MAKING A DIFFERENCE M ark L . R ei f f
Reversing a Trend The January 2009 issue of Christianity Today reported that African American congregations are increasingly embracing a “black flight” from urban areas as more and more African Americans reach middle-class socioeconomic status. The report said that this only increases the disillusionment with God’s people among those who stay. Standing counter to this trend is the Great Commission Church (GCC). Founded a decade ago in Roslyn, Pa., a Philadelphia suburb, this congregation decided to move to a Northwest Philadelphia neighborhood dealing with more than its fair share of crime, drugs, and unemployment. Pastor Larry Anderson, who oversaw the move, marvels at the work God is doing in and through GCC, a congregation that was, at the time of the move, composed mostly of middleclass African Americans—a model of the very trend reported by Christianity Today. The story of GCC’s unusual move goes back to 2002, when Larry Anderson and his family moved to Roslyn and began searching for a new church home. They visited GCC and found it was a good fit, but God had more than membership in mind for Anderson. A year later the church’s lead pastor expressed his desire to step into a support role, and Anderson, who was doing urban training and pursuing his MDiv at Biblical Theological Seminary, was asked to consider the position. By the end of that year, through continued study and training as well as close mentorship by the leadership team, Anderson was confident enough to fill the lead pastoral role. “I never applied for the position,” recalls Anderson.“God prepared the entire situation, and I just followed his leading.” Since its inception, GCC had rented meeting space in various church build-
ings within the suburban community. But Anderson’s understanding of the biblical partnership between evangelism and social action prompted in him a growing discomfort with the congregation’s vision for suburban ministry. His concerns were vividly confirmed when GCC planned to give Thanksgiving turkeys to needy area families and nobody in the congregation knew of anyone in need. His discomfort intensified as Philadelphia’s 2007 mayoral election cycle commenced and he heard stories of the city’s rampant murder rates, largely in his native North Philadelphia. Anderson wasn’t the only one in the congregation with urban roots. In fact, much of GCC had close ties to those urban areas in the most turmoil. Anderson began to seek God’s will for the church, and he invited the congregation to join him in an intensive study of Nehemiah. Because of what God revealed to them through this study, as well as the congregation’s growing desire to have its own facility, GCC decided to move to an urban setting where they could integrate with the community and partner with God’s work of transformation. In the year following this discernment, GCC worked at raising adequate funds, handling logistics, and preparing members’ hearts for the impending move into a new context.They located an old church building in Philadelphia’s West Oak Lane section that fit their vision and, with some assistance, was fiscally feasible for them to acquire. They studied the surrounding neighborhood and found that their congregation could mesh well demographically.They developed a document outlining their plan, expressing their desire to serve in an urban setting and inviting others to journey alongside them. Anderson used this document as a rallying point to mobilize the congregation and others to support the transition, both spiritually and financially.This entire process culminated in January 2008, when GCC moved into its new PRISM 2009
7
facility, poised to connect with the societal brokenness all around them and offer it Jesus’ love. Since the move, GCC has continued to be a nontraditional, informal evangelical congregation. Anderson has worked at cultivating a sense of authentic transparency throughout the church, which offers safety and grace to those in the community who are recognizing their brokenness. These successes certainly have not come without trials, and Anderson is ready to share about the times when the new context has strained congregational comfort zones. But GCC has allowed God to sustain and lead them in this journey, making each of these struggles fruitful. Anderson has worked at developing partnerships with various agencies in the community that GCC can support and work with in social engagement. He has been influenced by John Perkins’ philosophy of Christian community development, which he encountered in his current doctoral study at Biblical Theological (where is he also director of Urban Initiatives and the seminary’s first African American faculty member), and he is working to utilize those principles in GCC’s new setting.This has led the congregation to participate effectively in holistic ministry and to begin offering new hope to a neighborhood in turmoil. By God’s grace GCC is pioneering an exciting response to the reality of “black flight,” offering a model of hope to all churches, regardless of demographic makeup. (To learn more, please visit their website at GreatCommissiononline.org. n Mark L. Reiff is pursuing his M.Div degree at PalmerTheological Seminary inWynnewood, Pa., where he is a Sider Scholar working with ESA’s Word & Deed Network. He is also a youth pastor at Doylestown Mennonite Church. “Making a Difference” profiles congregations that put arms and legs on the gospel. Nominate a church at kristyn@esa-online.org.