Issue link: http://denverseminary.uberflip.com/i/1041431
ENGAGE 21 comeback of the neighborhood church, and we should celebrate the return of small-scale, authentic discipleship. I pastor one such neighborhood church in the Fillmore area of Colorado Springs, Colorado. We are situated between two college campuses in a low-income neighborhood, where many Millennials and their new families reside. The demands of this demographic are challenging. They desire to see our church build a reputation of charity and generosity within the city blocks where we minister. Our uniformly Millennial church staff shares these desires, so we seek tangible ways to minister in our neighborhood. As I headed to the church one Monday morning, I decided to drive the streets near our church building to pray for our neighbors. I came upon a sad looking strip mall tucked away from any major street. It contained several businesses that appeared to be hanging by a thread. I visited one of the businesses, Coin Laundry, and to my surprise, it was full of customers. One person asked if I had a spare quarter because they were short for their next spin cycle. Two weeks later, our church was going to Coin Laundry every Thursday to provide quarters and laundry soap to a group who needed our help. One Thursday a man named Jeff asked us to pray for him because he just found out that he had stomach cancer. We prayed for him in the middle of the laundromat, and when we opened our eyes, every customer in the room was praying with us, hands stretched out toward Jeff. It was one of the most sacred moments I have experienced as a pastor, to see strangers petitioning God on behalf of someone in need. We now have a relationship with the owner of Coin Laundry, and it has become an extension of our church. Their patrons know we are here for them and the forgotten parts of our neighborhood. The same resurrection hope that drives us to minister to the forgotten also drives us to reach the influencers and cultural elite who occupy our neighborhood. Our staff noticed that there was a leadership vacuum in our area, both in the domestic sphere and in the business community. There is no recreation center, event space, or fully developed park in our neighborhood to provide a space for visible community. We also noticed the lack of business community in the Fillmore area, though there are many businesses and independent owners who do business in our target radius. Families and businesses alike need community leadership and organization to flourish. The church can and should help develop communities around the spaces they occupy. For this reason, we started offering a once-a- month, educational experience called Lunch & Learn. We offer lessons on topics like "Leveraging Social Media to Grow Your Business" and "Creating a Culture of Hospitality" to help owners develop their business. We ask one business to sponsor the lunch costs, and they get a 10-minute window to promote their business to 40 other business owners. Lunch & Learn has helped owners collaborate on neighborhood projects and, more importantly, they witness the church as something more than a needy neighbor always begging for donations. The church can be an institution for the common good. Neighborhood churches that focus on building community for positive change represent the gospel well to the watching world. When local churches amend and create culture in their neighborhoods, they witness to the hope of the Resurrection. Chad E. Graham PASTOR OF UNIVERSITY ASSEMBLY Chad E. Graham, a graduate of Denver Seminary, is lead pastor of University Assembly in Colorado Springs and senior fellow at The Gordon Lewis Center for Christian Thought and Culture at Denver Seminary. James Brey/iStock