Last month, I referred to Nehemiah's story in the Old Testament and the significance of 52 days, the time it took to rebuild the wall around Jerusalem. I was drawn back to Nehemiah's story, one verse in particular: Nehemiah learns of the travesty from his brother and other men that Jerusalem's walls were not rebuilt. The text states the "Nehemiah wept,” yet at this moment, a divine dream was born. For Nehemiah, he understood the repercussions of the Jewish remnant who were defenseless, a people who had for many generations suffered greatly. Following the news, Nehemiah waits four months before God orchestrates the opportunity for the king to permit him to not only return to his people but to take the supplies for rebuilding the wall.

God creates dreams, wraps our bodies around them, and sends them to earth to achieve unique and significant assignments. For TCC, this dream of unity came from our CEO and Founder, Christopher Warrington. Much like Nehemiah, who, upon arrival, assesses the situation, so we have done the same. Sometimes divine dreams take a long time to cultivate, build, and come to pass, especially if it is something as complex as unity in the body of Christ. Often, I think people become weary and give up from carrying a dream. Well, we have not! We have pressed in. In the last 30 days, we have intentionally refined how we are called to serve the body of Christ. We are deliberately asking ourselves what are we best at? How do we inspire and activate?

I believe this constant commitment to excellence and this divine dream of unity will produce a harvest for the Kingdom. I believe in 2021, The Christian Chain, its supporters, partners, and beneficiaries will draw nearer in service to each other and our communities; communities will begin to flourish because churches CHOOSE to lay aside their differences, and ultimately, people experience the love of God.

Just as Nehemiah's heart was stirred into action, so we hope you also will be. Nehemiah planned and prepared Nehemiah in the four-month waiting period. When the king allowed Nehemiah to go, he went with all the resources necessary to complete his heavenly assignment. The Christian Chain has been blessed in the last four months with a government grant ending very soon. We need your financial support to activate unity in the body of Christ. Will you become a link? As the body of Christ, we are told to invest in the eternal.

What is more eternal than unity? Is it not the glue the binds us together? Are we not to be an example for the world? I appeal to you to consider investing in the work of unity. For every $100 you give, young children are given the opportunity to be included in family service projects. For every $500 you gift, a small church will receive resources to strengthen unity in their congregation. Every $1,000 donated is applied to continued staff support. Online giving can be done through our Seeds of Unity, giving platform using this link: https://thechristianchain.networkforgood.com/projects/107549-seeds-of-unity.