Years ago the church provided a sense of community for most believers. People arrived at church with a mission to serve God but also a desire to connect with neighbors and friends. The church provided the feeling of community a generation ago. In the nineties, numerous churches started to develop churches in coffee shops to connect people in community. People were attending the coffee shops for more than java but a sense of belonging to something larger in life. The coffee culture is still strong but with today’s focus on fitness people are finding connection at the local gym. There are classes, games, and activities to connect people while working out. There are churches that will be using the gym point to attempt to connect to people in culture. This shows a huge shift in culture. Instead of the church being community, the church has to connect itself for a present community like a fitness club or a coffee shop. No longer does a church draw the sense of community as it did before. Instead of the draw being Jesus Christ, churches are looking for coffee and a treadmill to bring people in to a relationship with Jesus. I believe that we must restore the original sense of community within our churches. We have fallen too far from the nature of the church. When people think of a strong community, the idea of church should be first in the mind. What are some things we can do to establish the place of community in the church? The power of Christ must be stronger to a coffee smell.
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- Read “Starbucked”
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About The Author
Matthew is originally from Nova Scotia, Canada. He has a beautiful wife named Charity and a precious baby named Gabrielle. He has graduated from the Brown Trail School of Preaching, Heritage Christian University with his Bachelors of Arts in Biblical Studies, Lipscomb University with his Master’s of Arts in Biblical Studies and his Master’s of Divinity at Freed-Hardeman University. He is presently working towards his Doctorate of Ministry at Harding Graduate School of Religion. His articles have appeared in the World Evangelist, the Highway to Holiness, The West Virginia Christian, The Christian Echo, The Firm Foundation, Church Growth, and the Gospel Advocate. He enjoys hockey, golf, boxing, and chess. In his spare time he enjoys reading numerous genres of books. Also, he is working on climbing all of the 14ers in Colorado. Matthew is the Pulpit Minister for the Castle Rock church of Christ.
A true sense of love would be the first one.
The reason that community forms in coffee shops so much easier than in a sterile boring worship service is the environment. There is no keeping up appearances or times to show up or leave. Nobody comes that really doesn’t want to come. There is diversity and mystery. Comun the root word for community simply means to share or have in common. The church people of yesteryear in America that you speak of Matthew were mostly white middle class. America is no longer white middle class even though the church is still overwhelmingly white middle class. The reason that people do not see church as a synonym with community is that church traditionally is not about sharing or having things in common.
The early church gave so that there was no one in need. The early church has a proportionate representation of surrounding demographics. It overcame racial, socio-economic and other barriers.
Let me ask you a question Matthew. When was the last time you had a significant friendship with some one who is not like you by race by age by socio-economic group? Have you ever had a poor person of different race over to your house to eat? Until we learn to do these things our churches will never become synonymous with community and the ever watching unbelieving world will continue to look for community in coffee shops, bars, gangs, and anywhere else that represents the community.
Actually, I believe the reason people no longer flock to churchs is that “Church” has lost its position of having any influence upon community. We can believe what we want, but in many quarters people (non-Christians) are not interested in what we have to say. What is the solution? Coffee shops, fitness gyms, etc… Incarnationally living in such places as salt, yeast, and light.
The gospel will have influence on such people only as much as we are willing to allow ourselves to incarnate the good news among such people in their favorites places of hang out, just as Jesus was willing to allow himself to incarnate the good news among the world by becoming human.
…And that is an easier said than done task.
Grace and peace,
Rex
Great Question Joe. Shockingly for being a white Canadian, when I was in Gallatin I had a ministry to those who lived in the projects (sorry for the term) over to the house all the time. I pretty much became a father to some of these kids. We had a lot of different people over to the home and I was over to their homes too.