Church Landscape Review: Changing Faces of Faith

Churches have experienced plenty of change and faced much upheaval over the last 10 years. If you could take a snapshot of your church before and after that period, what would it look like? Would you see any big structural changes? How would the leadership of your church have changed? What about the congregation? 

That’s just what the Applied Research team at the Emmanuel Gospel Center did with a diverse group of newer churches in Boston between 2014 and 2024. 

They looked at things like attendance, leadership, and demographics. Their findings in the “Changing Faces of Faith” report show time left little untouched. The churches in the study had to be creative when it came to finding meeting space, facing a pandemic, and navigating leadership changes.    

This report is part of the larger 2024 Church Landscape Review, a study of newer church communities in the Boston area over 10 years. We will publish the Applied Research team’s findings in a series of reports we will release periodically throughout 2025:

• Executive Summary Report

• Pastors Under Pressure

• Evolving Vision*

• Open Doors in Boston*

Stay up to date with this project by subscribing to the EGC newsletter.

*Titles are subject to change.

Church Landscape Review: Executive Summary Report

In 2014, the Emmanuel Gospel Center (EGC) conducted a research study of over 40 church plants in the Boston area. It involved in-depth interviews with a diverse group of new churches from different denominations, ethnic groups, and networks. While the study focused on women in church leadership, it yielded a treasure trove of information on the church planters and their congregations. 

Ten years later, EGC’s Applied Research team revisited the snapshot the 2014 data had produced and re-interviewed almost two dozen of the original churches. The team wanted to examine any shifts in the church landscape over a challenging and tumultuous period.

The research team gathered their findings in a series of reports they will release periodically throughout 2025. The Executive Summary Report provides a broad introduction to the study along with major data trends. The other reports revolve around four different themes:

• Changing Faces of Faith

• Pastors Under Pressure

• Evolving Vision*

• Open Doors in Boston*

Stay up to date with this project by subscribing to the EGC newsletter.

*Titles are subject to change.

Boston Church Directory

The Boston Church Directory lists Christian churches located within the city limits of Boston, Brookline, and Cambridge.

The Directory may be used for developing relationships between members of Boston's Christian community; referrals; finding a church home; research in church planting; and other scholarly, relational, or spiritual purposes.

Contact Rudy Mitchell, Senior Researcher

Contact Rudy Mitchell, Senior Researcher

Top 5 Books for Understanding Boston

Top 5 Books for Understanding Boston

BY RUDY MITCHELL, Senior Researcher, Applied Research and Consulting

No one book or even a handful of books can fully cover the many facets of the city of Boston over its nearly 400 year history. Many books cover highly specific topics, present photographic highlights, or serve an academic readership. However, the following five books give distinctive insights, diverse perspectives, and general overviews. I recommend these five because they provide a variety of viewpoints, are general in nature, and can best serve most readers in understanding Boston.

A PEOPLE’S HISTORY OF THE NEW BOSTON

BY JIM VRABEL

Although many books about Boston focus on the city’s mayors, urban planners, and prominent leaders, Vrabel focuses on community activists, the poor, and working class men and women whose protests and community organizing played an unsung role in shaping the “New Boston” over the last fifty years. This important book, based on many interviews and extensive research, covers a range of issues from housing and urban renewal to education and jobs, as well as protests against a proposed Southwest Expressway and airport expansion.

COMMON GROUND: A TURBULENT DECADE IN THE LIVES OF THREE AMERICAN FAMILIES

BY J. ANTHONY LUKAS

The Pulitzer Prize winning Common Ground probes the roots of issues related to race, class, educational disparity, and income inequality which are still critical to understand and address. This brilliant work of historical nonfiction reads like an epic novel. In the foreground are three families: the black Twymons, the Irish McGoffs, and the Yankee Divers. The larger picture is not limited to Boston during the decade of court-ordered school integration through busing of students, although the book brings that era to life in intimate detail. Lukas paints a complex picture rich with details and explorations into the historical roots of the issues. Great works like this often draw on the details of one specific place and time to understand the larger, enduring concerns of American society and its cities.

THE HUB: BOSTON PAST AND PRESENT

BY THOMAS O’CONNOR

The Hub is the best general, one volume history of Boston. O’Connor draws on a long career of research and writing about Boston to distill his insights on Boston’s resistance and adaptations to political, social, religious, and economic changes over the centuries. While creatively adapting to major changes, the city and its neighborhoods have maintained their distinctive and historical qualities without becoming frozen in time. However, O’Connor defines the current challenge facing the city as retaining “its own distinctive identity as a city whose moral standards, civic virtues, and intellectual accomplishments once inspired a nation (xiii).”

BOSTON VOICES AND VISIONS

BY SHAUN O’CONNELL, ED.

The editor of this anthology of historical and literary excerpts about Boston has selected richly descriptive pieces as well as selections that consider the high purpose and vision set forth for the city.  These selections convey the flavor and everyday life of the city over the centuries, but also interpret, critique and praise the ideas, attitudes, and ideals of Boston. The book includes a wide range of authors from John Winthrop (1630), to Oliver Wendell Holmes (1831), to W.E.B. DuBois (1960), and Patricia Powell (2004).

BOSTON: A TOPOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. 3RD EDITION.

BY WALTER MUIR WHITEHILL AND LAWRENCE KENNEDY

While the title of this classic work may suggest a narrow focus, Whitehill’s book is actually an excellent introduction to the general development of Boston. The changing face of the Boston landscape and its built environment are concisely covered and generously illustrated with many pictures and maps. Some newer books go into more depth on the filling of the Back Bay and the process of urban renewal, but this work is especially helpful in understanding the first three centuries of central Boston history. Although the book does not cover the social and religious aspects of Boston in any depth, it provides a remarkable amount of detail about the city’s buildings and physical development, all in a very readable style.

