Randy Phillips, pastor of PromiseLand West church, serves on the ABBA-facilitated Pastors Strategic Council. He said that collaborating with other pastors has opened his eyes and changed his perspective.
“I get to sit next to some of the most powerful leaders in our city in terms of faith and it’s a real contagious spirit,” Phillips says. “That really changes your heart and you start seeing things in terms of we instead of me. It’s really been liberating.”
Phillips points to the annual multi-denominational Good Friday services he and his church have held in coordination with 11 other pastors and their congregations as an example of what collaboration can accomplish. “The first year we raised $27,000 for the Capital Area Food Bank. The next year we gave $35,000 to AIDS Services of Austin. Last year we raised more than $25,000 for the International High School of Austin.”
Several pastors on the council, including Phillips, are now teaming to produce a Veterans Day celebration Nov. 11, featuring former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and country music legend Larry Gatlin and the Gatlin Brothers for to raise funds for a local nonprofit that serves veterans.
“When I first got involved in the council about a year ago I thought it would be a lot of churches getting together to compare notes,” Phillips says. “It was bigger than I had dreamed of in the area of helping schools, feeding the homeless, etc.
“I now see churches around me as allies instead of my competition,” he adds. “I feel empowered because I’m not alone. I feel the responsibility of us winning together instead of me winning alone.”
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