10 Reasons Unity in the Body of Christ Is Essential to Finishing the Task
By Pastor Rick Warren
The Great Commission is not the Great Suggestion.
It is the last command of Jesus.
And the vision before us is clear: the gospel for everyone by 2033.
There are a lot of good things Christians can do. There are many things we can do that are helpful and meaningful in the world. A lot of things the Church does, other people can do. But there is one thing that only the Church can do that no one else can do: share the Good News.
Jesus’s Last Words
In all the years as a pastor when I have stood by the bedside of hundreds of people as they took their last breath, I’ve learned something: last words are always important.
People don’t joke in their final moments. What they say matters most.
The last words of Jesus on Earth were the Great Commission.
And he didn’t just say it once—he said it five times. In Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and Acts.
The most familiar version is Matthew 28:18–20:
“Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Anytime Jesus says something five times—and when it’s his last words—you can be certain:
His last words must be our first priority.
Why We Want to Finish the Task
Why do we want everyone, everywhere to hear the good news?
There are two reasons—two unchanging reasons:
First, Christ commanded it.
Second, the needs of people demand it.
These are the twin reasons we make evangelization of the world a priority. God wants everyone to hear the good news.
And here’s the reality: for the person who never hears the good news, that means Christ’s death is worthless for them. The gospel is only good news if it gets there in time.
Why 2033?
Why the goal of 2033?
If our calendar is based on the birth of Christ, then everything we measure in time is connected to him. Jesus began his ministry at about age 30—around 30 AD. His ministry lasted about three to three-and-a-half years. That means he died, rose again, gave the Great Commission, and ascended around 33 AD.
Fifty days later, on Pentecost, the Church was born.
That means: June 5, 2033 marks the 2,000th Pentecost—the 2,000th birthday of the Church.
It will also be:
- 2,000 years since the resurrection
- 2,000 years since the Great Commission
- 2,000 years since the birth of the Body of Christ
Now, there is no special eschatological significance to the date, but a date creates urgency. A deadline helps us work faster. It gives us a goal. It focuses our efforts.
So we ask: what do you give Jesus for his 2,000th birthday?
People say, “What do you give a God who has everything?”
But he doesn’t have everything.
He doesn’t have your love unless you give it.
He doesn’t have your trust unless you give it.
He doesn’t have your obedience unless you give it.
What does he want most?
He said it five times: he wants his lost children found.
The greatest gift we can give Jesus on the 2,000th anniversary of the church is to make sure that everyone has heard the Good News.
A Hinge Moment in History
We get to live in a hinge point in history that has never happened before.
For the first time, the global church is aligning around a shared goal: the gospel for everyone by 2033, in every heart language.
Denominations, congregations, networks, and mission organizations are saying: Let’s do our best to complete the Great Commission together.
But that will not happen without unity.
Why Unity Matters
Why is unity in the body of Christ so important?
Let’s start here: unity is not uniformity.
God does not want us all to be the same. In fact, the only way we will ever have unity is to love variety.
Different personalities.
Different cultures.
Different expressions.
Different ways of doing church.
If the whole church looked, talked, acted, and sang the same way, we would not reach the world. It takes all kinds of churches to reach all kinds of people.
If lives are being transformed by Jesus Christ—even if it’s not your style—you can celebrate it. You can value it.
We Are One Family
We need to realize how much being part of God’s family matters. It is the only identity that will last for eternity.
You may not look like me. You may not come from where I come from. But if you are in Christ, you are my brother or my sister.
That means:
If you hurt, I hurt.
If you are criticized, I stand with you.
We are family forever.
When we begin to value that above everything else, we will begin to work together.
We will begin to see our differences as strengths—not weaknesses.
10 Reasons We Need Unity to Finish the Task
1. Unity Reflects the Image of God
The Trinity itself is unity—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The church is meant to mirror that unity.
Unity reflects the very nature of God.
2. Unity Demonstrates the Authenticity of Our Faith
Jesus said: “By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, that you love one another” (John 13:35 NIV).
And in John 17, he prayed:
“May they be one so that the world may know you sent me.”
“May they be one so that the world may believe.”
The purpose of unity is evangelism.
The world will not know—and the world will not believe—until it sees unity.
