OUR STORY
FORCLT was formed in April 2015 out of a burden placed on its founder, Rob Kelly, approximately four years earlier concerning the lack of church unity that he and many others were experiencing in our great city – Charlotte, North Carolina. Rob, a pastor of 13 years at the time, was meeting regularly with a close knit group of other pastors from across the city. As their relationships grew, their collective burden for the division in the Church and the needs of our city grew exponentially.
During the formation period, the founding team of FORCLT defined two major issues as related to the Church in Charlotte that FORCLT would engage:
- The Church in Charlotte is divided; and
- The Church in Charlotte is declining.
As this vision began to take hold with pastors and Christian leaders across the city, it became clear that no single church could lead this unified effort. Rather, it would require a neutral convening organization operating as a platform to connect all churches, denominations, nonprofits and organizations wanting to seek the transformation of the city.
Deeply burdened by these realities, they recognized that the answer to these issues was found in the prayer of our Lord Jesus to His Father before enduring the cross as recorded in John 17:20–23.
Committed to this prayer as their driving motivation, the founding team launched FORCLT with a commitment to honoring the prayer of Jesus in John 17 through creating platforms that unite the Church for the transformation of our city. Jesus is clear that when the body of Christ is truly “one,” the world will know that the Father sent Jesus into the world and that the Father loves the world as He loves His one and only Son.
