Beloved Community 101: An Invitation is a video-based small group curriculum exploring the characteristics of what it means to be the Beloved Community. We will take a look at the 7 characteristics that the early Church starts displaying when they receive the infilling of the Holy Spirit and start living on mission in community.

The Beloved Community

The deepest longing of humanity is to love and be loved by God; to love and be loved by one another; to live from eternity within the heart.

As God so loved the world, He sent his beloved son to heal and restore the world.
“Your love for one another will prove to the world you are my disciples.” -Matthew 13:35
“A new command I give you: to love one another as I have loved you.” -John 13:34

What does a community formed in and living from love look like?

We see the formation of the Beloved Community in the pouring out of the Spirit in Acts 2. As the Spirit pours out as promised by Jesus, the ekklesia is transformed through belovedness, spilling out into the world to be love. We see creation as good and beautiful beside the longing to be restored. We see others as good and beautiful beside the longing to be made whole. We seek the reviving of the soul and spirit of the body of Christ.

When the Spirit of God is poured out on His people and the Church embraces its identity and leans into union with one another, we believe these are the characteristics that will emerge:

The Imago Dei - We see the image of God in one another. Jesus was the beloved Son of God and invites us into the beloved togetherness. Genesis 1:27 says everyone is made in His image!

All things in common. The Church must lead the way. This is based on awareness and driven by the Holy Spirit. It is not enforced or coerced, but rather is an outflow of transformation in hearts fully surrendered to Christ. We will ask, “How can I not take care of my brothers and sisters?“ Genesis 4:9 “Am I my brother’s keeper?” When we are full of the Holy Spirit, the answer is a resounding YES!

Solidarity with the poor, the oppressed, the sick & the sorrowful. In Matthew 5, Jesus unveiled the intersection of loving God and loving our neighbor through the Beatitudes. When we are living this out, we are putting the poor at the center of our thinking.

Peacemakers. Conflict is an inevitable part of the human experience, but we believe it can always be resolved peacefully. Seek to win friendship. Romans 14:19 “So then, let us pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another.”

Differences are valued and celebrated. We are one body, many parts (1 Corinthians 12:12). We believe everyone is invaluable and irreplaceable. When everyone is valued, we will ALL feel a sense of belonging and different expressions will be a natural part of who we are.

Justice. Micah 6:8 says the Lord requires us to act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with our God. This scripture speaks to how we treat each other AND how we seek moral uprightness. One without the other will be distorted.

Service. We will serve one another in the manner of 1 Peter 4:10-11.

From Diversity to Unity to Beloved Community

Diversity - Diversity means having a range of people with various racial, ethnic, socioeconomic, and cultural backgrounds. It’s something we don’t have to work for and doesn’t require love.

Unity - Oneness of purpose. It is working together in harmony toward a shared vision and goal. We are united as we are one body. This is not something we strive for, but rather something we surrender to.

Beloved Community - Embracing what Jesus teaches us—a society based on justice, equal opportunity, and love of one's fellow human beings. In love, it embraces and values “we” more than “me,” embedding the “me” in the fullness of “we.” It is a growing, expansive state of harmony, a community where people are beloved by God and becoming the beloved.

Next Steps

Initiative Progress - In the first quarter of 2021, NCC Leadership and Staff have made progress toward our 2020-21 Multicultural Vision.
Below are a few selected action steps taken toward the three main initiatives.

Initiative 1: Awareness and Learning in Community

Six-week “Beloved” Sermon Series

NCC Daily - Daily devotional focused on Beloved Community during this series that ties the vision to theology, personal story, and the arts.

Upper Zoom - Invited diverse speakers to pray and share their stories to uplift and educate the community.

Leadership Lab - Training our leaders in the definition and work in becoming a Beloved Community.

Listen and Learn:

A 5 part series on Racism in America, covering topics such as gentrification, education, mass incarceration & the Church.

A celebration of Women’s History month, interviewing Mrs. Virginia Ali, Owner of Ben’s Chili Bowl, sharing her story, challenges and success as an entrepreneur throughout the decades of a changing landscape in DC.

Initiative 2: Staff Training - Strategic Priorities & Partnerships

The NCC staff team is engaging in ongoing training with the Bridge Leader Network. We have completed two trainings:

Training 1: Multicultural Matrix - We focused on the pros and cons of where we are currently as a staff and church. This helped us gain perspective of our current reality and how we can expand into a greater multicultural experience.

Training 2: Five “S” Multicultural Schematic - We were tasked to have conversations around mission and vision to make sure they are saying what we want them to say as a church. This led us to add another core conviction that we’ve been verbalizing for a while now: “The church ought to be the most diverse place on the planet.” We will continue to refine our messaging. https://national.cc/about/core-convictions

Financial Resources Budgeted for Minority Scholarships and Business Development
Our stewardship and executive leadership team approved a budget for NCC to grant scholarships to students from DC for college and minority start-up businesses.

Initiative 3: Organizational & Congregational Development

Reconcile Resources
We will continue to update more resources and learning information to help assist you in your journey.

All Departments have developed Action Plans
Each of our departments has written an action plan for this semester as they have been challenged by our Executive Leadership Team to create S.M.A.R.T. goals to help us move forward. We know that this is a marathon and not a sprint, and we petition your prayers as we are committed to this work. If you have specific questions about the plans for a department that you volunteer for, we encourage you to contact the Ministry Lead.

Development of Staff Advisory Team
The advisory team is composed of individuals of different genders, generations, departments, and/or other dimensions of diversity from National Community Church staff. The team will offer feedback and assist in accomplishing the annual focus points provided by the ELT.