The Low-Hanging Goal: Cultivating a Culture of Mutual Blessing

By Ryan C.

Photo by Kris-Mikael Krister on Unsplash‍ ‍

This article continues from Ryan’s earlier articles (What is water? and Repenting on the Pavement) - Once we have cultivated a heart of humility and mutual respect, we can move from theoretical unity to identifying "low-hanging goals" and practical strategies for mutual blessing that serve the wider kingdom.

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Beyond the theoretical beauty of unity lies a very practical, "low-hanging goal" that any Kingdom-minded leader can reach for: the posture of mutual blessing.

Mutual blessing is a strategic and spiritual starting point — where we choose to truly bless what the mainstream church is doing and, in turn, find ourselves blessed by them for the sake of the Kingdom.

The Goal Of Mutual Blessing

Even when our strategies differ, we are under a command to foster unity (Ephesians 4:1-6).

Ask yourself: What would it take to get mutual blessing? This means I truly bless what they are doing, and they bless what I am doing.

It starts with the realization that we are on the same team.

Ending The Competition

In most of our urban contexts, we aren't actually competing.

In Scotland, for example, 95% of the people do not attend church; movement leaders can focus more on that 95% while our existing church leader friends focus more of their time and resources on gathering and caring for the gathered people of God.

We can not only avoid competition, we can actually strengthen each other in the assignments God has given us as we build up His people and serve the lostness and brokenness in our cities.

Making Unity Visible

Unity becomes visible through practical acts of hospitality and prayer.

We have seen fruitful engagement where legacy churches gave our group keys to their building simply because we recognized their worth, thanked them with stories and shared meals together. We have also seen "nonstop fasting chains" involving people from different church backgrounds.

If we start with praying for what is on God's heart, it leads to more trust than starting with a discussion about methods.

Developing Harvest Teams From Within

Building respectful relationships can lead to exponential growth.

The "direct work" in the harvest is vital, but the "later work" of developing leaders is what creates multiplicative impact. By engaging with existing churches, we can find “the five guys” in a congregation (that is, the often frustrated apostolic types - male AND female!) and help develop them into teams that go back into the harvest. This benefits them, the Kingdom, and their leadership who often aren’t sure how best to help them.

The existing church becomes a partner in the harvest.

Conclusion

By focusing on these practical "low-hanging goals," we move beyond arguments about models and begin to model the unity Jesus prayed for.

Choosing Kingdom-mindedness and a posture of genuine service, we can unite with the broader body of Christ to "poke through the darkness" and see our cities transformed by a living relationship with Jesus.

Getting Practical

As you think about God's vision for your city and/or affinity group:

1) What is one "low-hanging goal" you could pursue this month to foster mutual blessing with existing expressions of the local church?

2) How does the "95% vs 5%" perspective change the way you view "competition" in your city?

3)Who are “the five guys" in the existing structures you’re connected with that you could help develop for the harvest?

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Grounded in hands-on harvest work in the UK, Ryan serves leaders and teams catalytically across the United Kingdom and in Europe. You can connect with him at https://www.godmovements.uk/.

This article is one of a series where Ryan explores how movement leaders can move beyond the "invisible water" of Western individualism to foster a radical, city-wide unity that makes the gospel plausible to our modern urban contexts.

© 2026 Ryan C. All rights reserved.