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A practical and hopeful guide to encourage churches to rediscover their purpose as neighborhood anchors through community partnerships.
Thousands of congregations across the country occupy underused property while their communities are struggling with urgent needs, including affordable housing, food insecurity, and childcare costs. Loren Richmond, Jr. proposes a solution: transforming church buildings into centers of community and partnership. Rather than being open only on Sundays, churches can and should open their doors seven days a week in order to welcome their neighbors and provide support for communal needs. By reframing church buildings as tools for connection beyond church attendance, leaders can take practical steps toward creating a shared and sustainable space. The goal is not merely to “do good,” but to empower and equip congregations to serve and reach their communities with the gospel of Jesus Christ—to transform lives through the power of grace, not through programs alone.
"In this time of change and challenge for congregations, The Church as Community Hub offers a hopeful and practical map for indwelling the places God has planted us, sharing life with neighbors, addressing concrete needs, and joining God's mission to heal and renew human communities.”
“The Church as a Community Hub offers faith communities an inspiring, theological, and practical approach to being a relevant place and space for people to gather and belong. We are reminded that we participate in God's work and that we can be responsive to the social, cultural, and relational needs across our communities. Organize a community reading group and see what transformation emerges from this excellent resource!”
“Everyone thinks community is the key to Christianity’s way forward in late modernity. But too often discussions of community either die the death of flat pragmatism or the slow suffocation of theoretical abstraction. Rare is the case where community is articulated in an action-oriented way that touches its depth and transformational spirit. Loren Richmond and his bookare the very rare exception. This is a wonderful book that provides you with many practical handles that rest on rich thinking and reflection. All pastors and those in ministry need to get their hands on this book.”
“Loren [Richmond] is doing some of the most thoughtful work I know of in Mainline revitalization.”
“Weaving together beautiful examples, practical insights, and grounded reflection, Richmond invites churches into a more expansive story of sacred community life. It is a story of hope built upon God's faithful work in the world and our neighborhoods.”