IN 2004 THREE CHURCHES CAME TOGETHER AROUND A DEEP DESIRE TO PURSUE KINGDOM INITIATIVES THAT WOULD WITNESS TO GOD’S LOVE FOR HAMILTON.
They shared a belief that we, the Church, are at our best when we respond to the Spirit’s invitation to join in the Jesus-way-of-life, pursuing justice, peace, compassion and relational holiness. In the Spring of that year we held the first TrueCity conference as a way to share stories, worship, and learn together. By the end of that first year three more churches had joined in and the TrueCity network was born.
Nineteen years later there are over twenty churches involved. Throughout our journey we have learned a great deal about the art and science of cultivating congregational collaboration in pursuit of collective mission and Church unity. We continue to gather yearly and celebrate the ways we see God at work in Hamilton and to tangibly live out scripture’s call to pursue the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.
At the heart of our network are these seven core values:
– Congregationally Based
– Neighbourhood Engaged
– Active Cooperation
– Humble Orthodoxy
– Margins at the Centre
– Whole City View
– Growth through Collaboration
BEYOND HAMILTON
As stories of how churches have come together in Hamilton have traveled there has been an increased interest to hear more about church unity and missional collaboration. We believe that the expertise that has developed in serving and cultivating the TrueCity network has the potential to be used to resource other networks.
