Since early 2018, UBA has been using the tagline "Better Together." Now that tagline is everywhere, which for the most part I think is great because the world is far too fractured right now. But when we use that phrase, It really speaks to the heart of why the association exists.
The churches in UBA are driven by the Great Commission but with this fundamental conviction: Imagine any team sport and you'd likely also picture a superstar in that sport—someone described as "capable of taking over a game." That might be true provided that the rest of the team is still there for support. But if that superstar was truly alone, It quickly becomes absurd to imagine them taking on the opposition by themselves. A star basketball player would quickly be overwhelmed and physically exhausted just trying to get off a shot. And an all-star pitcher would have to strike out every batter and hit a home run. It's lunacy to even contemplate.
Churches trying to accomplish the Great Commission by themselves also quickly find themselves up against unbeatable odds. The best disciple-making, church-planting churches can't possibly take on a city of the size of Houston independently—even if they and every other church around them are dedicated to their immediate context.
What happens when a people group moves to your community that you're not equipped to reach? What happens when you encounter an issue you've never faced before and the learning you have is insufficient?
What happens when a lot of churches are focused on the same context while others are neglected? If the Great Commission could be accomplished by churches working in isolation, the task would be finished by now.
Instead, despite having great churches all over the region, statistics show that the city is more in need of what the church provides than ever. So we look to the Word and see what we also have experienced:
Put another way, we believe it takes a team to win a team sport. And ministry is the epitome of team sports.
I want to share with you 3 strategic initiatives that will guide UBA in the coming years, help us make decisions, and focus our energy as we look to how we will be the association God is calling us to be.
1. Sending Pathways
The first is Sending Pathways. We want to see a city full of churches that cooperatively produce their own sent-out-ones for an array of Great Commission tasks—like pastors, church planters, replanters, diaspora missionaries (here in the US), or international missionaries.
There are people in our churches right now waiting to be called out and equipped to be on mission. I know because I was called out of a local church and many of our pastors were too.
2. Church Renewal
The second initiative is Church Renewal. We want to see a city full of vibrant, gospel-proclaiming, sending churches and believe that God can move afresh in declining and dying places.
Church Renewal is a UBA initiative to work through replanting and revitalization consultations and church partnerships to rekindle flames in lighthouses across Houston or help relight the lamp in places where it might have gone out completely.
3. Collaborative Care
The third initiative is Collaborative Care. We believe the association is both an organization and a living organism—a network of living, reciprocal relationships.
Collaborative Care is a UBA initiative to bring churches, their staff, and their members into deeper, more meaningful, Kingdom-expanding relationships that strengthen the whole Body of Christ.
Better Together
All the initiatives depend on UBA working and acting like a team. Sending Pathways is all about helping those who are spectators wrestling with their call to play the game to come out of the stands, get trained, and take their position on the field.
Church Renewal is about coming alongside teammates who need significant attention because of the injuries or setbacks they've had and helping them get back to being productive members of the team.
Collaborative Care is the backbone of the association because we want to connect people to one another so they can care for one another and be cared for. This leads to a healthier and more efficient team.
Better Together is not just a slogan for UBA. It's a foundational belief that the Great Commission can't be accomplished any other way. It's an essential conviction that the Body of Christ wasn't designed to function any other way.
It's leaning into our designed need for community. Because we all know the effects of isolation, and we are simply just better when we're together.
Josh Ellis is Executive Director of Union Baptist Association. He has a PhD in Leadership Studies and has served on the UBA staff since 2005. With both practical and scholarly knowledge, he leads the association into innovative collaboration for the sake of strategic gospel advancement.
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