Church plants can’t reach people they don’t know anything about. It’s crucial, then, for church planters to be familiar with the demographic makeup of the place in which they wish to plant.
By Billy Rose, The Gospel Coalition
But my fear is that most church planters stop there. Knowing demographics is essential, but in order for that understanding to be accurate, we must also know the history of our community. Every community’s present state has been forged in the past. No place can escape its history.
And if we fail to rightly understand such history, our churches risk doing more harm than good.
What you don’t know
We started South Dallas Community Church in September 2017. A year prior, while still a small group, we took time to research the history of our city. Initially we researched out of necessity, because the majority of our core team weren’t natives. As we talked with residents in the community, it became clear just how much we didn’t know.
We developed something we called the “Learn to Serve Project”–a document chronicling the history of our community and how it relates to ministry. What we learned from these efforts has proven invaluable for our young church’s witness in our community.