Churches encouraged to engage in community outreach activities together, form relationships with cross-cultural congregations
DUMFRIES, Va., June 14, 2022 – The United States of America is on fire. Police shootings of unarmed African Americans, ethnic and political polarization, rising inflation, and the most recent racially motivated shooting of 13 innocent victims in Buffalo is edging the nation closer to the tipping point. The Evangelical Church in America is being called upon to consider what historic role it may have had in this crisis, but more importantly, how to bring about the healing and unity so desperately needed.
Let’s Talk began last fall with hundreds of leaders acknowledging racial inequity within the evangelical community by signing the Statement of Change and initiating a conversation-based approach to solving our nation’s perpetual racial tensions. Founded by Bishop Derek Grier of Grace Church in Dumfries, Virginia, Grier and his board of advisors are expanding their very successful conversations and are now inviting churches around the country to participate in Unity Weekend, beginning in June 2023.
“It is our aim that the Church plays a vital role in creating racial unity in the United States,” Grier said. “To do that, we need to show unity both from the pulpit and in the community. Pastors and church leaders have been involved in dialogue for several months, and now we feel it is time to invite the broader Church body to participate. We are calling this initiative the annual ‘Unity Weekend.’”
The goal for Unity Weekend is for churches around the country to work together on the first weekend in June, across racial and denominational lines, to serve the needs of targeted underserved communities in their areas. Then, from the pulpit, pastors would preach a sermon or begin a series exploring the Gospel’s mandate for racial unity.
Let’s Talk is in the process of working with noted theologians and other Christian leaders to become a resource center for pastors and churches, providing sermon outlines and guidance for churches to be involved in Unity Weekend. In addition, it will offer tips to help leaders deepen their theological perspective on key racial issues, as well as be better positioned to address sensitive racial and cultural concerns during a time of national crisis.
“The weekend will require churches across the country to develop a Gospel-based position on racial unity, which over time will become part of each faith community’s spiritual DNA. It will also help better equip congregation members to communicate a Gospel perspective of racial unity to friends and loved ones and become part of the solution and not just the problem,” Grier explained. “And by partnering with each other to show Christ’s love to underserved communities, we can build bridges and develop relationships that will help us to better show love and support when it’s needed, as we stand together against racist acts. Imagine what might happen across the United States if the Church became deliberate about being salt and light, once again.”
As a solution-oriented approach to the deep racial polarization seen in today’s churches, Let’s Talk seeks to create a space where pastors and parachurch leaders can hear, be heard, and address critical race matters of the day. It serves as both a movement and a relationship builder for pastors and churches desiring to make a difference.
Key leaders serving alongside Grier on the Let’s Talk advisory team include Dr. Darrell Bock, Executive Director for Cultural Engagement and Senior Research Professor of New Testament Studies at Dallas Theological Seminary; Damon Davis, Founder and CEO of Legacy Worldwide Media in Duluth, Georgia; John Jenkins, National Association of Evangelicals Chairman; Lee Jenkins, Founding and Senior Pastor of Eagles Nest Church in Roswell, Georgia; Bishop Courtney McBath, President of Virginia Bible College and Pastor of Calvary Revival Church in Norfolk; Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, President of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference and Pastor of New Season Christian Worship Center in Sacramento; Pastor Dennis Rouse, founding pastor of Victory World Church in Atlanta; and Bishop Kenneth Ulmer, Macedonia International Bible Fellowship Presiding Bishop.
For more information, visit www.letstalklive.org or view the official brochure.
About Bishop Derek Grier
Derek Grier currently serves as the founding pastor of Grace Church in Dumfries, Virginia, which began in 1998 with 12 people and has today grown to more than 6,000 members. His radio and television programs are heard and viewed by millions in the United States and around the globe. In 2011, he founded the now fully accredited Virginia Bible College, a world-class Christian learning institute with over 300 active students, where Dr. Courtney McBath now serves as President and Derek Grier as Chancellor. His latest release, “When God Stops,” was published by Thomas Nelson Publishing in August of 2019. Derek and his wife, Yeromitou, reside in northern Virginia and have two adult sons, Derek Jr. and David.
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