One City, Flourishing Together

An annual highlight for For Columbus, the One City Summit took place on March 5 at One Church in Gahanna. Around 400 people attended this unifying event where pastors and church staff, nonprofit professionals, and working Christians gathered for equipping, networking, and taking action to collaborate for the good of Columbus.

Three keynote speakers shared their wisdom on the theme of "Together for a Flourishing City. Bishop LaFayette Scales, founding pastor of Rhema Christian Center, invited attendees to consider what flourishing leadership truly looks like by teaching from the biblical life of Barnabas. Author and speaker Dr. Amy Sherman taught on how to be agents of flourishing, bringing about transformative change in our contexts that leads to collective change in our city. Founder of Doxa Deo and City Changers, Alan Platt, helped us envision a Columbus that is the picture of a flourishing city.

The day kicked off with a gripping conversation between Mayor Andrew Ginther and the founding pastor of Vineyard Columbus, Rich Nathan, on how the citywide Church can partner with civic entities for the good of Columbus. Mayor Ginther shared his personal story of growing up in a home that fostered dozens of children over the years, and how that and other experiences shaped his heart for the poor in our city.

Throughout the event, we heard from local leaders as they imagined what a letter to the Church of Columbus might sound like if the Lord was speaking to us today in the style of letters to churches in Revelation 2-3. [If you would like to submit your letter to the Church of Columbus, please click here.]

Networks and networking are at the heart of the work of For Columbus' mission to unite the Church of Columbus to be for the City of Columbus. To that end, the One City Summit featured a panel conversation between Networks Director Shane Tucker and four network leaders: Jeaneen Hooks of the Good Housing Network, Joe Deptowicz of the Created Network, Melody Marshall of the For Families Network, and Matt Dascenzo of the Urban Youth Ministry Network. Additionally, table conversations and sector-specific lunch breakouts provided attendees time to network with old and new connections from across the city. This year, vendor booths in the lobby provided opportunities for networking as well, and represented many organizations across Columbus and beyond that are providing incredible value to the communities and causes they serve.

In a moving presentation, Sam Koon of Samuel L. Koon and Associates was awarded this year's City Catalyst Award. Sam is known for his legendary discipleship of dozens of workplace leaders through Primemovers. Anne Durrell and Austin Wathen, friends of Sam who have been impacted by his commitment to Christian discipleship, honored him with touching remarks regarding his character and faithfulness to the Lord.

While deeply grateful for the Lord's work through this year's summit, we recognize that this one annual event is not at the core of For Columbus' work. We see the summit as a catalyst from which deeper connection and collaboration can form among the citywide Church, and we know that the majority of this unity work takes place through catalytic cause and neighborhood networks that are forming a gospel ecosystem throughout our city. There are currently over twenty networks in Columbus, and we are just getting started! Whether you have a heart for prayer, discipleship, your neighborhood, or a cause like caring for immigrants or fighting human trafficking, there is a way for you to get involved. Click here to get connected or even begin a new network!