What Role Does the Local Church Have in Its City?

When envisioning a local church nestled in the heart of a bustling city, images of congregants offering services and aid to the surrounding community might come to mind.

But recent Barna research shows that, except for one major area of concern, adults residing in metro areas don’t see the church as responsible for addressing community issues.

This article shares data from Inside the Urban Church—a Barna report created in partnership with World Impact—to further explore what role the church has in the city.

Of the Many Issues Churches Could Address in the City, Churched & Unchurched Agree on Loneliness
While metro residents see much of the good work done by local churches, they don’t feel that churches should solely or even primarily carry the burden of helping their communities. The Church is seen as one piece of the puzzle.

Indeed, respondents expect a lot from other institutions that they feel should do the heavy lifting of addressing local issues. They name city council members, the mayor, community residents and community groups as entities that should do the bulk of the work. The majority in these areas looks to their local government to create meaningful change in the community.

Furthermore, they say ordinary citizens, such as “myself” and community families, should be more responsible than religious leaders, Christian leaders or Christian churches when it comes to addressing local concerns or leading meaningful change.

Depending on the issue at hand, adults in cities may see different institutions as having precedence. For example, they expect local government to address issues such as crime (65%), community building (52%) and homelessness (46%). Respondents expect the national government to have a leading role for addressing poverty (38%), health care (54%) and racism (39%).

Across the board, Christian churches and religious organizations are not the first groups that city dwellers think of as well suited to address a range of issues. While churched adults are slightly more inclined to feel churches and religious organizations could create meaningful change or tackle key concerns, they still favor the experience and leadership of other political or civil bodies.

One standout, however, is that metro residents both inside and outside the Church think Christian churches are well positioned to address the problem of loneliness. This finding is notable, both for highlighting the top issue locals entrust to churches and as a sign of common ground in perceptions among the churched and unchurched.

Urban churches and their leaders can expect to encounter the most goodwill and trust from the community members who have the greatest proximity and familiarity with their ministries. And they should assume that the bulk of community concerns (from poverty and homelessness to community building and crime) are not seen as the Church’s domain.

But this doesn’t negate the obligation and calling of local churches to be representatives of justice and compassion. Further, urban churches that are willing to address the modern epidemic of loneliness may find this effort is welcomed by their neighbors and may build the connections and credibility needed to play a broader role in the community.