The Church Next Door

Do you ever think about how connected the early Church was? The apostles and missionaries starting the churches were connected to each other, and when they left, they didn't abandon these churches. They wrote letters and stayed in contact. Paul was constantly sending friends to different churches to encourage the church and for them to be encouraged by the church. 

Yet I don't even know my neighbors. I don't know a single one of the many churches that fill the same downtown radius that mine does. I can only even name a couple.

Church connection is something we've lost to a significant degree.

The Catholic Church shares the same mass and the same leader, but they still don't have significant connection between congregations. Some Protestant churches are united by conference, but again, they lack personal connection. Sometimes you'll find churches that are affiliated or have multiple campuses or are sister churches, which can be a beautiful way to bring different congregations together but still usually only creates connections between churches that believe like us.

But why don't we have connections to churches who are not like us?

We've divided congregations and affiliations because we have different doctrines, missions, and styles, but why aren't we connected in the things in which we agree? In the cores of our faith and ministry. Why aren't we known?

I know believers from other churches, but I'm not connected to them as part of another church. Their church is just a different place they go on Sunday mornings, not a place I have any real association with. 

But I find myself wondering what it would be like for the churches in my community to know and be known. 

My church, like many in my city, serve meals to the community through a local ministry started by one church and located within its walls. They provide food and companionship throughout the week and have a big breakfast every Saturday. This breakfast requires about 14 helpers, and various churches in the area sign up for a Saturday to serve. 

Through our service, my church is connected to this ministry's church. Yet my parents' church participates in the same ministry, and the only reason I know that is because my mom told me. We have no connection to any of the other churches that partner with this ministry. 

But what would happen if we did. If we were not only meeting a need, not only connecting to those we were serving, but if we were also connecting to various other churches. We may not have everything in common with those churches, but we are all called to serve. What would happen if we connected over what we share? What would happen if two churches were asked to gather seven people for a Saturday instead of one church being asked to gather 14? What would happen if we served alongside more than just our own congregation? How could we begin to feel a kinship to the churches in our area based on our mutual service?

And how can we begin to feel a kinship to the churches that are our literal neighbors? My church is in the center of downtown, and it'd probably take me more than one hand to count the number of churches within just a few blocks of us. My church always tells us that we are located in downtown, and our location should influence who we are. Should influence the ministries we pursue and the ways we pray for our community. We are a downtown church, and that means something different than being a church out in the suburbs. But do we not share that same purpose with these churches physically closest to us?

Several months ago someone from my church voiced interest in starting Prayer Walks around downtown. Of gathering a group and literally just walking around the city praying. But could that not be a way of inviting other churches in? Not of coordinating between different staffs and launching an organized event, but of saying this is what we're doing and we'd love for you to join us. Of sharing our schedule and being cognizant of theirs and just saying please share this with us. Whether a couple people showed up from every church or you ended up with only one, there's beauty in praying together. Of coming from our different contexts and ministry programs and styles and of pouring into the community we share together.

This can't just be a church leaders thing. This can't just be a formal thing. Churches already have a lot to coordinate. But what if we were open as congregations to sharing information and creating opportunities for community? What if our churches could give us a platform instead of bearing the responsibility for organization? Whether we gained friends or made the faces of some strangers become a little more familiar, I can't help but think we gain something by being joined in these ways. In the small and the simple acts that broaden our understanding of our church community from one congregation to a few to a whole city's worth. The church is far bigger than even that, but we'll never be able to latch onto the Church, which knows no barriers from time or space, if we can't even connect with the church beside us.

This may be too idealistic, but I can't stop thinking of what we could gain. I can't forget that Jesus's heart has always been for one body of which He is the head. And it's good for us to have our different limbs and functions, but are we really living as though we are connected to one body?

When my sister's parent church was founded, the pastor went to their mayor and asked what the city's biggest needs were. He was told foster parenting, and so his church's main ministry became fostering. The mayor told him that their city had a church on every block, yet if they all vanished, the city would only notice the absence or miss the presence of three.

That story has always been a powerful testimony to me. One that refocus my heart on recognizing and meeting the needs in my community. But I find myself asking, if one of the churches dotting every block of my city were to vanish, would other churches notice?

We were never meant to be in this alone.