At 15, One Christ Won City to glorify Jesus, help Agape

VENICE — One Christ Won City, which calls itself simply “a gathering of local followers of Jesus on the West Coast of Florida,” is celebrating 15 years of service to Christ with an event benefiting Agape Flights called “Just Jesus.”

Venice has never had an event just to thank Jesus for the area’s blessings, President Jim Foubister said.

The Sept. 28 event includes worship songs by Voices for Jesus; a showing of a documentary about OCWC; and a talk by circus star Nik Wallenda.

All proceeds will go to Agape’s missions in the Caribbean, adding to the estimated $1.7 million economic impact OCWC says it has had since it started with a statement of faith among local pastors with a passion for unity, Foubister said.

The number includes collecting and distributing tens of thousands of pounds of food; serving thousands of meals; giving out thousands of items of clothing and furniture; and providing nearly $100,000 in hurricane relief.

It also includes thousands and thousands of hours of volunteer labor, many of them expended during the group’s annual Make A Difference Day project in October, when volunteers swarm city parks to do clean up, repair equipment and spread mulch, among other tasks.

The inspiration, Foubister said, is a Bible passage that encourages motivating others to do good works by doing good works.

“We want to help people because Jesus would,” he said.

The genesisThe seed of OCWC was actually planted before the pastors first got together, Foubister said.

In 2007, he was doing hockey commentary on the Tampa Bay Lightning for BLAB-TV. On the ride back from Tampa, a friend told him they needed to do more to help the homeless.

They committed to living by the “red letter” of the Bible — a Bible in which the words attributed to Jesus are printed in red ink.

They started a Red Letter Society that met weekly at Panera Bread in Venice, and some pastors began dropping by for coffee. After a while, Foubister said, they decided they wanted to “get serious” about the group, realizing “we can do more together if we show grace to each other” by ignoring minor differences among their denominations and focusing on what they had in common: Jesus.

“When you’re in heaven, all the questions go away,” he said

The group’s first big event was a baptism in the Gulf of Mexico in September 2009, followed by a prayer challenge that November.

The pastors adopted the cornerstone statement of faith in 2010. It reads, in part: “We declare that we are on the same side working for the same cause — the advancement of the kingdom of God in southwest Florida and around the world,” with “we strive for unity and peace as the body of Christ” as the first affirmation under it.

Unity was Jesus’ last prayer before being arrested, Foubister said.

“Unity is a word, but it’s also a cause,” he said.

FollowersOCWC is most visible through its events and most faithful through its works, but the most important part of it is to nurture relationships among the pastors, who have been anointed by God, Foubister said.

“The pastors drive the unity; we just follow,” he said.

It’s the pastors who set the group’s agenda as well, and ensure that it’s “available for Christ,” who opens the doors to service opportunities, he said.

Projects like Make A Difference Day, food collection and distribution, and disaster recovery “give people a sense of helping, belonging and value, and you don’t have to go to church to do it,” he said.

“If you want to serve, we’re going to help you try to find a place to serve,” he said. “In the same way, if you need help, we’ll try to find it.”

OCWC is one of two groups “powering” Together We Can, along with Her Hands His Heart, a womens group founded by his wife, Chris.

A nonprofit, Together We Can connects people who want to share their resources with people who need help, mainly through a website where people can post household items they’re looking to donate or something they’re in need of.

Nonprofits can also use it to recruit volunteers.

OCWC is all about people glorifying Jesus, Foubister said, “but get involved.”

The regular meeting at Panera is still going strong, 860 weeks later.