Stop Building Churches!

What should a group of Jesus' followers build? A Cathedral? A Tabernacle  A Church? Well, according to the Australian team at McCrindle Research, that's not a good idea. If you want to stay community connected, don't build a church. Study the chart in this blog. Take note that the Aussie populous would rather have a dog park than a church!

But now take a closer look. What does the community say it needs? I'm impressed by the fact that churches - of every denominational stripe - are exceptionally well placed to deliver on 4 or 5 of the top 6 perceived community needs.

I suggest we quit our churches and build Community Centres, Youth Centres, Cafés , Children's Parks and the like. Some could turn car yards into public parking and existing church halls into community libraries.

My proposal is not a retreat. It is a advance. Everything Jesus calls us to do as the gathered church (people, not buildings) can happen in spaces that we share with others in the community. And what a great witness to build what the community wants and then share it with them. 

Christian leaders everywhere are re-thinking what we should build and why. NewHope Baptist Church embraced this challenge 6 years ago. We built a Community Centre as a gift to our neighbourhood. We share the space with the community. We are on an amazing journey and it is working a treat. We are growing wide (outreach) and deep (discipleship). Our witness is strong. 

Let's stop building churches. Let's build stuff the community wants and then share it with them. And who knows, maybe they'll let us share other things too - like the gospel!  

You can read more stats from McCrindle here.