OUR STORY
FORCLT was founded out of shared burden to engage two major issues: That the Church in Charlotte was both divided and 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.
OUR PURPOSE
FORCLT‘s purpose is to Unite the Church to Transform Our City.
OUR VALUES
Our core values listed below act as an anchor at the center of who we are and drive all the efforts of FORCLT.
GOSPEL-CENTRALITY – We value the Gospel. This gospel is the good news that God has loved and reconciled the world to Himself through the life, death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. As the Church, we are called to live our lives for the sake of the gospel, and we believe that the gospel when properly understood stands firmly on two legs; Word and Deed. Thus, we are called to proclaim (Word) and demonstrate (Deed) the life, death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
CHURCH-UNITY – We value Church Unity. Which means we value Christ’s Church. We believe that the church, when united and operating in the power of the Holy Spirit, is the most powerful change agent in the world, and must be the main driver of any lasting city-transformation efforts. Because we value church unity, we focus on creating network platforms for the church to grow deeper in relationship, trust, leading to gospel-centered collaboration for the good of the city.
CITY-TRANSFORMATION – We value Charlotte. We believe that God has placed His Church in Charlotte as His transformative change agents. The Scriptures call the church to seek the peace (shalom) of the city. Because we are gospel-centered, we desire to see gospel movement in the areas of our city that need them most.
Our Strategy:
FORCLT‘s Strategy is help Pastors and Church Leaders Learn, Connect, and Take Action, Together.
Learn
FORCLT maintains a posture of learning allowing us to better understand both the Church and the City. We create content, resources, and facilitate learning environments to equip pastors and church leaders to most effectively meet the needs of Charlotte.
Connect
FORCLT hosts citywide pastoral gatherings and mobilizes 3 types of networks: 1) geographic pastoral networks, 2) collaborative networks, and 3) citywide affinity networks.
Take Action
FORCLT mobilizes collaborative city-wide initiatives and provides technology tools that unleash the Church on Christ’s mission to meet the most pressing needs of our city.
