“What about Jeremias and Naty?” I asked, thinking I could play matchmaker for two single friends who were both active in their churches. The immediate negative response from Jere’s sister surprised me: “No! She’s from the IDP denomination, and he’s from the Alianza church. It would never work!” Sadly, what I thought could be the beginning of a wonderful relationship ended right there, on the basis of different church denominations.

I’m tempted to feel a bit “judgy” toward my friend for her attitude regarding an inter-denominational marriage, but if I’m honest, I probably need to take a look at some of my own preconceived ideas. For instance, I’m happy to form friendships across denominations or ministry organizations, but to actually share in each other’s work? That's a whole different story! Too often I’ve said no to an opportunity to teach a Sunday School class or translate for someone else’s short-term team because “that’s not what we’re here to do.”

I’ve heard countless messages through the years about the importance of unity in the body of Christ, but usually the “body” referred to members of the specific church or organization where the teaching was taking place. We do need to work in unity within our own groups, but what if we expanded our view of the body of Christ to include church denominations and ministry organizations that do things a bit differently, but are like-minded with us on the gospel truth? What if we saw Bible institutes and seminaries as Christ’s eyes and ears, humanitarian groups as His hands, a sports ministry as His feet? How much more could we accomplish for the Kingdom if the church-planting organization used materials produced by a Bible translation group, and the Bible translators shared their language expertise when a medical team needed interpreters in an indigenous village? Yes, we might be pulled away from “our” work for a short time, but isn’t it really all HIS work in the end?

I think this is exactly what Paul meant when he said that “in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.” So, let’s reach across denominations and take someone’s hand today!