As the CityONE website sets to launch on September 1st, I wanted to post the official press release as a way to give you a little more background on the heart behind this unified effort. Feel free to pass this around…
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
CHARLOTTEONE LAUNCHES NATIONAL “CITYONE NETWORK” WITH HOPES OF REFORMING THE WAY LOCAL CHURCHES REACH 20-30SOMETHINGS
CharlotteONE, a city-wide outreach service for 20-30somethings announces CityONE Network, which seeks to connect 20-30somethings into local churches at a time when they are dropping out of the church at five to six times the historic rate (Pew Forum).
CHARLOTTE – September 1, 2011 – David Hickman, founder of CharlotteONE, a thriving young professional outreach service in Charlotte, North Carolina, recently announced plans to take their collaborative outreach model to 20-30somethings national with the launch of CityONE Network on September 1st, 2011.
CityONE Network’s vision is to empower local churches in cities across the nation to reach 20-30somethings together. This collaborative outreach model is currently supported by over 40 local churches in Charlotte and reaches between 500-600 young professionals on Tuesday nights in Uptown Charlotte. According to a recent survey at CharlotteONE, close to one in two (42%) of young professionals connected to a local church and one in three stated they were introduced to the person of Jesus Christ through their efforts. A staggering 78% of those surveyed stated they have chosen to remain living in Charlotte due to CharlotteONE and the connections they have made through it, which has attracted the attention of city officials.
In April of this year, CityONE Network launched their first affiliate city in Phoenix, AZ. Today, PhoenixONE has 10 partnering churches, and they are reaching close to 700 20-30somethings on Tuesday nights in downtown Phoenix.
The CityONE Network directors have made it clear that their goal is not to compete with local churches. Instead, they hope to bring a sense of unity among them to specifically reach a demographic that is walking away from the Church in staggering numbers. CityONE Network is excited about the possibility of being a catalyst in reforming the way local churches have traditionally reached 20-30somethings in their cities.
The Barna Research Group reveals close to 60% of young professionals want little or nothing to do with Christ or church. In the book, unChristian, co-author David Kinnaman explains what was once viewed as a life-changing, radical movement of social justice, young professionals now find boring, irrelevant, and out of touch. General Social Surveys estimate one in four people aged 18-29 describe their religion as “none.” CityONE Network is responding to these concerns by empowering local churches in cities to have a relevant, energizing, multi-church outreach service to remind young professionals of the importance of Christ, the local church, and community.
Contacts
CityONE Network Executive Director
David Hickman
980-233-9073
dave@cityonenetwork.org
