How It All Started
According to the Joshua Project, the definition of an unreached people group is “a people group among which there is no indigenous...
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"...and the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved." Acts 2:47
Apartment
Church
Planting
Planting Community Led, Gospel Driven, Missionally Focused Churches in Apartment Communities
Why Apartments?
According to the Joshua Project, the definition of an unreached people group is “a people group among which there is no indigenous community of believing Christians with adequate numbers and resources to evangelize this people group without outside assistance”. In numbers, the Joshua Project says any people group that is “less than or equal to 5% Professing Christians” are considered unreached. Many of these people groups live in secluded parts of the world in third world countries and hard to reach places.
But what if I told you there was an unreached people group right here in North America? In fact, you probably live only a few miles from one of these groups of people. These people groups are found in apartment communities. Did you know that 95% of people in North America who live in multi-dwelling properties (apartment communities, high rises, public housing, etc.) do not attend a local church? In addition, in the United States, while only 16% of the population (roughly 55 million people) lives in rented apartment communities, they make up for over 20% of the unchurched people in this country.
These statistics reveal that the church in North America is either not doing anything to reach people in apartment communities with the Gospel, or what they are doing isn’t working. So how do we effectively reach these communities?
We believe that planting churches in these apartment communities will help to get past some of these natural barriers to outreach and church involvement. Supplementing already existing area churches with local gatherings of believers within the apartment walls will give additional methods for people in apartments to have access to the Gospel and a local church. While some people will respond to being connected to local churches, having one inside the apartment complex gives additional opportunities for the Gospel to spread and the Kingdom to grow.
THE HOW
"Live amongst them."
If you want to successfully reach a people group or sub-culture with the Gospel, visiting them once a year, or at best, once a week, is not going to do it. Missionaries know this. That is why they move their families halfway across the world. You have to be present in the community you are trying to reach. It's what Jesus did when he left heaven and came to earth and it's what we will have to do if we want to reach the lost. If it's good enough for Jesus, then it's good enough for us.
Reaching people in apartment sub-cultures will require core teams of church planters to move into an apartment community they have been prayerfully called to reach. There they will create a sense of community and belonging through partnerships we have with other existing apartment missions groups. As community is created and the Gospel is shared, a Gospel centered community or church may begin to form. This will become the trainings grounds in which people are discipled into making disciples who make disciples. This, in turn, will then produce churches that plant churches. As people predictably move from their apartment communities, they will take the Gospel and how to make disciples with them. Therefore, we will be able to "use the transitory nature of apartment living to the advantage of the advancement of the Gospel.”
Want to know more?
Check out our blog posts
PRAY WITH US
We need prayer partners! If you would like regular updates on what is going on with Apartment Underground, please join our mailing list by following the link below. If you want, you can join our team in praying at 2:47pm every afternoon!
GIVE
While we strive to create churches that cost next to zero to run and maintain, we do have overhead costs like training and materials for our new teams. Should you feel called to support us by giving, please follow the link below.
Contact Apartment Underground
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