We have compiled this report as a starting

point for dialogue around the place we live,

the people we love, and the collective potential

we unknowingly carry. There is always more

data to explore, and this is certainly not

exhaustive, but we wanted to compile some

key figures that help us to see, with better

clarity, the place we have been called to love

and lead. The data is focused on three counties

(Hillsborough, Pinellas, and Pasco) identifying

some key demographics, needs, the positioning

of the church, and some possibilities for greater

collaboration.

Given that the church is more known for its inability to stay together, we have a brand problem to be sure. Believers in Jesus profess that “in [Christ] all things hold together” (Col. 1:17), and yet we can’t demonstrate that we ourselves as His people are held together in Him. This is a branding problem and for the sake of His name, we need to do something about it.

People organize into churches in pursuit of God and for the sake of the wider world. Still, it does not take long for the social grouping with its particularities, to become more important than that initial mission. It is so easy to perceive other churches, their leaders, their people, and their differences, as a threat to us.

Disunity among churches is not unique in our generation, and sadly it still harms the church’s witness to the world. Christ Jesus Himself pointed out that a kingdom divided against itself will come to ruin (Matt 12:25 and parallels). It isn’t revolutionary to suggest that division in the church has severely damaged the church’s witness in the world.

Get the complex plan templates Brian Sanders talks about in his book Five Keys to Cross-Organizational Collaboration.

FIVE KEYS TO CROSS-ORGANIZATIONAL COLLABORATION

“This book is for those who are interested in learning how to succeed and thrive in the emerging social economy. It is for those who sense that things are changing and want to understand how. Whether you are a collaboration veteran or someone who is only now beginning to wade into the waters of collaboration, I offer these five keys as food for thought, discussion, and action. Certainly, there is more involved in successful cross-organizational collaboration than these five things. But I do not think there can be less. In that sense, and from what I can see, these are essential components that every collaboration will need to thrive.” - Brian Sanders

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Stanford Review: Collective Impact by John Kania & Mark Kramer

“Large-scale social change requires broad cross-sector coordination, yet the social sector remains focused on the isolated intervention of individual organizations.”

This article is foundational in the world of collective impact collaboration. Read here.