3. Unity Is the Work of the Holy Spirit
Unity is not something we create. It is something the Holy Spirit produces.
Scripture says: “Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit” (Eph. 4:3 NIV). We don’t create unity—but we are responsible to protect it.
4. Unity Strengthens Our Witness
In Acts, believers were “one heart and one mind,” and with great power they testified to the good news.
Unity strengthens the church’s witness. Division weakens it.
5. Unity Is Essential for Spiritual Growth
You cannot have true spiritual growth without unity. Why? Because what we are growing in is love.
The Bible says: “The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.”
Growth in discipleship is not just knowing more Scripture. Growth in discipleship is growing in love.
God wants us to become like him—to be conformed to the image of Christ. And Christ is love.
You cannot become like Jesus Christ until you learn to love the Church. Even in all its weaknesses and failures— the Church is still the beautiful bride he is preparing.
6. Unity Honors the Sacrifice of Christ
Jesus died not only to reconcile us to God—but to each other.
“He himself is our peace… who has made the two groups one” (Eph. 2:14 NIV).
Unity honors the cross. Disunity dishonors it.
7. Unity Protects the Church from the Enemy
Every time there is division, it weakens the church.
Jesus said: “If a kingdom is divided against itself, it cannot stand” (Mark 3:24 NLT).
Division gives the enemy a foothold. Unity protects the church.
8. Unity Glorifies God
Psalm 133 says: “How good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell together in unity” (KJV).
Jesus said he is glorified in our unity.
Unity magnifies the glory of God.
9. Unity Brings Joy
Paul said: “Make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love” (Phil. 2:2 NIV).
John said: “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth” (3 John 1:4 NIV).
Unity brings joy—to leaders, to the church, and to the heart of God.
10. Unity Answers the Prayer of Jesus
The night before the cross, Jesus prayed for one thing: our unity.
“Father, may they be one as you and I are one…” (John 17:21 NLT).
This is one of the greatest unanswered prayers in history.
The question is: will our generation answer it?
From Networking to Collaboration
There are three levels of working together:
Networking — we share ideas and go home
Cooperating — we work together on events
Collaborating — we share responsibility for the mission
Collaboration means sitting down together and asking:
- Who is reaching this part of the city?
- Who is reaching this people group?
- Who is taking responsibility here?
Because no single church can reach an entire city.
Great Commission Allies
This is why we talk about Great Commission Allies.
It’s not an organization.
It’s not a denomination.
It’s not a movement.
It is the connection between them.
Like the Allies in World War II:
Different flags. Different identities. One shared mission.
If you love Jesus, we are on the same team.
City Roundtables
One of the most practical expressions of unity is a roundtable.
FTT roundtables are an idea where leaders of a city or region come together regularly to ask:
How do we ensure everyone in our city hears the good news by 2033?
In Tijuana, over 700 churches are working together to reach all the lost in their city.
In Australia, leaders representing about 90% of churches are collaborating working on a national model.
This is what unity looks like in action. You could work on a province strategy, a city strategy, a state strategy. It’s a totally decentralized way to collaborate for the Great Commission.
A Prayer for Unity
Father, I want to thank you for the men and women from literally across the globe coming together to finish the task. We’ve all come from different backgrounds. Father, that is a strength. We know that the more diverse the background of a group, the more creative that group will be.
We don’t need to all think alike, look alike, sound alike, talk alike, smell alike. We need the variety, the differences that you created in age and in culture and in men and women and in denominational differences and cultural differences. May the body of Christ be a beautiful mosaic.
How boring would it all be if we were all the same color and the same look and the same style and the same smell? Help us to celebrate our differences, our uniqueness, see it as strengths in the body of Christ, that it takes all kinds of people to reach all kinds of lost people.
I’m praying that you will give us a spirit of unity, a desire to collaborate with people that we’ve never collaborated with before. They are in your family too. Help us to remember, Jesus, when you told the disciples, “I have sheep that are not of this fold.”
Help us to remember that you have disciples that aren’t of our denomination, aren’t of our persuasion, aren’t of our traditions, and help us to find unity, not uniformity, but unity in love that we all love the same Savior. We’ve all have the same Word. We all have the same Holy Spirit.
We pray that the next seven years you will help us figure out ways to collaborate together for the global glory of God.
We pray this in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, amen.
