When we think about developments in society that have a practical impact on the church, we think about the way worship services have been enhanced by everything from microphones to livestreaming. But city planning also changes the way we get to church and the place of church in our communities.
Two Normal Rockwell paintings illustrate these changes. The 1952 image called “Walking to Church” shows three children walking on an urban sidewalk with their mother and father. Urban churches were still “neighborhood churches” at that time, before downtown areas started to lose residents. The whole family attended together.
But by 1959, much had changed. That year, Rockwell painted “Easter Morning,” which depicts a mother with her three children in their Sunday clothes, walking past the man of the house who is huddling in his pajamas, staying home to read the newspaper. This is clearly a suburban home, and we can be sure Mama has a set of car keys in her hand. Men weren’t needed to protect their families on the trip to church and could abdicate transportation to mom at the wheel of the family car.
In the 20th century, changes to travel shaped the church itself, especially Protestant congregations, and in the 21st century city planning and environmental concerns are further impacting churches.
The church shapes and is shaped by the city.
Before the Reformation, the Roman Catholic churches spread throughout Europe on a parish model: one attended and submitted to the church in closest proximity to where one lived. By contrast Protestant churches were never exclusively parish churches. They have always operated on a more free-market, competitive model, attracting any who wanted to hear their preaching.
Their non-geographical origins thus grew from the persuasive force of traveling preachers, or from like-minded communities like Presbyterians who called a minister and built a church for him.
Jeff Speck, an international expert on walkable cities, notes that up to the 1900s, churches received “honorific places” in towns, on hills or other spots that commanded attention. After World War II, he said, “the big box store” centered the community. Jacques Ellul, a 20th-century Calvinist theologian, said that whereas “in the Middle Ages cities were built around cathedrals, so now they are built around industry.”
As the 20th-century American city evolved, it was formed decisively by the needs and opportunities of business and automobile travel. Streets became more sanitary but more congested, highways more necessary, and travel more efficient.
Public transportation was geared to getting employees to work, and sometimes that meant that the family car was at the disposal of the wife. The advent of the car ushered in the greater involvement of women – and lesser involvement of men – in church life, with men knowing that their wives and kids could safely get to church without men driving a wagon or walking along protectively.
Women’s ability to use the family car coincided with their growing freedom. They could now move about with children in tow, do volunteer work, and transport children to private schools and extracurricular activities. Women could also feel safer traveling at night, in bad weather, or to unfamiliar areas. Women would have never willingly ridden a horse or steered a wagon in the dark, with or without children. But, once they gained access to cars – especially their own cars starting in the 1940s and 1950s – they could go to church, including evening activities, without men.
In the 1950s, the automobile made suburban sprawl possible, enabling a widespread move for families away from the urban cores to the suburbs. Cities’ coal and diesel fumes, lack of air conditioning (and thus noise and pests from open windows), and heavy traffic made the suburbs increasingly appealing. In some places, suburban sprawl was also motivated by a desire for families to separate themselves from others based on ethnicity and economic conditions.
The church moves to the suburbs.
World War II veterans, rewarded with economic opportunities and status, were looking for something new. Suburban homes, schools, and churches were brand new, with all the latest features. The car (along with other innovations like the microphone, amplifier, and air conditioner) helped facilitate the birth of megachurches, attracting loads of new members each week from all over the area.
As authorities began requiring downtown buildings to provide their own parking spaces, churches found suburban locations more affordable. Small urban churches were especially vulnerable to these “parking minimums,” contributing to the suburban church growth phenomenon.
Because the internet was a generation away, mid-20th-century churches sought “promotion” and “visibility” with large buildings and locations near highways for all to see. Cars made it feasible to offer all kinds of midweek activities, so congregations began building schools and recreation facilities. Women’s activities shifted from the monthly missionary society or quilting bee in a home to weekly Bible studies at church, with nursery provided.
