Christian Unity (the book) - The Maranatha Community

worldwide) demonstrates how denominational antagonisms are less and lessapparent in today’s Church. 184l) Shared Community ActionInter-church cooperation in serving the community has been successfullyundertaken in several cities over the past few years. This has been with anenthusiasm for united witness which has not been seen before. The aim ofthese ventures, particularly in inner-city areas, was to renovate and restoreneglected areas physically, socially and spiritually. Examples have included SoulSurvivor, Soul in the City in London, Merseyfest on Merseyside, and Hope 08nationally.m) Para-church OrganisationsPara-church bodies have evolved, especially with the use of moderntechnology and the internet, into very important agencies for evangelism andsocial welfare, but also for promoting Christian Unity. The vast majority werebegun by Protestants, mainly Evangelicals, but from the middle of the 20 thCentury Catholics, and to a lesser extent, Orthodox believers have contributedto their work.I define a para-church body as an organisation that is not a church ordenomination in itself but exists independently of them to further theevangelistic, social welfare or teaching ministries of the Church at large.Monastic and religious orders are not included in this definition as they areusually an integral part of a denomination.Para-church groups came into existence in Protestantism as early as the 17 thCentury. In Germany, P J Spener’s collegia pietatis were in this category as‘ecclesiolae in exclesia’, ‘little churches within the Church’, to promote therenewal of the Church. Spener’s groups, like John Wesley’s Methodistsocieties, were rejected by their own churches, and to the degree that thishappened, they can be called ‘para-church’ movements.184Brookes, Andrew, The Alpha Phenomenon, Churches Together in Britain and Ireland,2007, pp 22, 27.Page 197