GLOCALITY

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Acts 1:8

Global + Local = Glocal. In our church family the term “glocality” refers to having a missional heart that expresses itself in both a local and global way. One of Jesus’ final instructions to His disciples can be found in the beginning of the book of Acts. Jesus instructs His disciples to be His witnesses in both their local communities, but also to territories outside of their local reach. We as a church family have taken on that responsibility. In all that we do, our heart is to bring people, both locally and globally, closer to Jesus.

LOCAL

Jesus told His disciples to be witnesses in Jerusalem and Judea (Acts 1:8). Contextually the disciples understood that Jerusalem and Judea represented their local communities. Jerusalem and Judea were both easily accessible by travel while also being the center of religious life for so many. Jesus could’ve instructed them to leave their local communities and reach the world, but He doesn’t. That is because Christ doesn’t want us to have a heart for people in distant lands and not have a heart for those in our local communities.

One of the key ways in which we reach our local community is through helping to meet felt needs. We even see this exemplified in the ministry of Christ (Matt. 14:13-21). Although our primary purpose of existence as a church is to make disciples for Christ, we believe that meeting felt needs in our community opens doors and hearts to receive the Gospel of salvation. So whether it’s repainting classrooms for public schools or feeding the homeless, our heart is that these will be avenues to win our region for Christ. Our mandate is to preach the Gospel to the lost, but sometimes the greatest sermon comes in the form of a meal, an embrace, or even school supplies.

GLOBAL

Many believers can become overwhelmed at the very thought of traveling outside of their local communities to reach people for Jesus. It can be intimidating. Nevertheless Jesus still calls us to have a global heart and reach. In the same way that Jesus calls His disciples to reach the lost that are right in their backyard, He also calls them to reach globally as well (Acts 1:8). It is clear through scripture that Jesus did not die for a select group or region of people, but for the entire world (John 3:16). With that said, Collide City Church has a huge passion for international missions and ministry.

As a parachurch ministry for the last ten years, Collide has been able to see tens of thousands of people give their lives to Jesus around the world. Whether in the trash dumps of the Philippines, or the dark streets of eastern Europe, it is in our DNA to be passionate about reaching the entire world for Christ.

We understand that everyone’s not necessarily called to travel the world to minister. Some believers might feel a stronger conviction to reach souls locally. However, that does not negate our responsibility to pray for, support, and give towards the work of soul winning around the world. Our church has incredible ministry partners in many nations around the world. And with modern technology, we are able to maintain those partnerships and continued ministry.

Jesus died so that the world may know Him. As a church community we plan on giving Jesus what He paid for…souls. Glocality is all about reaching the world for Christ and having a perspective in life that acknowledges both our local and global need for Christ.