Seventeen Murfreesboro churches are uniting around a mission to serve the community.

The time that these congregations would normally spend in their individual churches Sunday morning, Oct. 17, will be invested in collaborative service efforts throughout the city.

The project is called Church Outside the Walls (COTW), and is intended to demonstrate the love of Christ in very practical ways with no strings attached.

The project motto – “Love Works” – is a dual reference to the affect God’s love is having in participating churches.

One leader explained, “Love has brought about ongoing change in our lives and it compels us to live out that change for the good of our community.”

One of the most exciting aspects of this project for COTW churches is the growing unity despite the marked diversity.

Participating pastors have said that they are choosing to unite around essential core truths instead of focusing on non-essential differences or preferences. “We’re not identifying ourselves as individual churches for this event,” said one pastor. “If somebody asks us what group we’re with, we’ll say we’re part of the city church; the body of Christ.”

COTW emerged as a result of Murfreesboro pastors who meet weekly to pray for challenges and opportunities both inside and outside their churches. One pastor commented, “It’s wonderful to pray for each other’s needs and know that we’re not in this alone.”

Combining church resources and congregational members, the 17 churches will simultaneously scatter throughout the city to more than 30 locations with more than 2,000 people working at school facilities, gas stations, city property, housing projects and assisted living facilities. Their jobs will include widespread landscaping, painting, free carwashes, and general cleanup.

Upon completing the projects, COTW churches will join together for a celebration picnic. One member reflected, “Church Outside the Walls truly shows that ultimately, we’re all one family working toward the same goal: to make a difference in our community motivated by the love of Christ.

This gives us a great context to positively impact our city and see beyond our own church buildings and congregations.”

The Oct. 17 project is the second citywide Church Outside the Walls and is planned to be an annual event.

For more information on future partnership with  Church Outside the Walls, send an email to COTWMurfreesboro@gmail.com.