Neighborhood Ministries

Many churches started in the inner-city when the areas were more prosperous. As the areas deteriorated, many members moved out. The churches did nothing to reach the people living around the church. Eventually, the churches were made up mostly of non-resident members who came back to worship. The small remaining congregation was no longer able to support the big building which was too expensive to maintain.  Eventually the churches decided to move to the suburbs where most of their members lived. Since the remaining members were often poor and elderly, they were not able to travel to the new church. Now some churches are seeking to reach the people in the inner-city but are finding it difficult because they have to rent facilities and they are often viewed as outsiders. The people are often geared toward survival and preaching alone will not attract the people here. The church must demonstrate God’s love through tangible ministry by meeting needs and showing they care. It must go beyond merely providing food and clothes to providing job training and teaching life skills.