Do You Know Of Any “GOOD” Urban Churches?

Someone once said to me, “Charles…if you ever find the perfect church, do them a favor and don’t ever go there.  You’d probably just mess it up for everyone else.”  Hopefully all he was saying is that there is no such thing as the “perfect” church. Hopefully.

Churches are made up of sinners worshipping a sinless God.  Plain and simple.  The local church gathering was designed for worship of God, instruction in the Word of God, and for fellowship with the people of God—both Jews and Gentiles alike.  It is a place of restoration, confession of sin, and humility.  It’s not for perfect people.

I have been thinking a lot about church lately—particularly church-planting.  It seems to me that there are many good, God-fearing churches in the suburbs of the city where I live (Fresno, CA), but not so many around the inner city.

I wonder why that is?

From the urban outreach ministries I’ve been involved with over the last half decade or so, I have learned that many churchgoers are somewhat dissatisfied with their current church.  And yesterday was a perfect example of just that.

I was at courthouse park preaching Open-Air and talking with people one-on-one.  When we were finished, four of us were discussing the thrill of ministry and, particularly, the need for a Bible-believing, gospel-preaching church in that area.  We spoke about the possibility of planting a new church (filled with black, hispanic, white, and asian people) and agreed to each begin praying about it.

Just as we were leaving, a young black woman and a hispanic man walked up to us.  “We heard you preaching,” the woman said to us, “and we liked it.”  I asked them where they went to church.  They said they’d been going to “such-and-such” church for the last few months, but have never heard anything like what we were preaching about that afternoon.  They were interested in learning more, but when they found out that each of the churches the four of us attend are so far away, the wind blew right out of their sail.

I am convinced that God wants to plant a multi-ethnic church in the greater downtown area of Fresno.  Maybe not right in the heart of downtown…but certainly not in the suburbs either.  And I’m praying that He would let me be a part of that.  Somehow.

If you are interested in possibly getting involved in a church-plant here in the urban area of Fresno, California…start praying about it!  If you believe God might be calling you to minister outside your comfort zone (and outside your neighborhood), to a people who need it most, contact me right away.

By God’s grace we might just be able to turn the greater urban area of Fresno on its head for the glory of God!