Millennials Don't Shared our Love with the Suburbs

In the late 1970's our family was living in Downers Grove, a western suburb of Chicago.  I was contacted by First St. Paul Lutheran Church in Chicago.  They wanted to interview me for a position on their staff.  St. Paul, located on Chicago's near north side, is one of the oldest Lutheran congregations in the country.  They were a vibrant congregation, still very passionate about ministering to the city.  In an attempt to reach urban professionals they had established an apartment ministry in the Carl Sandburg Village apartment complex.  While I was intrigued by the position, Barb and I decided it was not the kind of environment where we wanted to raise our family.  I still reflect back on that opportunity.  I grew up in an urban environment in Detroit.  I thoroughly enjoyed visiting downtown Chicago during the years we lived in that area.  I still enjoy visiting downtown Dallas.

Our son Mark has inherited my love for the city but he has taken it to a different level.  For a while he lived in a downtown loft.  At that point he was running a community center in east Dallas.  Within the last year, he and his wife, Kristen, have moved into an apartment in the Deep Ellum area of downtown.  The Crossing Church, where Mark serves as lead pastor, has The desire to see the city of Dallas transformed as one of it's core values.  Evidently, Mark and Kristen are not alone in their desire to live in an urban environment  .  A recent survey by Pew Research indicated that 62% of young Americans, ages 18-29, desire to live in an urban mixed-use environment.  Downtown Dallas isn't the only big city to be experiencing a renewal.  I recently read an article on the way downtown Detroit is being revitalized by an infusion of young urban professionals. 

I am not sure that the church has caught the same vision.  The Crossing Church is the first new Lutheran Church in Dallas in over fifty years.  During the same time four LCMS congregations have closed their doors.  Over that same period of time numerous new churches have been planted in the suburbs surrounding DFW.  One congregation even moved from a changing neighborhood to a suburb where there were already three other Lutheran churches. 

Urban ministry is difficult on a number of levels.  One of the biggest obstacles is the cost of operating a facility in the city.  Another challenge comes from the reality that millennials don't always financially support churches.   They also tend to be somewhat transient, and often try to avoid long-term commitments.  The best way to reach them is to meet them where they are at.  That might mean planting individuals in an urban environment and subsidizing their housing.  That's what St. Paul - Chicago was doing almost forty years ago.  In the same way, house churches and small group Bible studies are much more effective than trying to have a Sunday morning worship experience. You also need a core group of people who are passionate about the city and will support a ministry to it.