NINE OPTIONS IN A CHANGING NEIGHBORHOOD
How a church can stay alive in the midst of a community in transition.
David Trumble
October 1, 1990
Consider a church similar to mine-white and middle class-that has served the people of its community faithfully for years. Then gradually, almost without notice, members begin moving away, some only a few miles, others long distances. People begin talking about the new black or Hispanic family who just moved in down the block. The new folks seem nice, but they are different. Members dutifully stop by and invite their new neighbors to church. But becoming close friends seems a mutually low priority. Soon, membership and attendance dip. Members begin to worry excessively and, ironically, become less active at reaching out to the community. When a few of the new neighbors actually visit, some members feel threatened: "If too many of those people join this church, I'm leaving!" Then again, some members enthusiastically open their arms to the newcomers. As more minorities move into the neighborhood, church leaders are torn between embracing them, and thus changing the nature of the church, and excluding them, and thus retaining the church's identity but placing the future of the church in jeopardy. Yet, rarely do many newcomers join the church. Soon the exodus of old-timers becomes a stream. The leaders then decide that the Bible calls them to welcome the new ethnics. Some members begin to argue, "This is our church, and we're going to keep it that way," while others respond "Prejudice is a sin!" and "God invites everyone into his family." It's still clear, however, that any newcomers must accept the prevailing ministry style. Hope for better days starts to sink under a flood of fears. When several new ethnic members finally do join the church, a block of established members makes an exodus. Finally, in near desperation, church leaders ...
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