Poverty moves into suburbia; creates ministry opportunities

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Suburban churches don’t need to leave the state, travel to colonias along the Rio Grande or drive into the inner city to meet the needs of the poor. A recent study shows they may not even have to leave their own neighborhoods.

For the first time in U.S. history, the majority of poor people now live in the suburbs, a recent Brookings Institute study revealed. Although poverty remains more concentrated in inner-city areas, there are more poor people spread across suburbia.

Poverty is not exclusive to inner-city areas or remote colonias, but also has grown increasingly prevalent in suburbs, as well as and small towns. Members of First Baptist Church in Decatur staffed a summer feeding program that provided for children who receive free or reduced meals during the school year. (BGCT FILE PHOTO)

Ferrell Foster, associate director of Texas Baptists’ advocacy/care team, is encouraged by the prospect of financially secure Christians living closer to the poor. It increases chances for the economic classes to interact, increasing the likelihood of Christians understanding the plight of people in poverty and responding to needs.

“One of the things that has happened in the past 40 years is people with means have moved away from people without means,” he said. “Hopefully, we can now get a mix in the cities and in the suburbs.”

But some question whether suburban Christians will see poor people living closer to them as an opportunity for ministry or as a threat to their lifestyles. Some believers and non-believers view an increase in nearby poverty levels as a danger to their home values, quality of local schools and public safety.

Gaynor Yancey, associate dean of the Baylor University School of Social Work, believes many Christians will respond like people outside the faith—making decisions based on fear and perceived economic implications like the generation that abandoned the inner city decades before.

Yancey prays she’s wrong about her forecast, but she believes it is realistic.

“I think their culture will take (Christians) away,” she said. “I think their economic status will take them away.”

Yancey praised people who chose to live intentionally for Christ—no matter who lives near them. Regardless of people’s income, these Christians seek to show the love of Christ by meeting needs and sharing the gospel. Poor people have a variety of needs, and Christians can help meet them, she emphasized.


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Steve Corbett, co-author of When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty Without Hurting the Poor and Yourself, agreed, saying helping the poor is a matter of living out Christ’s call upon people’s lives.

While acknowledging the significant challenges of economic poverty, Corbett reminds people that everyone is impoverished in one way or another. “We’re all poor, because we’re all broken,” he said.

Joel Kotkin, distinguished presidential fellow in urban futures at Chapman University in Orange, Calif., said meeting needs is one way churches can add value to their communities.

If faith groups become known for taking care of people, and if people find help through church-based efforts, the poor will have a positive view of Christianity and find some relief from economic pressure.

The No Need Among You conference in Waco, Oct. 28-30, will focus on how churches can be involved in community development ef-forts that help people long-term.

For more information about the No Need Among You Conference, visit www.texasbaptists.org/noneedamongyou or call (888) 244-9400.

 

 


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