But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare. - Jeremiah 29:7
When my family and I lived in Phoenix for a year we were impacted like no other time. In Orlando, we always stayed at our home church so I was accustomed to one style, and it wasn't a bad style and we never felt the need to leave, I just wasn't exposed to other set-ups and denominations (besides podcasts and books) so, when we went to Phoenix it was a culture shock.
The effect the gospel had on each of these churches and ministries was unique; it isn't that there isn't one church or individual pastor or ministry in the whole country that's never done what was being done in Phx, but it's the fact that this work spans across multiple churches who have no official affiliation with each other except the gospel.
Almost everything I've written about that has been in the "what if" point of view was picked up from Phoenix, because over there that's what is happening. I could easily go down the line of everything my wife and I loved about Redemption Alhambra, and you might see it as just a preference thing, but some of it to me felt like the piece so many churches have been missing. (feel free to message me if you're curious about them). However, there is at least one thing that should be treated as an essential and a responsibility that every church should carry out: serve the neighborhood.
Redemption Alhambra's involvement in the community was unique to me, because their theology and perspective was unique to me. First off, they had been there for about a decade so they weren't some outsiders trying to invade and become the community's hero. Second, this was an inner-city part of town that had a mix of incomes from business owners with updated homes to a homeless community, so the mentality that everyone needs to be on the same level with the same experience was probably purged out of them early on. Third, and probably most importantly, they believed all things are redeemable and we won't float to heaven when we die, but rather the Last Day meant God would renew everything. This theology gave them the heart to do their part in stewarding and aiding in the brokenness of their home.
Here are a few things we saw them do:
1) Affordable Christmas-they take donated toys and sell them at a fraction of the cost. The point is so that a mother or father who does work hard, but doesn't have it in their budget to spend hundreds of dollars can still buy gifts for their kids, instead of being given to them for free. This prevents that emasculating feeling someone might receive when they aren't able to go out and shop for their kids during the Christmas season. The money goes to a foster care initiative.
2) Small Business funding-Redemption Alhambra is part of a larger network called Redemption and the Redemption network offers an opportunity for people who want to start a business, but need some backing. They would go in front of a board and present what they are doing then the board will evaluate whether this business is properly organized so they succeed and if they will have a gospel mindset in their vocation. It's a perfect way for a church to help kingdom-focused entrepreneurs get on their feet and start having an effect in the business place.
3) Surge- This is a 9 month class offered by several churches. It's end-goal is to have you see your calling, however, it's beautifully put together, because it'll most likely show you that you are at your "calling" and what you are called to do is to perform excellent work and this will be part of the gospel light that will help change world. You'll go through 4 different quarters, where each one has their own topic and along the way you are discipled to have an outward focus. My favorite part of Surge is how churches that aren't affiliated with each other and separate church bodies across Phoenix are being weaved and joined together by this teaching to help create a paradigm shift in the city through their vocation.
4) Hustle Phx- This is an organization that Redemption Alhambra teamed up with and it's also focused on the workplace. Hustle Phx's mission is to give an opportunity to those with an entrepreneurial spirit who don't know how to put together a business plan or what steps to take so they can start their business or the business owner who wants help to improve. The class is open to anyone after you apply, but their focus is low-income neighborhoods. Again, this is another example of God using his church in Phx to change the city by building up the members to make an impact in an area that everyone is a part of, believer and non-believer: the business world.
5) Neighborhood Ministries- This is the OG of Phoenix ministries; they have an incredible story that's worth checking out and what they're doing for the city is incomparable. But they partnered with Redemption to help aide with "asset mapping." Asset Mapping is where you learn everything you can about your neighborhood: history, conflicts, demographics, government leaderships, common issues, strengths, who the residents are, what businesses exist, how the businesses are doing, what other churches are in the area, what are the churches doing, what do the residents know, what do the residents care about, what do the residents think about your church, what do residents think about the church in general, what do the residents think the church should be doing, why the area is called what it is, why the streets are called what they are, etc. Literally everything. And you do this by talking to anyone you can in the area either by going to door to door or walking into businesses or calling up city officials and so on. There are several pros that come out of this, but one of them is so the church can help the neighborhood with Asset Based Community Development (ABCD); ABCD is aimed to help progress the area with what the community itself has to offer. Another way God is using the members of the church, not just the church leadership, to change the city.
6) Story Board Center- Like I said, we were in Phx for only a short while, but thankfully we were there for a big transition the church was going through where they were getting ready to turn part of their church building into a neighborhood center. (If you've read any of my other posts then you know it's a transition that clearly influenced me.) They wanted to take the space they had and give it to the community as a resource, they didn't want to be the neighborhood's church, they wanted to be the church to the neighborhood. I don't think they were interested in being the center stage of the community, I think they just wanted to be a part of it.
The Story Board Center wasn't an outreach campaign to increase numbers on Sunday, this was an opportunity to help make Alhambra better and more inline with what God intends it to be apart from the fall. They just wanted to open the doors to the rooms they had and offer it up as a tool to anyone in the area.
And this is the heart that we miss out in so many different churches. We want to be the hero instead of the servant, but we know which role Jesus played and expects us to play as well. Everything I listed is honestly to help build up the communities and help redeem them by working with Jesus.
(How Redemption Alhambra even got to this point is a story in itself and if you want to learn more about what they're doing or reach out to one of the elders please do so. Just click on this link and email any of them, I know they would be more than happy to share what's going on. If you want the abridged version, I wrote about what I had noticed while I was there and you can read that on my Facebook page here.)
I see this church as an awesome model simply because they are rooted in the basic biblical truths of: teach scripture, spend time with each other and enjoy it, do your vocation to the glory of God, and serve (not outreach) the area you live in.