When church planting networks have their sights set on the city, they at least have to realize the landscape of the city and its demographic functions may not be like those of other cities (New York and Atlanta are VERY different). How these networks think about the city in one place will require fresh new thinking in other places. This does not mean churches shouldn‟t be planted near the city‟s center; rather, it only means what we used to think and talk about, when we referred to urban realities, has changed in many ways. To rub shoulders with religious and cultural pluralism, a church planter in Atlanta might want to include places like “suburban” Gwinnett County, or Cobb County, in addition to thinking about Midtown or “downtown”.
Now influence may be a different matter altogether. Cultural elites and the cultural shapers of the city region may indeed be near the city’s center (at least from a vocational standpoint – think Coca-Cola, Emory, Georgia Tech, etc.). The institutions and networks that drive a region‟s culture — think business, symbolic capital, the university, the arts, etc. – these centers of cultural and global influence are still found at the (often geographic) center of the city (though not always), and new churches and new networks will simply have to take this into consideration and be aware of who they are and where they are. Planting a city-center (or center-city) church near the center of Atlanta may indeed be a very strategic and important decision, from a city renewal standpoint, just as having a network concentrate on the city‟s center (i.e. inside the perimeter) may be a very good thing to do, especially when it comes to cultural influence.
These are but a few reasons a diverse alliance is needed in Atlanta. It takes all types to engage a city like Atlanta, with all of its complexity, diversity, and extremes.
If you would like more information about Atlanta’s demographic and cultural complexities, feel free to contact us here at the ACPA
