40 Days Initiative: Impacting CT Through Worship, Prayer and Unity

Aug 21, 2013 | UA News

Article by Urban Alliance staff.

Seven churches and organizations who are participants in the Urban Alliance network and one Urban Alliance initiative will host several evenings of worship as part of this year’s 40 Days of Worship Initiative, an interdenominational statewide initiative to unify the Body of Christ in Connecticut.

Worship hosts include First Church of Christ Wethersfield, The Hartford Project, Trinity Covenant Church, Valley Brook Community Church, The First Cathedral, House of Restoration, Citadel of Love and Wintonbury Church.

The 40 Days of Worship initiative consists of 40 gatherings over 40 consecutive days at 40+ different locations across the state. More than 100 churches and ministries of various denominations and ethnic communities are participating in the 40 Days of Worship, which are tied together by three themes: extravagant worship, prayer, and unity.

Rick McKinniss, senior pastor at Wellspring Church, describes how Impact Connecticut began, “Impact Connecticut is a vision and a dream that the Lord has been nurturing in my heart for many years. In 1999 the Lord spoke to me clearly, ‘I want you to claim Connecticut for my Kingdom every day. Ask me for bigger nets.’ I knew that this was not a ‘me word,’ but it was a corporate call. Nets speak of relational connections for a great in-gathering of souls (John 21:11).”

Each event is free and open to the public. 

Click here to view a calendar of 40 Days of Worship events.

The staff at Urban Alliance are familiar with Pastor Frank because he is a regular attendee to many of the trainings Urban Alliance provides on subjects like domestic violence, addressing childhood trauma, and better counseling techniques. “That’s been so valuable to me to be able to bring that back, not only in my counseling but also in my teaching and preaching ministries, “ shared Termine.

Pastor Frank was also one of the original members of the Micah group, a group of pastors that meets at Urban Alliance to discuss and strategize about challenging issues that face the church today. One of those earlier discussions on justice, incarceration, and returning citizens was particularly memorable. “We all lamented the fact that these men and women were coming out of prison into our churches and just kind of being thrown there,” said Termine, “We could do better than this.” That discussion planted the seeds that eventually led to the creation of Second Chance Churches – an opportunity for churches to provide support and mentoring to returning citizens that continues today.

When we asked Pastor Frank what he would say to another church that was unaware of Urban Alliance, he said, “If you are looking to get out in the community and make a difference in the community, Urban Alliance is a super way to do it. We’re a small church … we can’t do everything. Urban Alliance is a pathway to get our people involved in ministries that are already doing it, doing it well, and just need extra volunteers.”

Pastor Frank Termine’s story embodies many things we are trying to accomplish at Urban Alliance: supporting organizations in the communities they serve with training, resources, and opportunities to make a difference. Pastors and non-profit leaders face a wide range of challenges and, therefore, need a wide range of help and resources. Your support can help turn stories of struggle into stories like you find at Calvary Church.

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