Networks vs Neighborhoods

On many levels, the American Church is moving to the way of the "house church", and it has a great momentum to reach many people. We are seeing many Christians learn what it might look like to be followers of Christ as they love and serve their neighborhoods. We are seeing more and more large churches OF small groups instead of churches WITH small groups.

The outreach of the church is now being put in the hands of the church as opposed to the church leaders alone. Smaller groups and house churches are turning their eyes and hearts toward their neighborhoods in order to learn what the incarnational gospel might yield in comparison to the attraction gospel that has been the primary model utilized by the American Church to this point.

While this excites me to see where the American Church is moving the gospel, I fear it STILL misses the mark in reaching a college and young adult population. The move into neighborhoods will certainly serve to reach a postmodern, post-Christian society and culture, but let's not forget that post modernity and post-Christianity is NOT a generation.

This means while college students and young adults most often fall into the postmodern, post-Christian mindset, to reach a demographic I love and my heart breaks for, there is yet another reality to be mindful of.

College students and most young adults don't really have neighborhoods they live in for long. This is a pretty transient period of life where they live in different homes from month to month. This is a time of life lived in semesters as opposed to years. The rest of life is lived outside the house elsewhere. Home is where the couch is!

The sense of neighborhood is lost on the college student and young adult. So a house church mentality works well if your population has a house or spends any significant time in the house they have.

Now again, I love the house church model, and I think the American Church needs to continue moving in that direction for sure, bu my question, as a college pastor, is how do you move this model for a demographic without neighborhoods?

The answer lies in what college students and young adults DO have. Networks!

Thought the idea of a neighborhood may be lost, there is a strong sense of network in this demographic. We still frequent different areas such as coffee shops, bars, campuses, and clubs. These places have become different networks each person is connected to.

When you frequent those places, you become 'a regular'. Once I became a regular at Tupelo Coffee House, I started to recognize the other regulars. Once I began to recognize the other regulars, I began to notice them outside the coffee shop in other networks I am connected to. I recently recognized a Tupelo barista when I was walking around the monthly art walk downtown.

The whole interest of our networks is watching them overlap. "I didn't know you came here to this coffee shop!"

In order to begin really reaching the college and young adult population, we need to move from the neighborhoods to the networks. House churches need to be in coffee shops and bars and clubs and various other networks.

In a generation that has not yet settled down into neighborhoods, you have to be a neighbor in their networks.

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READING: "The Tangible Kingdom" by Hugh Halter and Matt Smay
LISTENING TO: "Sounds Like This" by Eric Hutchinson

Notes from "American Church in Crisis" Lecture

Wednesday night I went to a lecture from Dave Olsen, the author or "American Church in Crisis". Here are my notes from that evening. (I would be VERY INTERESTED in your thoughts.)

DECAY - every organic entity diminishes and decays over time --> decay is often necessary for new growth to occur and appear
17% of population attending church on a given weekend (9% at evangelical churches)
Weekend attendance has stayed virtually the same over the last 16 years --> but our population has grown by the same number --> churches are not keeping up with population growth
There are always new people coming into our sphere of influence.
Young people are the critical group to reach --> churches who cannot reach them will steadily decline
We are in a decaying trend, and if focus or change doesn't happen, the trend will continue.
Christian ministry will get more challenging every year into the foreseeable future, which means ministry has to be better each year
Asian and Hispanic population grown is HUGE in Sacramento county in the last 7 years
Lowest evangelical attendance counties in CA are all (1-10) bay area counties in NORTHERN California
HIGHEST evangelical attendance counties in California are almost all inland (3- Placer 5-Kern 6-Sacramento)
86% of your neighbors are NOT going to a Christian church --> but Sacramento shows a high receptivity to the gospel
A lot less established religion and more and more "American" religiosity

FOREVER BUILDING
the only way to figure out what works is to experiment...maybe fail, yes...but nothing happens if nothing is done
Two important questions your church should ask --> 1. Are we willing to pay the price of change? 2. Are we willing to create new pathways for the work of God to advance --> old pathways aren't working anymore
Why are older churches declining? (40% of established churches grow and 60% decline)
Will your church grow or decline this year?
If your church is old, it needs to think and act young.
Each year, your church grows a year older and loses its vitality if new choices are not being made to be, think, and act younger....EACH YEAR
SMALL (growing) churches have the advantage of intimacy --> LARGE mega churches have the advantage of ministry excellence --> MID-SIZED churches have to do BOTH better (connect pepople...do fewer things better)

RESTORATION
Decay happens without us doing anything --> Building takes energy and work --> Restoration happens divinely...it has to come from the Holy Spirit
With change comes loss --> with loss comes fear
Our culture is NOW (not becoming but IS): Post-Christian, Postmodern, and Multiethnic
The two important words for established churches: HEALTHY and MISSIONAL
We got used to talking about Jesus in a secondhand manner --> we have to begin talking about Jesus in a real, engaging, FIRSTHAND manner
Speak of Jesus in fresh alive ways of his words and his actions

I would be VERY INTERESTED in your thoughts. These are notes on the lecture; not entirely my personal thoughts.

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LISTENING TO: "...And The Summer Pool Party" by Pigeon John