Neighborhood Oriented Churches

Well December’s almost here, and life is busy. With an upcoming move to Rochester, our first baby on its way, and a lot change happening at my church, a lot has been on my mind. Much of my recent musing has to with church, ministry, & things I believe God is really calling Sarah & I to live out in our lives. One area that has really been on my heart for the Church is community.

To quote a favorite author of mine, Robert Webber, I firmly believe that the Church “must rediscover the concept of neighborhood.” To me, most churches today seem to be so consumer oriented, meaning they target a very specific ‘brand’ of person; therefore people commute to church to attend one that meets their needs. (No wonder there’s a lack of diversity in our churches. We try to fill them with people just like us). All the while, the people right next to us are ignored.

I believe our sense of community suffers when those in our local church are scattered all over the place, in different parts of a city. To me, true community means living life together, not just going to church and perhaps a small group during the week. As Brian McLaren says, “Community has become a buzzword in the church in recent years. Overbusy individuals hope they can cram it into their overstuffed schedules like their membership to a health and fitness club (which they never have time to use).” Community is costly. It requires time spent, meals shared; slowing down to recognize those around us. Webber remarks “our modern buildings and sprawling suburbs prevent relationships from happening…What has been lost is spontaneous relationships, availability of people for each other, frequency of being together, common meals, and geographical locations where people live close to each other. The solution is building neighborhood churches” where “local communities of people gather to be church together.”

Smaller, neighborhood-oriented churches, comprised of people who live close to each other, have some advantages over larger ones. People curious of Christianity get to see firsthand life being lived under Christ’s lordship daily. Resources are easily shared. It’s easier for newcomers to get to know people. Local problems can be solved at a grassroots level. People who live close together and have common experiences are more likely to find an identity together. History proves this. As settlers moved west of the Appalachian Mountains in the 18^th century, our first Presidents were worried that these people would end up building a different nation because of their geographic separation. To keep the country together, they built the Erie Canal to bridge the separate communities together. Another example is the current Canadian debate over Quebec that’s been in the news.

My point is that it’s only natural for strong communities to develop where people are committed to locality and where day-to-day life is shared. I recall a few years ago at our current church, we had different small groups going on. And there was one group in particular that lived in a different area of the valley (in Tempe, close to the University) than most of the rest of the church. This small group saw each other often and really formed a tightly knit community. After a while, they kind of lost touch with the church, and eventually they became a house church/Bible study that still exists today. At the time, a lot of us in church leadership were concerned about it, but looking back, it was a very natural thing to happen.

I’ve found this to be true in my own life. That same church that Sarah and I are still a part of used to gather at a local high school a couple miles from where we live. Many of the people in the church lived in the same general area. We had opportunities to hang out, eat together, see movies, and gather for prayer and Bible study often. But two years ago, the church moved to downtown Phoenix. I was disappointed when it happened, because an aspect of the church that first drew me there was their heart for the northwest valley. In the end I totally understood their reason to move there: to establish a presence in the art community and to be closer to those in immediate need. But over time, many of the people around us ended up moving to different parts of the valley. And ever since, much of our sense of community (living life together) has just died. As much as I love Oneplace, a big part of me would rather just go to a church down the street than constantly have to commute farther distances for worship and fellowship.

I’m really excited about a church in Rochester that we really look forward to connecting with when we move. This church is really doing all they can to encourage people to live in community. There’s a bunch of them who purposefully live in the same immediate neighborhood together. They share stuff, help with stuff, and see each other a lot. Whenever a house in the area becomes available, they let the church know, and their community there keeps on growing. That is something that we long to be a part of.

If our churches truly become neighborhood oriented, local churches will stop trying to attract particular type of people from all over the place, and will instead intently focus on the people around them. And consequently, I would encourage Christians to go to a community-oriented church close to home or move close to their current church to truly live in community. I would challenge my current church, Oneplace, that if it really is rooted downtown, it should get imaginative and do all it can to encourage people to live there. One of the cool things is that this is actually beginning to happen! I know numerous people that are looking into moving downtown. If Sarah and I were staying in Phoenix, we would definitely look into doing the same. We've made a decision that never again do we want to live in one area and go to church in another.