Movement

Scholars Program

Accelerating A Global Gospel Movement at the 1,000 Cities Summit

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Unite. Equip. Transform. Multiply.

That was the theme when MOVEMENT.ORG hosted its 1,000 Cities Summit at the Museum of the Bible in Washington, DC, on May 16-17, 2025.

The annual Summit gathers leaders from the marketplace, the church, and parachurch arenas to collaborate around MOVEMENT.ORG’s vision to accelerate the gospel in 1,000 global cities. These urban centers have urgent social and spiritual needs—and Gospel movements are the key to lasting, transformational change.

Currently, MOVEMENT.ORG is impacting leaders in 300 cities on five continents.

MOVEMENT.ORG is UNITING the church to pray. It is EQUIPPING local leaders who know their cities best – enabling them to launch gospel movements that are TRANSFORMING communities through collaborative action. These same leaders are MULTIPLYING this vision across hundreds of cities globally.

At the 1,000 Cities Summit, Mac Pier, founder of MOVEMENT.ORG, recalled how that formula helped the Evangelical Church grow by 750% in New York City from 1989 to 2019. Since the inaugural Movement Day in New York in 2010, the Scholars Program and Movement Day events have been multiplied in hundreds of cities in the United States and globally.

“We have seen this tremendous growth in Manhattan and now see it happening around the world,” he said. “We are hopeful that, by the end of 2027, we will be active in 300 additional cities, bringing the total to 600. We are on a trajectory to fulfill our 1,000 Cities Vision by the year 2033.”

The Summit featured keynote messages from Steve Green, president of Hobby Lobby and Board Chair of the Museum of the Bible; Dr. Terry Smith, senior pastor of The Life Church, West Orange, New Jersey; and Dr. John Jenkins, senior pastor of First Baptist Church of Glenarden, Upper Marlboro, Maryland.

Another highlight of the Summit was reports from MOVEMENT.ORG’s regional leaders in Africa, South Asia, Brazil, and the Middle East, and an update on new regions in Central Asia, the Balkans, and Southeast Asia.

“We believe that we can multiply this vision in 1,000 cities over the next several years,” Mac Pier said. “This is not an arbitrary number. There are 4,000 cities around the world that have a population of more than 100,000. God cares for every person in every city.”

“I believe that if we have collective agreement and commitment to the future together, we can see God do some things that we believe will be world historic.”

TOGETHER WE CAN TRANSFORM CITIES: With your partnership, MOVEMENT.ORG is equipping leaders, uniting churches, and sparking Gospel Movements across the globe. Click here to give.

 

Scholars Program Is Empowering Women Across India

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“A defining moment.”

That’s how Dr. Kavitha Emmanuel, a pastor and marketplace leader in Chennai, India, described the difference the Movement Day Scholars Program has made in her life and city.

The founder of the Disruptive Women ministry, Kavitha leads a movement that seeks to disrupt the status quo by giving women a voice in a culture where they are marginalized and by helping to give them a seat at the table when it comes to leadership in the Church.

“India is considered one of the most dangerous places in the world for women and girls,” Kavitha said. “There is human trafficking, institutionalized violence against women, domestic violence, and a high suicide rate. In the family structure, women very often do not have a voice.”

For the last three years, Disruptive Women has continued to multiply in South Asia by hosting Esther Challenge events at churches during the month of March (Women’s History Month). In 2025, 18 different cities signed up for the Esther Challenge.

“We welcome churches to not only celebrate women but also study the gaps that exist in communities and families,” Kavitha said.

Kavitha was inspired to start Disruptive Women in Chennai after reading Mac Pier’s book, A Disruptive Gospel, and hearing Leticia Shelton (author of the Disruptive Women book series) speak during a Movement Day Scholars training event.

“All these things came together, and I felt the Spirit of God nudging me and saying, ‘You need to do something called Disruptive Women in India.’ I am really excited about what God is doing with a small seed that has begun to take root and grow.”

As the Disruptive Women’s movement grows, cities will be transformed. Kavitha is simply not satisfied with a “few women here and there” in leadership positions, especially when you consider that more than 50 percent of church attendees in India are women.

“The end goal is to accelerate the Great Commission,” she said. “We cannot reach the whole city with the whole gospel if half of God’s image is absent. We need women at the tables. We need to reach women.”

USA Scholar Fosters Prayer, Collaboration Among Churches

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Elizabeth Duncan

By Elizabeth Duncan, Williamsburg, Virginia

How has the Movement Day Scholars Program impacted your city?

The Scholars program has opened my eyes to the vast opportunities for churches, government agencies and non-profits to unite with the same mission of building up the local community. The program gives a platform to join the nations in a global effort, while putting boots to the ground in our own localities. In our city, we are seeing churches partnering together to love schools with tangible provisions for students at risk of food insecurity. Other churches are building relationships with teachers and students to provide encouragement and/or tutoring.

By attending the Scholars program, I heard many testimonies of cities flourishing as they regularly pray together. Prayer seems to be the common theme of momentum and quality of relationships. We have implemented monthly prayer meetings and this year we will have three larger prayer gatherings throughout 2024. We are excited to see what God has in store for Greater Williamsburg!

Elizabeth Duncan is the Outreach Director at Williamsburg Community Chapel in Williamsburg, Virginia.

Creating Gospel Ecosystems in Brazil

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Samuel Lima

By Samuel Lima, São Paulo, Brazil

How has the Movement Day Scholars Program impacted your city?

The impact of the Movement Day Scholars Program in Brazil is significant. By nurturing a new generation of leaders equipped with holistic theological understanding and cross-cultural competency, this program holds the promise of catalyzing transformation, innovation, and flourishing across Brazilian cities.

With the world’s ninth largest economy, Brazil is a major financial player. However, challenges like poverty, violence, corruption, and social inequality remain. The Brazilian church reflects this dichotomy. There is rapid growth, with evangelicals comprising 30 percent of the population, but the church also faces pressing issues like doctrinal inconsistencies, church divisions, and the inability to enact tangible social change.

The Movement Day Scholars Program is helping meet the need for localized resources, training, and mentorship. In Brazil, the program is a conduit for fostering unity, collaboration, and renewal within the church. As we embark on ambitious endeavors to establish cohorts and launch Movement Day initiatives in Brazil’s 10 most strategic cities, our vision extends beyond mere evangelism to the creation of Gospel ecosystems that nurture spiritual and social abundance.

Samuel Lima is the Movement Day Scholars Program Coordinator for Brazil.