I’ve been thinking a lot about vision.
There’s this quote from Howard Thurman, he said this:
“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”
You probably know that Thurman was an incredibly influential Black American theologian who operated at the center of the civil rights movement. A mystic who had a vision. A leader who came alive at the idea of a world yet to be.
I’m deeply moved by this message.
Here’s what I know.
We are the kind of people who come alive at the idea of spreading sacred human connection and reconnecting our broken world one holy interaction at a time.
We are the kind of people who can see a world others are blind to — a world of togetherness. A world where people are applying the best aspects of their love-filled faith traditions to the important work of transforming how we all encounter each other.
We are the kind of people who come alive when we feel our understanding of God working in the space between us.
I really want to invite you into the vision of what BETWEEN could become.
Here’s what I’m dreaming about. Here is the vision that makes me come alive.
I envision hundreds of local BETWEEN chapters or groups or book clubs or local expressions of our core ideas all over the globe.
I envision literally millions of people in every time zone, in every village, and in every city on Earth feeling inspired to actively create sacred encounters every week because of our messages and care.
I envision people on every continent wearing little BETWEEN lapel pins and sipping out of BETWEEN coffee cups not because these are cheap pieces of swag, but because they are meaningful symbols of belonging to a movement that is inclusive of all and laser-focused on reconnecting the world.
I envision events — digital and in-person — organically led and radically equitable. Events that create space for everyone, events that lift up the quiet wise voices, and events that allow us to reclaim communities of faith in new ways.
I envision a world that understands that social justice starts with our ability to remember how to be social. We can’t be just if we can’t stand being with each other. BETWEEN is a ministry that is hyper-disciplined and knows that it is only and always about the sacredness of human connection.
I envision an ecosystem that we’ve co-created together — text messages, emails, videos, social posts, books, gatherings, podcasts, music, apps, service projects, big global events and local pop-up experiences. All of it meant to nurture the people in our orbit and inspire them to turn right around and fill their lives with sacred moments of connection.
I envision a movement that’s not held back by old financial models. We’re not asking people to tithe their way into belonging. Instead, we’re building BETWEEN through creative partnerships, events, grants, and entrepreneurial efforts — so we can stay free to serve people without asking for anything in return.
I envision a global circle of people who may never have met, but who recognize each other by the way they show up in the world — with warmth, with curiosity, and with reverence for every human encounter. A borderless tribe of sacred connection.
This isn’t just a new kind of church. It’s a resurrected idea of faith. We’re rescuing togetherness out from the institutional brick walls it’s been trapped inside, and echoing off of, for too long.
We’re reclaiming the idea of faith community — we’re inviting people into the simplest, most affirming, most accessible church on earth — the space between them and the next person they encounter.
And we need your help building this.
If any of this dream makes you come alive, then let’s build it together and give it to the world as our great gift.
My own faith tradition teaches me that we are called to build things like this. We don’t need fancy equipment or impressive titles. We don’t need the approval of the empire. We just need to go town to town… person to person… and share the good news that God and the heavenly world we long for is already being born right here, right now in the sacred space BETWEEN us.
I'm in!