March 2025 Update | The Initiative

Thanks so much for reading this month‘s news from The Initiative, a community committed to “walking in deeper friendship with Jesus and his followers, so that the love of Christ might exceed all divisions.” We do this primarily through prayer, sharing of our lives, and proactive work for greater unity.

This month, we’re featuring the newest book release from our founder, John Armstrong and some ways that you can engage with him and the community around the book. We’re also inviting you to join us in June for our national gathering and highlighting a conference at the end of the month.

The Transforming Fire of Divine Love

You may have noticed (it’s right there at the top of this newsletter) that the ‘tag line’ of The Initiative is “Love Greater than Division”. Where did it come from? Well, it really emerged through the multi-year formation process of our community. As we gradually discerned the purpose of our community (a way of friendship with Jesus and his followers) the goal came into focus too: “so that the love of Christ might exceed all divisions”
As our founder, John Armstrong’s own story – what he describes in the subtitle as his “long, slow journey into the love of God” – was an essential part of forming both the purpose and the goal of The Initiative. Nearly six years into his retirement, John has given us – and the whole church – the gift of capturing that story in this new book. And we want all of our members and friends to have a chance to read and engage with the book:

You can order the book directly through the publisher. And if you do that before April 1st and use the code “Fire”, you can also get a 40% discount on the price.
The Initiative is also going to host two book conversations with John on Zoom during the second week of April (the week before Holy Week, a great time to go deeper into this story of God’s love!):

Monday, April 7 at 1:00pm Eastern time – Join here
Wednesday, April 9 at 7:30pm Eastern time – Join here

It will be helpful, but definitely not necessary, to read the book first. We hope many of you will join us for one of those conversations!

Join us in June for our summer gathering!

We’d love to have you with us in Chicago from June 16-18!
We’ll have 48 hours together to experience encounter across difference, to examine the core “way” and practices of The Initiative, and to discern what deeper experiences into the way of love and unity God may be inviting you personally and us together. This gathering will also be the collaborative engine that will help us nurture the growth of “love greater than division.”
Click here or below to access the registration page. And we don’t want money to be a barrier to your being there, so there are scholarships available to help with housing or transportation. If you have any questions or want more information, reply to this email or reach out to info(at)the initiative(dot)org.

Resource of the Month

At the end of the month, the Focolare Community will be hosting an important ecumenical conference in Rome. Tom Masters (member of our Leadership Council & the Focolare) and I will both have the amazing privilege of being there in person.
But portions of the conference will be available to participate in via livestream. You can find out more information about it here and register through this link if you’d like to be a part of the livestream.
Please do be praying for us

As we begin the annual journey of Lent and the historic disciplines of fasting, praying and giving during this season, I am deeply grateful for everyone who reads these updates and especially for how we are enriched through your prayers and generosity.
May our Lord walk closely with us and deepen our love for Him and for one another as we renounce self-indulgence and experience more of that purifying and transforming fire of His love.