Racial reconciliation is all about relationships. At least once a month, pastors and other leaders from your community should gather together to pray, fellowship, and discuss important topics related to racial reconciliation. 

We call this meeting “The Table” because these meetings and conversations happen best over a meal. We encourage your group to consider meeting regularly for breakfast or lunch as you work to develop relationships, build trust, and pursue unity with one another.

Our Recommendations:

This is the most important part of the process. When pastors embrace this cause and commit to pursuing racial reconciliation together, it will have a tremendous impact on their churches and communities. Ask the Lord to help you commit and lead courageously and to bring along other leaders to join you in these efforts.

Start with relationships you already have. 

• Connect with pastors and leaders in your area who are passionate about racial reconciliation, and invite others who are open to discussing these issues. 
• Aim to assemble a diverse group representing not only different ethnicities but different traditions, worship styles, and backgrounds.

Agree on the gospel and have a kingdom mindset.

• Your efforts are only as solid as their foundation. Agree at the outset that the only source of redemption and reconciliation is the gospel of Jesus Christ. Agree together that the Scriptures are the very best guide and ultimate authority over all of your efforts. Remember that gospel-centered racial reconciliation is not about one pastor or one church, but about seeing God’s kingdom made visible as his people pursue unity.

Commit to the process.

• Talking about race among a diverse group of people is never easy, even for spiritual leaders. Remember that the goal of racial reconciliation is worth enduring moments of tension and difficulty. Commit to the work and keep showing up.

Meet regularly and share meals.

• Gather at the table at least once a month for food, fellowship, and conversation.
• Sharing meals together is a natural way to spend time with one another and begin to build relationships and break down barriers.
• Learn each other's stories as you meet together. The more you know and care for one another, the stronger your work together will be.

Pray together and prioritize discussions.

• Pray together each time you gather. Ask the Lord to unite your hearts and minds in Christ and to guide the conversations you will share.
• Choose a topic of discussion for your meeting and set some ground rules. You can utilize discussion guides or consider other topics of interest to the group.
• You will likely find no shortage of opinions. Treat the discussions as opportunities to learn and understand rather than argue or debate.

Welcome others.

• As your group begins meeting together regularly, continue to look for opportunities to invite other pastors and Christian leaders in your community to your meetings. You may agree to discuss these invitations as a group or encourage all members to bring other pastors and leaders to the table.

Stay at the table. 

• At some point, you will be tempted to quit or walk away. When that happens, remember what brought you to the table in the first place. Racism creates deep and lasting wounds. Addressing those wounds is painful and difficult. Pastors and Christian leaders must lead the way forward. Stay at the table.

Go public.

• The Table largely takes place behind the scenes. It’s about creating an environment where leaders can talk together openly about difficult subjects. But eventually, that work will become public. This can take different forms, from pastors swapping pulpits to choirs or worship teams leading together at a public event.
• We encourage the members of The Table to work together to host an annual public event that we call “The Gathering.”

At least once a year, the leadership of “The Table” should coordinate and host a solemn assembly or joint worship service where the various congregations you represent can come together for prayer and worship. Simply coming together to sing, pray, and sit under the preached Word can have a powerful effect on breaking down racial barriers.

Our Recommendations:

• Bring your churches together.
• Plan a time to bring your churches together for a combined gathering. This gathering can take many different forms, such as a prayer service, a solemn assembly, a worship service, or a mini-conference.
• Strongly encourage members of your church to participate.
• Recruit the necessary personnel to assist with planning, promotion, and facilitating the gathering.
  

Invite the community.

• Leverage your local churches’ communications channels, as well as your own personal networks, to invite members of the community.
• Aim to make the event a public display of unity among Christians in your area.
  

Pray for your community and local leaders.

• Plan time to pray specifically for your community and its local leaders. Identify specific challenges or needs in your area and invite members of The Table to lead by offering specific prayers. 
• Pray also for unity among pastors and churches in your area.
• Consider highlighting difference makers in your community who are sometimes overlooked, such as principals, teachers, or coaches, and praying for them at the event.
  

Focus on unity and share the gospel.

• Keep the event focused on the message of reconciliation. It is only through the gospel and reconciling work of Jesus that we can be reconciled to one another.
• Use the event as an opportunity to share the gospel and invite attendees to place their faith in Jesus.

Cast a vision and challenge attendees to act.

• Help attendees embrace your desire to see healing come to your city through gospel-centered racial reconciliation.
• Challenge attendees to be a part of that process by being “ambassadors of reconciliation” in their daily lives (2 Cor. 5:18).

Capture contact information from attendees to communicate with them in the future.

RECOMMENDED GROUND RULES*
With a few solid ground rules, the discussions you will share together will lead to greater understanding among all members of the group. Some conversations will be difficult, and participants will not always agree. That’s okay. Take the long view and keep talking.

Agree together on these or a similar set of ground rules for your meetings:

● Believe the best in other people.
● Seek to be a learner; ask questions if you desire to know more about what someone is sharing.
● If something is said that you find offensive, respond with grace and truth. Do not attack, demean, or belittle.
● Do not interrupt when someone else is speaking.
● Treat discussions as a time to listen, learn, and seek understanding. Avoid offering unsolicited advice.
● Do not dominate or monopolize the conversation.
*Adapted from The Pledge Group's "Shrink the Divide" curriculum. 
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DISCUSSION GUIDES
The goal of these discussions is to facilitate honest conversations that allow people to share, ask questions, and seek greater insight and understanding. We recommend you take advantage of a structured curriculum designed for small groups to guide your initial conversations.

• The Pledge Group–a racial reconciliation ministry in Mobile, Alabama–offers a free 7-week curriculum entitled Shrink the Divide for small groups that includes brief videos (5-10 minutes) along with leader guides and materials for participants.

• The Church and the Racial Divide offers a 6-week video-based curriculum featuring evangelical leaders addressing key topics and barriers related to racial reconciliation.