By Jennifer Johnson
When Vince Antonucci prepared to plant a church called Verve in Las Vegas, he thought, Of course we”ll be on the Strip. But when he began researching that area, he discovered there were no other churches there.
“I wondered if that was unique to Las Vegas,” he says. “I began looking at the most “˜sinful” neighborhoods and streets in the world””places like the Red Light District in Amsterdam, Bourbon Street in New Orleans, The Sunset Strip in L.A. There are no churches there. But Jesus went to the most sinful places and the most sinful people. He would go to these places.”
Antonucci began talking to Stadia (Irvine, CA) about working together to launch new churches in some of these areas, and earlier this year he partnered with them to launch Splagna Church Planting.
“In Matthew 9 we”re told Jesus saw crowds and had compassion on them because they were like “˜sheep without a shepherd,”” he says. “The word used for compassion in this passage is splagna, which refers to your guts. When you see something wrong and have to do something about it, it”s like your guts get twisted inside you.”
The new ministry is targeting potential locations and talking to potential planters who have the skills””and the guts””to start churches in these “impossible” locations.
“Wherever sin abounds, Christians tend to retreat all the more,” Antonucci says. “Something must be done. And Splagna is what we”re doing about it.”
I appreciate Vince’s willingness to barge into the darkness. But we don’t need to go so far as to say that “wherever sin abounds, Christians tend to retreat all the more.” There’s a tendency these days for writers to hint that “I’m the first/only one to get this right” (though I know that Vince and many other writers don’t mean it that way). But when we mention dark places and difficult work, it would be inspiring to name some of the thousands of other Christians who are working in the middle of dark places right this minute (I can provide an endless list of such Christians from across the nation and around the world!) . . . and describe and applaud those efforts. And then say that we’re joining them by imitating that same faith and courage. We don’t want to discourage today’s brave warriors by implying that they don’t exist. Blessings.
Good points, Lynn. Appreciate your comments.
Interestingly, Vince found Christ by watching a stodgy old man sitting in a chair in a TV studio spewing theology. Which spurred him to search the Bible himself. If he’s developing a way to win people on the Vegas strip, great!! But there are many, many ways to build the kingdom and millions over the centuries who’ve planted churches and worked in the dark places.
Just because someone wears a suit to church doesn’t mean they’re complacent. Lots of people have struggles in dark places during the week and clean up real good on a Sunday: lawyers who take vacation to tromp through sewage in Mexico, artsy women who furnish homes for the homeless. Most don’t share their backstories or advertise their service to Jesus.
I agree with Vince that many in the American church would do well to get a little uncomfortable, take on Christian adventure, live more abundantly for Jesus. We all have stuff to learn. And true, the American church is not the only game in town. Best not to pass judgment on the suited ones, though, or fail to acknowledge the thousands today working in dark places. Chances are good they’re anonymous and unappreciated.