See this article from Mohler today:
From Megacity to MetaCity – The Shape of the Future
with these lines:
“The report suggests that Tijuana is now, in effect, an extension of a metacity that would include both Los Angeles and San Diego. This makes Tijuana an example of a new development, the ‘transnational suburb.’”
This morning Dr. Mohler tweeted this article from guardian.co.uk about the world’s quickly-developing “mega-regions” or “endless cities.” Exhibit number one is Hong Kong – Shenhzen – Guangzhou (which I had the privilege of visiting a couple of years ago) with a population well over 100 million people.
The article mentions Los Angeles as one of the early examples of this trend. Southern California is not one city, but hundreds of cities that run together in a massive urban area. “Region” is a good word to use, and “endless city” is exactly what we experienced when we came here for the first time. You can drive for hours without leaving the city. We stopped talking about ‘Los Angeles’ several years ago and started emphasizing the three major metropolitan areas that all run together to form metropolitan Southern California.
Important biblical and doxological reasons call us to move away from a hyper-independent model of church planting, but if we need a practical reason “mega-regions” certainly provide one. “Endless cities” are endless opportunities for church planting movements.
As the article emphasizes, “mega-regions” can create sociological and ecological problems on a frightening scale. But from a Great Commission perspective, it also creates fertile ground for church planting movements as fields that are white unto harvest run together in endless cities.
An article in the latest issue of Leadership includes a summary of how a church plant not far from us grew into a megachurch in a big hurry (it’s actually part of the introduction to an article on how that church overcame some serious problems). It’s a fascinating little glimpse behind the scenes of the Southern California way of developing churches:
“I planted — Church in 1984. Within five years we averaged 200 attenders, and then we went into overdrive.
“At a ‘How to Break the 200 Barrier’ conference, I heard John Maxwell say, ‘I’m praying for 1,000 churches to reach 1,000 in attendance.’ Immediately I knew that was my goal – I wanted to lead one of those churches reaching 1,000 people for Christ. I started doing the necessary things to grow the church.
“Step one was to ‘staff for growth.’ My first hire was a high-octane organizational genius. He had a knack for identifying a trend, programming to it, and rolling out events for our target group. He did an amazing job.
“Soon our AWANA ministry was attracting more than 200 kids, the youth ministry was almost that size, and we attracted thousands of seekers with special events like the drama ‘Heaven’s Gates and Hell’s Flames.’ We brought in speakers such as Oliver North who spoke to a packed house and helped created a positive buzz about our church in the community.
“By 1998, we reached a peak attendance of 1,000. We added more staff and planned for a new building. The sky was the limit. I was living every church planter’s dream…”
He continues to describe how it turned into a nightmare, but that’s not really my point. I just think that brief summary provides a fascinating window into the thought processes, priorities, and strategies of these churches.
I’ve been enjoying the Jan/Feb issue of Frontline magazine with its emphasis on Africa. The articles lay out vision and strategy principles very similar to ours here in Southern California, such as:
I also appreciate the frankness of the writers as they face the realities of what has happened and is happening in Africa:
As I read those things, I am warned about dangers that need to be avoided here. I am also humbled at how many challenges they face that we do not face here. We do not have to deal with ethnic and religious butchering, uncountable inflation, utter starvation, staggering government corruption, thousands of tribal dialects, and massive culture shock. No matter how bad of a reputation California may have, it’s a cakewalk compared to most places in Africa (for example, see this).
And so I ask this: with all of our spiritual and physical resources in America, have we accomplished these goals as listed above? Have we seen durable, indigenous, self-sustaining church planting movements developed in our strategic cities? And if we haven’t managed to do it here, why do we expect to go to a field as challenging as Africa and do it there?
May God pour out His blessing on my faithful brothers and sisters in Africa. Thank you for the honest and hopeful articles. And may God help us here in America to pursue the same goals with Christ-centered dependence and vision.
The March/April issue of Westways (AAA member magazine) has a fascinating article on Jim Svejda, a well-known voice to Southern Californians because of his nightly show on KUSC, the dominant local classical music station.
Here are some surprising quotes:
In a time when classical music stations are a dying breed, KUSC is flourishing.
In the crowded Los Angeles market, Svejda’s show, weeknights from 7 PM to midnight, is usually ranked in the top 10.
“This is the most sophisticated audience anywhere.”
“The greatest musicians on earth are playing in the Hollywood studios. It’s the most lucrative gig in classical music. What you hear in movies is incredibly complex music, and these people sight-read it.”
Over the last several days, I’ve had the opportunity to consider once again the needs and opportunities in Southern California as a whole. I’ve been preparing a powerpoint “tour” of Southern California to use at the Heritage Bible Church Church Planting Conference on Sunday, February 21. This is the first time that I have carefully considered the I-10 corridor that runs from Rancho Cucamonga to Los Angeles. It’s about 35 miles of freeway, running through about 15 cities with a population of well over a million people. Rancho acts as a “gateway” city from the Inland Empire into that corridor of church planting needs. Here are some of the cities along the route:
The city of Menifee just celebrated its first birthday. It is amazing how much this area has changed since we arrived six years ago (yes, it’s six years ago this month!). We arrived when cityhood wasn’t even really discussed. Then it was discussed, argued about, petitions gathered, ballot referendum, big money paid to the people that estimate your fiscal feasability, finally a vote, incorporation, first city council elections, and now Menifee’s one. I’m thankful for a mayor who seems to take fiscal responsibility fairly seriously. It is fun to see the growing sense of community, fun to see the inroads Grace Bible Church has made into the community, and frustrating to realize we haven’t made more.
