Neighborhood Ministries

Inner city ministry The church has become so middle class oriented that most church members find the inner-city to be like a foreign country. Churches which grew up in the inner-city when it was a middle class neighborhood, are moving to the suburbs as their members become employed and move out and the neighborhood deteriorates into a slum. The problem is that in doing so, they leave their poorer and older members behind since they can not commute and there is no one left to minister to them. In addition, the church gives up its neighborhood base. Without a building in the inner-city, it is almost impossible to carry on a ministry there without renting a building and your motives will be suspect by residents who see you as an outside group trying to exploit them. The problem could be solved by keeping the inner-city church and building a satellite church in the suburbs. By building partnerships with inner-city churches, the rural and suburban church can help the inner-city church carry on ministry. Usually the members of such churches are poor and elderly. They do not have the money or personnel to carry on ministry. The churches outside the city can supply funds and personnel badly needed while the inner-city church can supply the facilities and the trust of the people, as well as a knowledge of the needs and how to meet those needs. As those from outside the city work in the inner-city, the learn about the need and how to minister to them. That  information is helpful as many of those needs are moving to the suburbs which lacks the trained people to deal with them.