Should Churches Work With Churches of Other Denominations?
There are churches that prefer not to work with other churches at all. There are other churches that work only with congregations within the same denomination.
What about churches of other denominations?
At our church, we are just finishing up a time of combined services with a church of a different denomination. Our people went to their church while I was on vacation and they came to ours when their minister was on vacation.
This can be easier when the denominations are close in theology. It is not a stretch for a Baptist church to join with a non-denominational evangelical church.
It can be more complex when there are differences in theology.
In our case, there are differences between our denominations and our congregations. This includes, but is not limited, to how we do communion and baptism.
However, these services have been a blessing and I have received good feedback. We live in a small village we are the only two churches in our community. It says a lot when we do things together.
Are there concerns? Some may not like it but I tried to stress that working together does not mean that we affirm every position taken by the other church. We focus on what we have in common and that is enough.
When I think back to services I have participated in, the inter-denominational ones always stand out. There is something special that happens when Christians from different traditions join together.
I will say that it requires some maturity on behalf of the leadership of the churches involved. This is not the time to promote your special interests and find a wider audience for the issues that concern you.
Congregations can work together, whether in a worship service or a ministry program or even just a common meal.
I have heard from skeptics that churches being against each other is one of the reasons they don’t believe. I see churches working together, especially when they have some differences, as an important witness to Christian unity.
