How About We Plant A Church At a Motel To Reach Prostitutes?

Different churches should be planted to reach different people. But how about church planting to reach prostitutes?

A buddy of mine, David Achata, shared with me a video of a church plant that’s reaching prostitutes and others who are bound in addiction. It’s called Dope Church.

Here’s what I really like about Dope Church and similar missional movements:

1. The missionary stance

What I like about this church is how much of a missionary stance it takes to the culture around it. They look around, see that there’s a very real and gritty need, and decide to minister and serve this group of people. Of course, all of us are called to be missionaries. The problem is that many still think that being a missionary means going to a jungle somewhere, when in fact it really just means walking to the other side of the street.

Check out this quote:

“North America is now the largest mission field in the English-speaking world and the 200—million—plus ‘secular’ North Americans make the United States and Canada make the third largest mission field in the world—after China and India.” -Leighton Ford

For many, this quote may come as a surprise, but it’s our current reality in North America.

2. They’re not large, which allows them to focus

There’s a great danger in becoming large, actually. This might sound strange from someone who currently pastors in what many would call a mega-church, but it’s true. When you’re large, you’re pulled in a hundred different directions. There are lots of things to think about and manage. Not saying that a large church can’t be missional, but there are certainly some tensions in place.

If you’re small, you can respond quickly to a need–you take a few families with you and you go. I think it’s akin to the difference of a young tech startup, who is able to move with a certain agility, and Microsoft.

3. It challenges assumptions about what a church looks like and does

So what is a church supposed to look like? Does it need a building? What needs to take place in a service? What ministries does a church need? Dope Church is not trying to have lots of different ministries. They’re trying to minister to this one people group at this motel. And they seem to be doing it well.

So what do you think about the video and what Dope Church is doing? You can hear more about their story here. To leave a comment click here.