4 Ways To Become A Community-Oriented Church

Depending on how old you are, you may remember a phenomenon that hit full stride in the '90s.

No, I’m not talking about Seinfeld or Friends. I’m talking about when churches were all becoming “community” churches.

Across the country, there were community churches growing exponentially like Saddleback Community Church and Willow Creek Community Church. Then, churches all over the place were dropping their denominational names to adopt something more seeker friendly.

I actually remember a conversation at a previous church I was a part of, in which it was suggested that we change our name from South Baptist Church to South Park Church.

Thankfully, we were able to convince this person that this wasn’t an entirely great idea.

Here’s the interesting thing about being a “community” church. Most of us would say that whether we are called a community church or not, we desire to be a church that is known for being for our community.

However, very few of our churches have this reputation.

My own church has a long way to go in this area, but we are working hard to become a church that is truly a community-oriented church.

So, the question I want to go after today is:

How do we become community churches, in the truest sense of the word?

And, this question matters because our reputation in our community is tied directly to our ability to share Jesus with the people in our community.

So, let’s talk about 4 ways to become more community-oriented churches.

1. What Do You Need?

One of the worst mistakes we make when attempting to build better relationships in our community is assuming we know what needs to be done. We create projects and initiatives that often times aren’t really that helpful.

A better approach is to ask local officials:

What do you need?

Recently, I’ve read an amazing story of how powerful this approach can be. The book is called Unlikely, by Kevin Palau.

Basically, what Kevin and a collection of churches did in their home city of Portland, Oregon was ask local schools and city leaders where they needed help. Then they jumped in and offered what they could and the results were as amazing as they were unlikely...get it?

The point is, if you want to become a truly community-oriented church, instead of jumping in with what you think is the best way to help, consider sitting down with community leaders and asking.

2. Open Up Your Building

Recently, I was hanging out at a church in my area that is known for being a community-oriented church. They have a fantastic reputation in our city as a church that actually cares about the community. I spent some time asking one of their leaders how exactly they serve their community.

One strategy they shared was so simple that I almost missed it.

They open up their building.

And by this, I mean that one of the largest spaces in their building is open to the community, free of charge, for just about any sort of community meeting, event, club or whatever that might take place. And, because it is a great space and free to use, the space is almost always being used by someone in the community.

We spend so much time trying to get people to come to our churches, but we rarely offer them our space for something they actually want or need. If you want to become a truly community-oriented church, consider opening up your building for just about whatever the community needs.

3. Less Amazon, More Local

My wife and I have five kids and you can imagine how insane shopping is with that many people. Because of this, we take full advantage of Amazon and Shipt (grocery delivery service).

They are wonderful services that don’t involve taking a small army to a store.

The truth is, I do most of my shopping in my PJs on the couch. I rarely go to a physical store.

In fact, yesterday, I stepped into a local store for the first time in weeks. It was almost shocking to see all the people, some of whom I recognized.

What I realized, as I wandered through the aisles is that, as fantastic as Amazon and Shipt are, they leave us rather disconnected from our community.

My point is this: One of the best ways to become a community-oriented church is to take as much of your business as possible local. Yes, I know, it will be more expensive and time consuming, but you are making actual human connections with people in your community. After all, isn’t that what you are spending time and money on in different ways, for example, advertising?

Not to mention, spending your money locally is a great way to build your reputation as a church that actually cares about the community.

If you want to be a community-oriented church, do less online and more locally.

4. Make New Friends

One last strategy for becoming a church that is actually community oriented is to make new friends.

By this, I mean building relationships with other local churches.

I’m not sure what your community is like, but in mine we have about a bazillion churches and we very rarely collaborate, hang out or honestly, even talk. Here we are, with so much in common because of our belonging to the body of Christ, and we hardly have anything to do with each other. Ugh.

In my experience, the people in our community who are not followers of Jesus can see this and it doesn’t help our cause. From their perspective, we can’t even play nice with people within the family!

I would suggest that if you want to become a church that is truly community-oriented, consider building relationships with other local churches in your area. Learn from them, ask them what they need and even serve in the community together. A united Church is a powerful example of the life-changing message of Jesus.

Wrap Up

Let’s wrap this up: Our culture doesn't need more community churches, but more community-oriented churches.

When the people of Jesus are about serving the people around them, amazing things happen.

I hope this post has given you and your church a few ideas about how to become a community-oriented church.

We’d love to hear your ideas on this topic as well. What have you done that has worked well? Leave us a comment below.