When I helped develop Angie’s List (now Angi’s), a database enabling users to search for home service contractors, I knew those listing their services weren’t necessarily happy being displayed alongside their competitors. Yet something unexpected happened as more and more opted in: they built a community that was benefitting millions of people looking for home help. This, in turn, benefitted the service providers as well.
In my work with other large chains (Blockbuster, Boston Market, and Einstein/Noah Bagel to name just a few), I became fascinated with a concept I call “collective might,” which is simply the idea that joining together unlocks benefits we wouldn’t have access to individually. Or in biblical terms, “Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor” (Ecclesiastes. 4:9).
And in business terms, collective might involves consolidating contributions (money, information, goods and services) to get the benefit of scale—merging and streamlining so that everyone wins.
In fact, collective might is absolutely central to the mission of the Church today. God actually designed us to collaborate. In a time when leaders are tired, weary of division, and unable to scale the ways they want to serve, leveraging the power of collective might—with each of us playing our unique part—is the best way forward. And collective might doesn’t just apply to large-scale ecosystems like the Church, but rather, it can be released at every level—from cities and associations to any given church and its members.
For collective might to be released, certain factors need to be present, namely relationships and connectivity.
This is what led us to start Gloo, the platform that releases the collective might of the faith ecosystem. Every day, we connect ministry leaders to people, opportunities, content, and more so they can ultimately change more lives.
One example is He Gets Us, the biggest national ad campaign inviting people to explore Jesus. The campaign’s message—that Jesus understands our human struggles—shows up online, at sporting events on billboards and in TV ads, including two spots in the 2023 Super Bowl, which reached over 100 million people.
One group alone couldn’t handle the creative, marketing, funding, prayer and connection points needed to power a movement that reaches people at this scale. Gloo stepped in to create more connection between the campaign and churches who want to get involved. An effort this big has only come to fruition through multiple participants contributing their talents, skills, and resources together.
Collective might creates opportunities that may otherwise not have existed. At Gloo, we work with partners that connect with new people through outreach ads, content, prayer and events. When individuals intersect with these partners and respond with questions about faith, or a need for prayer or support, we connect them with nearby churches or ministries.
With more than 200,000 connections made, we’ve only scratched the surface of our potential. These connections showcase the power of collective might to create opportunities to help every person be all they were born to be.
