A MOVEMENT SPREADS ACROSS THE UNITED STATES
Bishop Alexander
D allas was the first city to adopt the Movement Day model. In 2014, the first Movement Day Dallas- Fort Worth (DFW) gathering attracted 1,600 pastors, marketplace and parachurch leaders from the region. One convener commented that it was the most significant citywide gathering in his lifetime. In the next several years Movement Day DFW fostered unity in the church in a city historically divided by race. Pastors began to exchange pulpits on Palm Sunday across racial lines. These relationships fostered further collaboration on joint outreach in Dallas. Movement Day DFW also drew attention to the need to impact the next generation given the national crisis of young people leaving the church. The fruit of Movement Day DFW included the birthing of Nxt Move, a powerful mentoring initiative.
From 2011-2015, MOVEMENT.ORG steered the 10 City Coalition in annual gatherings hosted in New York City. The 10 cities included Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Houston, New York, Phoenix, Portland, and San Diego. These consultations forged a stronger national network of leaders that would influence future city reaching efforts. Additionally, Movement.org helped incubate Movement Day expressions in Phoenix, Tucson, Charlotte, Norfolk, Williamsburg, Philadelphia, and Western Michigan. Movimiento was formed to impact the work of the gospel in Latin American cities. MOVEMENT.ORG also assisted in the formation of the Philadelphia Gospel Movement, which has hosted three Movement Day Expressions. The work of Philadelphia Gospel Movement includes refurbishing blighted communities impacted by
poverty and drug addiction. In Norfolk and Williamsburg, Virginia, robust efforts have been made to provide 18,000 pounds of food each month for communities that are food insecure. Efforts also included increasing fourth grade literacy rates through public school mentorship programs. In Charlotte, North Carolina, Movement Day was acknowledged as a significant accelerator for the work of unity in the city. Bishop Claude Alexander introduced Movement Day in Charlotte along with the For Charlotte team. One example of impact includes a construction company owner who pledged to build several homes for under-served communities in Charlotte. In 2021, Bishop Alexander and Mac Pier co-wrote Required: God’s Call to Justice, Mercy, and Humility in Overcoming Racial Division .
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