Our Mission:
Connections for good.
Followers of Jesus coming together to serve our city
What if we joined together to serve our community and multiply our impact?
Each person and congregation has unique strengths that reflect God’s plan for us individually and our neighborhood. We also have limitations and blind spots where we need each other. Unite Philly, the ministry of Cru City in Philadelphia, believes our city will flourish spiritually and physically as churches come together across our racial, socio-economic, and denominational silos.
Our role
Philadelphia is a place of much beauty as well as brokenness. Unite Philly brings Christians together with simple, meaningful actions to address the complex issues of our city. Some examples include:
Opioid epidemic
Though the opioid epidemic is well known, it can be difficult to know how to serve. We look to act as a conduit of service as well as education to the larger community. Click here to learn the physical needs at the New Day Drop-In Center and/or drop us an email to be the first to know when we announce the training seminar that Covid postponed.
Food Insecurity
As seniors during Covid strained to obtain affordable food in a safe manner, we worked with Easter Outreach to set up a network of volunteer delivery drivers to pick up food from pantries and Senior Centers to our elders in need. It was great to see so many Christians from across the region step up during this crisis.
Education
Working with the Philadelphia Gospel Movement, we convene and encourage brothers and sisters from across the region to develop church/school partnerships. Sign up to commit to praying for your local school and take steps to deepen the relationship between your church and local school at: everyphilly.school
“May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them.”
Jesus Christ / John 17:23
About us
Dave and Katie Brindley, missionaries with Cru, moved to Philadelphia 10 years ago to launch Cru’s ministry to international students. After growing a team to launch ministries at universities across the region, they handed the ministry over to their staff to launch Cru City. As you can see below, they are all about partnerships. Click on Dave or Katie to connect with them.
Global Connect
The best and the brightest from around the world come to our universities. Many organizations are seeing the strategic nature of this new mission field. Along with Cru, both InterVarsity and ISI also have staff in Philly. Instead of 3 separate organizations, Dave helped bring them together in a new group, called Global Connect. This allowed them to sync calendars, share volunteers, and each focus on what they do best.
family Homework night
The top elementary focus of the Mayor and School District is to see every child read at grade level by 4th grade. There are many ways for citizens to serve during school hours and directly after school, but not many opportunities for people who work 9-5. We launched Family Homework Night, which brought together 4 diverse churches to serve students at Robert Morris Elementary in Brewerytown. The City even wrote about this new initiative.
Not in Philly
At the end of a long day, Dave would pick up the litter on their block about once-a-week. He hated this sign of hopelessness that was conveyed to children in the neighborhood. After a couple years, he thought about a program where citizens could easily indicate that they would also weekly pick up the litter on their block. Outside of ministry, he worked with the tech and environmental community to create NotinPhilly.org, with now over 1,600 members!
partnering Financially with our ministry
We are honored to minster in Philadelphia through the generous financial support of our partners.
