By Jeff Krajewski
If life in the city can be summed up with one word, I would choose diverse. The city is an eclectic gathering of people from all walks of life. Diversity in culture, language, economics, education, and religion all mix together to create an interesting collection of humanity and also an abundance of opportunity for the body of Christ.
Within five miles of our church are some of the richest of the rich in our city and also some of the poorest of the poor. What we are finding is that one size does not fit all when it comes to church in the city. One way we have seen positive fruit is through developing partnerships.
Urban, But Not Inner-City
Our church inherited a building in an historic and affluent part of Indianapolis. We are in an urban setting, but we are not a church that is dealing directly with the issues of inner-city urban life. In fact, our challenge is just the opposite. Because we are located in an affluent part of our city we do not deal directly with those who do not have enough for their physical existence. Our challenge is to call those with plenty to see themselves as conduits of God”s blessings to those in need.
While “the least of these” may not be in our neighborhood, we do take Christ”s call to the poor as a charge that is true for all Christians. Our challenge is to find ways to connect the resources with the needs. It is a very difficult endeavor.
Because of this, we are open to pursuing partnerships with ministry agencies and churches that are more keenly aware of the needs of the city and have relationships and expertise to meet those needs. We partner with organizations that deal with justice, education, housing, and youth issues in our city. And we are constantly seeking new partnerships to help connect the resources of our church (both financial and human) with the needs in our city.
Spiritual, Not Identical
The physical needs of the city are many, but the spiritual needs of city dwellers are also very diverse. We have seen that a “one-size-fits-all” approach to spiritual formation will not work. Because of the diversity of thought and the mixing of religious and nonreligious spirituality, helping people journey toward Christ cannot happen in an assembly line. Because of the emotional and spiritual baggage people bring into our communities, we find our community will not connect with every person.
We have developed partnerships to help us through this challenge as well. We are in relationships with other churches in the city who are passionate about the mission of the kingdom of God and who are facilitating communities where people can engage in spiritual formation. Through these partnerships, we have been able to help connect people to other communities that might be more appropriate for their particular spiritual formation. In doing this, we have learned a lot from each other, even though we are not all from the same church traditions.
This also has been very helpful in dealing with issues of church discipline. We had a recent case of a couple who left our church to run from some bad decisions they had made; because of our relationship with the church they ran to, we were able to deal with the issue.
We are no longer offended when people leave and go to other churches, because we love those communities and affirm their uniqueness. When I get together with the pastors of these churches (weekly with some and monthly with others), we are not in competition, but rather in partnership. And we are praying and asking God for more churches to enter into these relationships with us.
Partnerships are the only possible way we will begin to see the kingdom of God emerge in our city. There is too much diversity and too much need for our church to try and go it alone. But together, as we “make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace,” I believe we might just see the kingdom begin to emerge on earth as it already is in Heaven.
Jeff Krajewski is lead pastor with Common Ground Christian Church in Indianapolis, Indiana.
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