As the new corps officers of High Point Community Church, my wife, Alison, and I felt it important to take time to hear the dreams, hopes and plans the people in our community had for the future and direction of our corps. (Listening to people─I know, not exactly rocket science!)

Instead of having a free-for-all of ideas, we set up three tables that each focused on a specific aspect of our mission: evangelism, discipleship and social justice. People sat where they wished, shared any ideas that fit the mission, and when they wanted, left the table to participate in discussions elsewhere in the room. People were free to go and discuss what they felt most passionate about. After just less than an hour we had more than 10 pages of notes from the three separate tables. Miraculously all three tables had formulated workable plans that fit together in ways we never could have imagined.

Unity is something that has been tough to achieve in any meeting I’ve been apart of, whether in the Christian or secular world. Yet when we unite behind a common mission, purpose and goal, that unity becomes a little less elusive. We’ll always have different ways of getting the job done, and that’s usually a good thing. But without uniting behind a mission those wonderful ideas are in danger of remaining on the shelf and leading to the mission becoming stagnant.

Listen to the diversity of voices through the lens of mission, and the long sought after unity begins to appear.

Lieutenant Peter Lublink and his wife, Alison, are the corps officers of High Point Community Church in Victoria. Prior to entering The Salvation Army’s College for Officer Training in Winnipeg, Peter managed a small marketing and business solutions firm in the Toronto area. For more details on Peter and his community of High Point, visit www.pointful.ca.