Church planters began to feel called not to start rescue missions or penetrate commercial urban centers, but to reach out to new housing developments. In these neighborhoods popping up, everyone was a newcomer. Protestant church planting was anybody’s game; may the best preacher, music team, and youth program win.
Geographical roots had nothing to do with church affiliation. Some pastors would boast that congregants drove 45 minutes to attend their services. Congregations have tried to keep their flocks unified by basing small groups on geographical proximity and setting up multiple campuses which have their own shepherds and activities. Churches have done immeasurable good by creating cohesion where there might otherwise have simply been rows and rows of new houses with little interaction between the residents. Believers contribute service and kindness wherever they reside.
However, in the 21st century, some city planners are not as sanguine toward churches as Christians might expect. Some city officials resent any nonprofit being free from property tax while receiving services like police and fire protection. Authorities shy away from appearing to favor religion, and may resist permits for church renovations in historic neighborhoods. Some begrudge the parking lots that churches need, which often lie empty for much of the week. Environmentalists call these “parking craters,” and they can be deal breakers for planners who have “green” priorities.
This negative view of churches culminates in the 21st century elimination of churches altogether: in most “15-minute,” walkable community plans, amenities such as shopping, work, parks, and schools are anticipated. But places of worship are missing. Most planned communities are fairly small and have limited car access, so churches located within them have little “reach.” Those churches must minimize doctrinal distinctives to be palatable to those in the immediate area.
Four ways for churches to become better neighbors.
Churches thrive in more organic settings. Doctrine can best be protected and proliferated in a free market of property and ideas. Every city in America is different when it comes to regulating space for churches. However, in our current cultural climate, here are some suggestions for churches to become better neighbors in their community.
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- Emphasize efficient use of church property. Churches tend to be very efficient at using space when they are new, like church plants who rent from a public school for years while raising funds for its own building. Once the church becomes a property owner, it tends to become less sensitive to the efficient use of space. Often a church campus can sit empty for most of the week with rooms that could benefit other community purposes. Blake Schwarz, a former staff member at Park Cities Presbyterian Church, now helps revitalize old church buildings to serve the surrounding community. He has helped repurpose a historic church building in Dallas, leasing it on favorable terms to immigrant congregations throughout the weekend. During the week a bakery uses the church kitchen. A daycare, counseling practice, and a dog park also use the building.
- Avoid having a parking crater. An empty parking lot during the week only benefits the church. Yes, you need parking spaces but this doesn’t always have to mean a space for every attendee. In choosing property, look at sharing a parking lot with a business that’s closed on Sunday and some weeknights. When city officials look at empty church parking lots, they see land that could have yielded tax revenue. I’m not arguing for the taxation of churches. Instead, I’m simply trying to help churches become sensitive to the dynamics their presence creates for city planners.
- Develop friendships with city officials. One PCA church hosted a luncheon honoring municipal leaders and first responders, with the mayor’s wife as a speaker. Challenge members to get involved with local initiatives. Confer with members who work for city entities to understand evolving programs. You may not feel like you currently need a strong relationship with city officials, but you’ll be glad you have it once it is established. Once the city senses a church’s desire to be a constructive member of the community, it will likely open the door to ministry opportunities.
- Be good neighbors in the immediate area of the church. Encourage outreach through offering Vacation Bible School, Mother’s Day Out, and special events advertised to neighbors who could attend on foot. Host a neighborhood coffee to get to know the neighborhood’s challenges and build friendships. Reach out to nearby homeowner associations and offer your building for events. Holidays are an important occasion to make sure neighbors have a place to go. One PCA congregation hosts a Christmas Day luncheon for those who don’t have family nearby, always attracting numerous people from outside the membership.
Like any enterprise, the impact of city planning on churches can be positive or negative. Believers need to be aware of the needs and aspirations of the leaders and visionaries who will have that impact on their local church.
Leah Farish is an active member of Christ Presbyterian Church, Tulsa. She is an attorney and speaker, and hosts a podcast called Conversation Balloons that interviews experts on relationship and cultural issues from a Christian worldview.