Engage

An invitation to commit and take action against racial injustice.

Partners

Pastors are invited to engage with Beyond Words by committing to the five action areas, participating in a year-long cohort, and developing a partnership with an African-American Church.

 

The five action areas are relationship, learning, finances, proclamation, and mobilizing. Each congregation is expected to undertake one action in each area over the course of the year. Your city coordinator will have a list of potential ideas for you; however, what you end up doing largely depends on your church partner. Any participating pastor will get to attend monthly cohort meetings with other pastors in the area who are participating in Beyond Words. This will be a space of learning, discovery, and support. Finally, pastors will be expected to develop a partnership with a local African American pastor. Depending on the city, you will be matched with a church partner from the outset, or you may be offered support in finding a partner yourself.

City director

If you're interested in bringing Beyond Words to your city, then the role of city director is for you!

 

Movements all around the country are committing to answer the call to justice in our churches and communities. If you or your ministry leaders are looking to start the conversation within your own community, Beyond Words: Count Us In will resource and guide you through reflections and commitments that seek to bring awareness and racial reconciliation. Contact us for more information and to submit your city.

FAQs

 

What happens at the may 25th Event?

We have an annual event on May 25th to launch new cohorts. This event is a service of confession, repentance, and commitment. At the service in your city, you will have an opportunity to fill out a commitment card agreeing to take action steps in the five areas Beyond Words focuses on. This card signifies your participation in the movement and your desire to seek racial justice.

How do churches that aren't predominantly white or
predoMinantly African-American fit into the movement?

While racism impacts everyone, in the United States, the deepest sentiment is one of anti-blackness. Everyone exists within a social hierarchy with white at the top and Black at the bottom. Because of that, we believe that by anchoring our movement in the experience of Black pastors and churches, justice will come to everyone. However, that is not to say that there is not a place for different races and ethnicities in our movement. Any church that is willing to repent of its proximity to whiteness and the ways that it has contributed to white supremacy or anti-blackness is welcome to participate. In the journey, there will be space for conversation and learning around how non-white and non-black churches experience racism, but the focus of the action will be toward an African-American church.

How do Lay leaders fit into the movement?

While Beyond Words focuses on pastors, lay leaders play a critical role in the movement. We strongly encourage cross-congregational connection, not just pastoral connection, and hope that pastors will give lay leaders an active role in the process of embodying the commitments as a community.