What role does a suburban church play in urban ministry?

“There are three kinds of churches in Memphis and it takes all three to do comprehensive urban outreach.”

These words were shared today by Fenton Wright, director of The Shalom Project in Memphis, TN.  For two years Fenton has read every study available on the city of Memphis, talked to hundreds of city and church leaders, and walked dozens of streets.  One of the largest congregations in Memphis (2nd Presbyterian) hired Fenton to help them partner with God to impact poverty and sin in the city in a significant way.  JUMP (a group consisting of the preaching ministers from 5 area Churches of Christ, the Harding Grad dean, and the  directors of Hope Works, Agape, and Memphis Urban Ministry) met today with Fenton.

Fenton has found that Memphis has three types of churches:

• Tall Steeple Churches – large congregations in suburban Memphis whose members live in the suburbs.
• Commuter Churches – large congregations within the I-240 loop around Memphis whose members generally live east of the city and drive in (though some live in the nearby neighborhood).
• Neighborhood Churches – small congregations in urban Memphis whose members live close to the church building.

Fenton has found that it takes all three types to make an impact in an urban neighborhood in Memphis.  Tall Steeple Churches (like Hope Presbyterian and Bellevue Baptist) and Commuter Churches (like Mississippi Boulevard Christian and Saint Ann’s AME) bring human and financial resources to the table.  Neighborhood Churches (like Scenic Hills Baptist) bring to the table relationships and connections with people and leaders in the targetted neighborhood. 

When a Tall Steeple Church or a Commmuter Church launches an urban ministry in an urban neighborhood without collaboration with a Neighborhood Church, the ministry has no lasting and sustained connection with the people it is serving.  And when a Neighborhood Church tries to launch an urban ministry in their urban neighborhood without collaboration with a Tall Steeple Church or Commuter Church, it often runs quickly out of resources. 

The ideal scenario, Fenton said, is for a Tall Steeple Church or Commuter Church to partner with an existing Neighborhood Church or to plant a new Neighborhood Church.  This colloboration creates the resources and relationships needed for lasting neighborhood change.

The conclusion fits Highland’s experience.  For 80 years Highland has been a Commuter Church, a large congregation within the I-240 loop whose members often lived in the suburbs or drove in from other neighborhoods.  Highland’s greatest sucesses in urban ministry came by partnering with the new Neighborhood Churches planted by MUM and by partnering with para-church agencies like Agape and Hope Works.  Our church facility was not located on the frontlines (thought it was very near some) but we excelled in sending resources and volunteers to those frontlines.

In a few months, Highland will transition from a Commuter Church to a Tall Steeple Church when we relocate to a new facility about 10 miles outside of the I-240 loop.  What will our role be then?  I believe Fenton would say our role has not changed: God’s called Highland to provide human and financial resources in collaboration with new and existing Neighborhood Churches to radically impact urban neighborhoods in the city.

I look forward to embracing that role regarding the city and to becoming a congregation even more attuned to needs within its own new neighborhood.