Church Planting in the Central City: an Examination of the Causes and Consequences in Seven Western Cities from 2000-2009 with a Deeper Look at the Creative Class in Gentrified Districts and Neighborhoods

The trajectory of this dissertation is to uncover where churches are being planted but maybe more importantly why. I looked at seven cities in the western part of North America utilizing ones that were between one and four million in population, who represented the various western regions and were cities that I could readily gather data due to familiarity and connections. What piqued my curiosity was to figure out where churches were planted in the metro area, whether downtown, within the city limits, or in the suburbs. After I gathered the data I sent out surveys to over two hundred church planters asking them, 'Why?' Why did they choose to start a church where they did and how did they come to that conclusion?

Of particular interest within the scope of the project was to take a deeper look at gentrified neighborhoods. These neighborhoods oftentimes are magnets for what economist Richard Florida has dubbed the Creative Class. As I surveyed church planters across each metro area I honed in on those planting in gentrified neighborhoods, who were also focusing on the Creative Class as well. Gentrification opens up a Pandora's Box of potential and real social issues and tensions that confront many church planters in these settings. Not only are they seeking to bring God's shalom to a community undergoing immense change, but they stand in two diverse worlds. On one hand they are seeking ways to creatively engage the Creative Class, and on the other there are many lower income people struggling to eke out a living in these rapidly changing neighborhoods that are becoming hip, trendy, and expensive. I surveyed not only church planters in this context but all of the others as well.