ONE Sunday

In John 17, Jesus prayed that his followers would be one, so that the world would know Him by their unity. That prayer is the idea behind ONESunday, an initiative from Operation Andrew Group (OAG), a Nashville nonprofit that partners with local churches to help congregations love God, love their neighbors, and see their communities flourish.

Last year, as OAG marked its 25th anniversary, the organization wanted to do more than celebrate. OAG wanted to name something true and uncomfortable: right now, the world knows the division of the Church far better than it knows the unity Christ prayed for. So OAG asked churches across Nashville to set aside just 5 minutes during a single Sunday service to pray for one another. Twenty-five churches said yes.

This year, on June 28, 2026, that number grew to more than 100 congregations. Some read John 17 aloud together. One pastor put up photos of a dozen nearby churches so his congregation could see the buildings as they prayed. It looked different from church to church, but the same heart was shared.

For Adam Buzard, Director of United4Pastors at Operation Andrew Group, the goal of this prayer event was never uniformity, but unity. “We know that division does not solve itself overnight,” he said, “but what if spending dedicated time praying for one another could move the needle in that direction?”

That kind of prayer isn’t always easy. Buzard describes it as exercising a muscle: praying for a church you disagree with, or simply don’t understand, can feel like a challenge at first. In an attempt to address that tension, Buzard encourages people to try it directly by driving past a church you’d normally pass without a second thought, praying for it, and noticing what shifts. Buzard admits that when he joined OAG hoping to unite Nashville’s pastors, he carried his own doubts about whether he could pray for those he disagreed with most. But those doubts have since faded. Today, he says, there isn’t a single pastor or congregation he wouldn’t pray for or want included in the broader Body of Christ.

The heart of ONESunday is to bring people earnestly following God together even when they land in different places. One of the clearest pictures of that came from a church that shares its worship space with several other congregations: on ONESunday, communities spanning different generations, countries, languages, ethnicities, and races gathered in that single room to worship and pray as one.

OAG is hoping that ONESunday continues, as well as a few other initiatives this fall. In October, United4Pastors will turn its attention to Pastor Appreciation Month and invite Nashvillians to share what’s happening in their own congregations — the good news, the challenges, the ways God is at work. United4Pastors wants to hear directly from you about how to love and support your pastor well.

If you’d like to share what’s happening in your congregation, or connect with Adam about ONESunday or Pastor Appreciation Month, reach out to adam.buzard@operationandrew.org.