Four New Urban Realities Facing Churches
The world is urbanizing. More people live in cities than ever before. The trend is only increasing and the implications of such a change will affect how the church operates in the world.
From the dense urban environments of Manhattan to the endless quasi-urban sprawl of my city, Los Angeles, both established pastors and new planters must embrace this new reality.
In my time spent in LA and studying cities, I see at least four new urban realities facing churches.
First, many future cities will attract an increasing number of poor people. Most research shows that cities tend to attract the poor—not repel them—and that a city’s growing poor population is a testament to its strength. The challenge for churches is to properly interpret the growth of poverty in their cities and address it appropriately.
Second, urban centers foster more demanding work environments. City inhabitants should expect to work harder and longer. Statistical data shows that professionals today work longer hours if they live in a metropolitan area where other competitors exist. Nearby inventive activity within a specific industry generally increases competitive productivity. Longer workdays and more demanding work is simply a byproduct of a highly competitive market. The challenge for churches is to learn how to assist people who feel such pressures and to provide them with the tools they need to succeed.
Third, consumer cities are on the rise. Consumer cities are places that attract residents who desire to take advantage of a city’s urban amenities. Cities of the future will not be filled with just the poor—although we should expect this too. Rather, cities will be filled larger concentrations of the wealthy—not just financially well off, but those who are culturally wealthy. The challenge for churches is to consider how it might effectively engage and empower city dwellers across socio-economic lines.
Fourth, the future of metropolitan regions will likely become more homogenous and more segregated. According to Bill Bishop, sociologist, there is growing segregation in the United States not driven by migration alone, which he calls “The Big Sort.” Americans are sorting themselves into ideological enclaves that contribute to geographical and network segregation. Greater population numbers are ordering their lives around their values, their tastes, and their beliefs of almost every kind including—social, political, cultural, spiritual, religious, economical, and sexual. The challenge for churches is to consider the implications homogeneous sorting and how to communicate Kingdom values regardless of such a widespread cultural change.
The city is coming—its urbanity, its values, as well as its amenities. Pastors and planters can prepare by considering how they will engage urban people and the micro-cultures that they represent. There is no doubt that a one-size-fits-all ecclesiology is too sloppy for the modern urban setting.
As we have found in Los Angeles, there are a wide variety of localities that require local contextualization in order to effectively engage the population. Moreover, given the rise in individualization among micro-tribalism, we need to double down on our ability to discern and respond to the Holy Spirit.
As we seek to understand our context and to understand the Spirit, I believe we are prepared for any changing urban reality.
To read more on the new changing urban realities, check out my main sources for this article written by Ed Glaeser and Bill Bishop. Everybody should read their books and articles.
