Since we announced we’re launching a second community in Manhattan, lots of people outside our church have asked what we mean when we say “community”.
Often their response to the news is, “Oh… so you’re adding a church service?” or, “So is this like another campus?”
To understand why we call it a community, you have to understand our vision. From the outset our determined passion has always been to build a community not a crowd. There’s a big difference…
* A community is built on relationship. A crowd is built on attendance.
* A community is committed to each other. A crowd always has options.
* A community is long-term. A crowd is temporary.
* A community encourages contribution. A crowd encourages consumption
This is not a debate about big vs small. I believe you can have a large community (it’s not an oxymoron, and we hope to build one). And the reality is that even a small group of people can still act like a crowd. If community was automatic for small groups of people then more than half of the families in our nation wouldn’t fall apart; community is still a choice that’s built on commitment to each other.
* So we’re not starting a second “campus” because it’s really about the people not the facility.
* We’re not just adding a second “service”, because it’s not an event. We’re building a community that has services, instead of just trying to create a sense of community in our services.
* It’s not another “church”, because we’re one church… now with two communities. And each community will look different like the neighborhoods themselves.
Is this all just semantics? Why bother writing this post? Because for those who care… these little choices in our language are an expression of the DNA of Liberty Church.
It’s not right or wrong. It’s not good or bad. It’s just how we believe God has called us to express our part of the body of Christ in all its beautiful diversity.
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