By Andrew Alesso
โWait. So, youโre a minister, right?โ she blurted out in the middle of our book clubโs group discussion.
โHa ha. Yeah, something like that,โ I responded nervously.
โIโm surprised youโre being so nice to me,โ she said. And thenโwith no hint of sarcasmโshe asked, โAnd you really donโt hate me?โ
Iโd recently started the book club as a way to meet people in my city. I moved to Los Angeles to facilitate conversations like this. She had just told the group she was an evolutionary biologist. I had just acknowledged she must have a fascinating job.
โWait. Why would I hate you?โ
She explained she didnโt know any church people personally, but every day on her way into work she walked past picketing, screaming protesters who sometimes threw bananas at her.
โIโm trying to cure diseases to help humanity,โ she said, โbut they hate me because of what they think Iโm doing to their religion.โ
I apologized for how sheโd been treated. She was amazed. She could hardly believe I didnโt hate her.
Several weeks later, I shared the gospel one-on-one with a guy who had been at the book club that night. He told me about his life. He shared different details, but the same story. He said, โI understand about Godโs justice and standards. I just never would have guessed in a million years that Christianity is about loving your enemies.โ
Then he said, โIโll have to think about whether I want that,โ before quickly changing the subject.
A Church for the City
I moved to Central LA with my wife, Katie, and son, Dax, in December 2016 to begin the process of launching a new church with the help of Stadia Church Planting. We moved to Silverlakeโa trendy, up-and-coming neighborhood filled with rock stars, famous movie directors, and homeless encampments under every overpass. The neighborhood is next to Dodger Stadium between Hollywood Hills and Downtown Los Angeles.
City life is energizing. I live in the entertainment capital of the world with professional sports, music, comedy, art, book signings, and so much more right down the street. I love meeting people from many different walks of life. The diversity and culture of city life are incredible.
But city life can be hard too.
It is incredibly cramped and expensive. We sold our house and doubled our monthly payment to move into a one-bedroom apartment in East Hollywood. We can hear our neighborโs television at all hours. There are more than 9 million people in Los Angeles. This is just normal life for a whole lot of people.
City life is fast-paced and transient. People either work at big-time, control-your-whole-life jobs or they are hustling with multiple jobs to pay the rent. One quarter of our neighbors work in the arts, which is a never-ending grind because every relationship is a networking opportunity. Forty percent of city residents are from another state or country. One in four residents has no high school diploma. The long work hours, social climbing, transience, and distance from family add up to this: People are incredibly isolated.
Imagine being surrounded by people all the time but being desperately lonely.
The cityโs residents press on because of their dreams. But when life canโt match the dream, they need family and they need hope. We all do.
God designed the church to meet this need, but most old church buildings are being turned into housing and clothing stores. Affordable housing gives people some hope, at least. What has a church ever done for them?
Whereโs the Church that Does Good?
My journey to planting a church in urban Los Angeles started when I was a teen and would visit my mom in a womenโs recovery home in East Hollywood. She told me about the change God was orchestrating in her life. I discovered God had the miraculous power to put our broken family back together. I also discovered how much poverty and desperate need exists in the city.
But the city also has many educated, liberal, career-aged singles and young families who are changing the world. They genuinely want whatโs good for society, but they arenโt sure what God or church has to do with that.
I decided to name our church โThriveโ while eating brunch with my sister in West Hollywood. We didnโt grow up in a Christian home, but we started attending youth group together while teens. I got really involved. She had some negative church experiences before leaving to pursue her goals in the city.
I enjoyed serving on staff at a suburban megachurch for the previous eight years, but knew of few churches reaching the city. Who was showing Godโs love to the poor there, or to the single, educated world-changers like my sister?
I asked her, โWhat do you think God feels about you?โ
โI donโt believe in God,โ she reminded me.
โI know. Thatโs fair,โ I said. โBut if you did, then what would you guess?โ
โWell, I feel really bad about myself when I go to church,โ she confessed. โI guess heโs mad at me . . . or maybe heโs just ashamed of me?โ
My sister doesnโt hate Godโdoesnโt even believe in himโbut was concerned God hated her. It was a common story throughout the city.
Itโs not enough for a church to have a good band or a dynamic preacher when the Video Music Awards are happening across the street. If I thought God hated me, it would take a lot more than a preacher and a band to get me in the door.
We knew that if we were ever to lead our neighbors to faith in Jesus, our church must help them believe that the God of the Bible is actually for them and that his laws are beneficial to them. Thatโs why our mission is to invite our neighbors to belong, contribute, and thrive in the family of God as we make Jesus our Savior and King. This requires selfless Christians who believe Godโs provision is found by seeking first his kingdom (Matthew 6:33).
Love for the Long Haul
Weโve found Godโs words to the Babylonian exiles to be helpful as we proclaim and demonstrate the gospel in our city.
God told his people, โBuildย houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produceโ (Jeremiah 29:5). For Israel to make an impact in Babylon, they needed to put down roots. In a fast-paced, transient setting we need churches and church leaders ready to build a life with people. Iโve already seen four new churches come and go in my neighborhood. We canโt just be a flash in the pan. Success requires consistency and stability. Too often, people and churches throw resources at urban ministry and then pull back when they realize the return on investment falls far short of a suburban outreach. Our cities need people committed for the long haul.
God also told the exiles, โSeek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosperโ (Jeremiah 29:7). God wanted the exiles to love and pray for their enemies. He wanted them to do good. At Thrive, we say our whole community should miss us if we leave. To that end, we serve the needs of kids through our local schools. Weโve remodeled a teacherโs lounge at the school where our church meets. We deliver groceries to families with needs, and we pray for them in their homes.
In Jeremiah 29, God also warned the people not to fall for the simplistic, feel-good religion of the false prophets, but to trust Godโs eternal plan as they suffered for the good of their neighbor. On days when itโs hard, when we feel like giving up, we rest in knowing that God asked us to love the city. We aim to do right by every person and trust God with the results. Weโve had some hard days, but heโs never failed us.
The guy who works the counter at my favorite burger spotโhe grew up in church but doesnโt spend time with many Christians nowโgave me some advice: โJust do some good without wearing your T-shirts to get credit for it. If youโre genuinely good to us for long enough, weโll eventually start to trust your message.โ
Sounds like a plan to me.
Andrew Alesso planted Thrive LA Church in the Silverlake neighborhood of Los Angeles in September 2017. Heโs passionate about Jesus, empowering others to reach their potential in Christ, and rooting for the Los Angeles Lakers.
Author: Christian Standard
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