marriage, ‘divorce recovery’, ‘grief care’, ‘single and parenting’, ‘pre-marriage’ or other courses your churches are (or could be) running.

With simple coordination, promotion these citywide as a united effort – branded simple as something like “churches supporting families”.

This brings wider positive reputation, awareness to the public that you still exist, reflects a united Church (which by itself is good for your reputation), and increased community connection by way of those who then attend.

It is one of your easiest ‘wins’. In most places it awaits nothing  more than the vision to perceive the possibility, and then the initiative to make it happen.

10. Start the year with a special breakfast or morning tea gathering

This is the simple programme idea that pulls everything above together.

This is the one gathering that you want every pastor or wider Christian community ministry leader to attend – each possibly with their spouse, or alternatively with one of their church elders. To achieve this, treat them, applaud them, personally invite them, and then make them feel special.

• This is where you cast vision for the primary united endeavours of the year, requesting support from everyone if possible, as noted at point #2 above.
• This is where you can concurrently extend invitation to your monthly gatherings, even while knowing only a percentage of pastors will come to those. Of note, by letting everyone know their irregularity in attending these is fine, you will have remove awkwardness and built trust. (There can be no obligations, no manipulating, and no coercing in the united Church space. You are building an environment of freedom and chosen trust.)
• This is where you can very briefly highlight and applaud a wide range of ‘united endeavours’ or significant community engagements that wil be taking place across your city in the coming year, giving each its 20 to 30 seconds of profile and applause. This can help everyone see just how much your churches are already doing, so you can celebrate this together, and feel encouraged. This can give meaning to your pastors’ group meetings and combined prayer gatherings – which now bring some intentional focus to applauding the initiatives of all of God’s people. (This is so easy, so encouraging, and then also becomes empowering!)
• You then ask for a raising of hands, to identify and welcome new pastors to your city – then asking each to introduce themselves in no more than two sentences seconds, then praying a blessing upon them all.
• You then ask for a raising of hands to identify any churches under undertaking building projects or similar – to pray a quick blessing upon them all.
• You then close with prayer, thanking your pastors for being willing to have a positive view toward your unity – the processes of which you have now made simple and clear thinking.
  • (They then leave with a single piece of paper with the key dates for unity events in the coming year on it.)

From year to year, you now have a pattern that you can repeat – which also defines something of the vision and boundaries by which you operate together – and which can be profoundly empowering as a conduit for the expanding initiatives or collaborations of many.

We hope this helps.

I would be more than happy to discuss this with any person, or with any pastor’s group as a group.

Below are three layers of support that exist for you – for your awareness.

May your unity produce new life to your community by way of acts of love that meet needs, guidance from wisdom that truly helps, and messages of hope that transform.

 

Some closing notes:

• A quarterly update for NZ pastors’ group convenors: We at the Shining Lights Trust initiated this, promoting many initatives and efforts, in view of no similar communication line existing that could feed vision for a greater united focus on witness and service to our cities and towns. We encourage those facilitating unity groups in each location to pause each quarter to study what is in these updates, to extract ideas and matters of relevance to bring to your own upcoming 2 or 3 monthly pastors’ gatherings.
  • Subscribe at https://alltogether.co.nz/updates
  • View the most recent quarterly update via a link at the top right of https://alltogether.co.nz/pastorsgroups
• Auckland Church Network are serving wider unity by way of connecting some who facilitate city pastors’ groups, to encourage vision along with other areas of practical support. They have worked alongside City to City Australia, who now have a New Zealand base of operations to enable additional encouragement.
• Beyond collaborated statements on behalf of denominational leaders, New Zealand Christian Networkalso facilitate New Zealand Christian Congress every third year – this being a gathering of church leaders with a national view.
• The DNA of people who serve wider unity: Organisations are just names. God’s method is men and women who are full of the Spirit – not organisations. Godly people who serve wider unity, however, will often become associated with an ‘organisation’. As a starting point, it is the people who matter, not the organisations. Many of those serving the vision of unity across New Zealand are regularly in touch, collaborate, and to the most part view themselves as one and the same. To preserve and best-enable unity, we at the SLT suggest the ideal scenario is one in which no city pastors group ever identify as a group ‘of’ (belonging to) any organisation. Instead, even where encouragement is received, each group is identified solely (a) as God’s Church, (b) in its location. This simple identification preserves the autonomy of every pastors group in and for its geography under the Lordship of Jesus, while protecting us from unhelpful and sometimes divisive human identifications. God’s call is upon local church leaders within their own geographies to unite under his leadership for the better-accomplishing of their mission. Anything beyond that is just help – even while it can be good and useful help.