Hoping to build a “bipartisan” Methodist congregation in Chicago’s South Loop, Urban Village Church leaders plastered invitations on the side of CTA buses, train platforms, on Facebook and Twitter looking for people who have been burned or bored by religion.
But rather than the disappointed or disenfranchised they expected to draw, a diverse crowd of faithful followers have showed up looking for a fresh style of worship downtown.
“A handful of people are out of work right now and more open to the big life questions or (those who’ve come are) young adults who have moved to Chicago,” said the Rev. Christian Coon, 42, co-pastor of the church which opened in March.
“They’re attracted to a church that’s also new and doing things differently. All of those reasons make me feel like it’s a great time to do something,” Coon said.
Urban Village is one of nearly three dozen new churches recently planted in the Chicago area by the United Methodists. Some are geared toward burgeoning Latino, African-American or Asian communities. But most are simply geared toward geography and new models of evangelism. Urban Village rents space at the Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies; 610 S. Michigan Ave.
The Rev. Martin Lee, director of congregational development for the Northern Illinois Conference of the United Methodist Church said that it’s hard to relocate congregations when the population moves. It often makes more sense to start over, he said.
“Our learning shows that new churches are more attractive for new people,” Lee said.
When Tim Liu, a revenue manager for United Airlines, moved to the River North neighborhood from Los Angeles a year ago, he wanted to find a multicultural congregation like the one he left behind. Lee said Urban Village Church popped up after he typed “inclusive, diverse, young, urban, Christian church” into Google.
He met with Urban Village’s other pastor, the Rev. Trey Hall, who filled him on the vision for the church.
“Here is this new community being built, and I had a chance to be part of it and help shape it,” said Liu, 36, who appreciates a less dogmatic approach to religion than the one with which he was raised.
“We were taught what’s wrong and never what’s right,” he said. “You could never do enough right, but there were always so many wrongs.”
The DNA of every new Methodist church is unique, said Lee. Urban Village resembles an emergent church, a fairly new movement in mainline Protestant circles that stresses creativity, a contemporary approach to the Bible and evangelism, he said. Scholars say it is especially appealing to young adults who prize ambiguity over clear answers.
At Urban Village, the approach is casual. Instead of preaching from the pulpit, Hall and Coon keep it conversational, often taking turns to make their point. There is personal testimony by a congregant, a greeting that emphasizes the church’s inclusive approach and everyone is welcome to partake in weekly communion — often a monthly ritual in many Methodist congregations.
Both tapped by northern Illinois leaders to start the experimental church, Hall, 34, formerly of Holy Covenant United Methodist Church in Lincoln Park and Coon, 42, formerly of Christ United Methodist in Deerfield, complement each other. While Coon comes across as quiet and contemplative, he calls Hall “the connector” because of his networking skills.
Sermons have included a series based on their ad campaign, which reached out to Cubs and Sox fans, Republicans and Democrats, believers and doubters, suits and tattoos, gays and straights. More recent sermons have focused on relationships.
“We hope to be extremely inclusive around many of the conversations or populations who, for whatever reasons, have not been kosher in the church,” said Hall. “When people experience a community where all the religious barriers are down, all the walls and exclusive things are vanquished and we can become a place of profoundly divine, welcome, amazing things happen.”
When Holly Knights, 27, moved to the Old Town neighborhood from St. Louis last summer, her former pastor suggested she explore Urban Village, which he had heard was in the planning stages.
“The values of Urban Village align with the values I have,” she said. “All it takes is one sentence in a sermon that makes me think: ‘This isn’t a community I’d feel comfortable bringing friends to.’ It’s exciting to be part of a community where I feel I could bring anybody to a service and not be worried about what impression that might give them of me.”
Eddie Gibbs, director for the Institute for the Study of Emerging Churches at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, Calif., said emergent churches turn the traditional concept of the Great Commission (Christ’s instructions to disciples to spread his teachings) on its head.
“To be an emerging church you are the church that’s not attracting seekers but producing seekers. You come as you are. It’s really very important,” Gibbs said. “A previous generation said you have to believe in order to belong and to behave. In the emergent church, there’s more emphasis on the journey than the decision.”
Urban Village fits that description for Knights, whose favorite sermon encouraged people who wrestled with doubts. She felt confident enough to confess her own doubts when the pastors invited her to share her testimony one Sunday.
“If you don’t admit to yourself that you have any doubts or questions then you probably aren’t being that honest with yourself or taking ownership of your faith,” Knights said. “It’s OK to really process information and not always be comfortable with it and know that’s part of the growing process.”