For more recommended reading on Boston and its history as well as resources for walking the city, here is a fuller list of resources.

TAKE ACTION

Volunteer or Intern with Applied Research

Thanks for your interest in the Applied Research and Consulting team at EGC!

Starter Resources on Race for White Evangelicals

Starter Resources on Race for White Evangelicals

by Megan Lietz

Biblical and Theological Foundations

As with all matters, it’s important that we root our understanding in God’s word. Explore the following resources to better understand the biblical and theological foundation of continuing God’s redemptive work across racial lines.

A Theology of Racial Healing:  Though the word “racism” is not used in the Bible, scripture tells the story of God reconciling all people to himself and one another. In this resource, RCCI suggests a Biblically-grounded theology on Christ's redemptive work in the area of race relations.

The Sin of Racism: Though racism is often not named as a sin from the White evangelical pulpit, this article by Tim Keller explains from a biblical perspective how racism is a sin and that it manifests individually and corporately. Though there is disagreement around how to respond to racism, as Christians, we cannot leave this sin unaddressed. 

Ethnic Identity: Bringing Your Full Self to God: God gave each one of us ethnic identities that reflect the character and image of God. Explore what the Bible has to say about ethnicity and culture in this self-led Bible study for groups and individuals. It reveals how God sees our ethnic identity and uses it as a part of his redemptive plan.

Race & Racial Hierarchy as the Product of Broken Humanity

While our ethnicities were given to us by God, the social classification of race and the racial hierarchy it serves was a product of a broken humanity. To learn more about how the concept of race developed and was shaped by socio-historical realities, not God’s will, explore the following resources.

Race: The Power of Illusion: This is a three-part PBS documentary that explores the origins of race and how it is not a genetic reality, but a relatively new social construct. Though somewhat dated, the foundation laid here is important to understanding the concept of race. If only one episode is watched, it is recommended to watch Part 2: The Story We Tell. It can be rented on vimeo or is available via Kanopy subscription service, that may be available through a local library.

Our Experience and Identity as White People

In order to engage effectively as white people in issues of race we need to understand how our experiences and perspectives may be different from those of people of color. An important part of this is understanding the racial privilege and power we have as White people because of the color of our skin. For some perspective, check out the following resources.

If you’re looking for a primer on how aspects of our identity like race and gender grant us measures of privilege and how they can impact our lived experience check out Allan Johnson’s book, Privilege, Power, and Difference.

Waking Up White is a memoir by Debby Irving, a white woman who grew up in a predominantly white, wealthy suburb of Boston, about how she came to see and respond to her whiteness. Her journey can offer insights and encouragement for your own.

In, White Awake: An Honest Look at White It Means to Be White, Daniel Hill leads readers through phases of White identity development and offers biblical tools to navigate these seasons of growth. He also offers strong chapters on markers of racial awareness and action steps you can take to progress in your racial awareness journey.

Peggy McIntosh’s article, White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack, is a brief and classic work that gives examples of how white people may experience privilege in their daily life. Simply becoming aware of what privilege looks like and how it can manifest in our lives is a crucial step!

 

Engaging Issues of Race

As we explore our identity as white people, we need to consider how this shapes our role in engaging issues of race and develop a toolkit for effective action.

Woke Church, by Eric Mason, explores the biblical call to justice that is for all believers and how the Church can regain its prophetic voice and practice to confront racism in the United States.

How to Be Last: A Practical Theology for Privileged People is a blog post by Christena Cleveland that lays a theological foundation for the posture that white people should take as they follow people of color into the work of racial reconciliation.

Soong Chan Rah’s book, Many Colors: Cultural Intelligence for a Changing Church, explores what Christians need to know and do to engage across racial lines in ways that are loving and respectful.

Mark Kramer’s article, Unpacking White Privilege: Feeling Guilty about Racial Injustice Isn’t the Point; the Point Is Doing Something About It complements Peggy’s McIntosh’s article by offering suggestions for how to respond to some of the privileges she identifies.

For additional resources, check out Next Step Resources for White Evangelicals.

Take ACTION

Contact Megan Lietz

Contact Megan Lietz

Megan Lietz, M.Div., STM, helps White evangelicals engage respectfully and responsible with issues of race. She is the director of EGC’s Race & Christian Community Initiative.

Where to Plant a Church in Boston: Areas of Growth

Where to Plant a Church in Boston: Areas of Growth

by Rudy Mitchell and Steve Daman

Want to know where to plant a church in Boston? You might consider Boston’s newest or soon-to-be-built residential growth sites. New neighborhoods and new residents mean new opportunities for planting new churches.

Take a look at these eight neighborhoods of current or immanent growth, based on public and private development plans. Given the general population trends, these are priority areas for outreach and new churches.

Map showing plans for potential expanded neighborhoods, from Imagine Boston Expanding Opportunity, City of Boston, Draft November 2016, p. 25

Neighborhood change is ongoing. Boston’s new neighborhood development will not happen all at once. Some areas have residential developments in process or already completed, like the Seaport District, the South End, Jamaica Plain, and to some extent Allston-Brighton. Other areas, like South Boston and Charlestown, already have many new young professionals and some new housing, but much more will be built in the next five years. Other areas, specifically Suffolk Downs and the Beacon Yards part of Allston, will most likely take more than five more years to develop.

Your geographic and demographic focus. Of course, reaching into newer neighborhoods is not for everyone. Ministry leaders should prayerfully select their geographic focus and adapt their strategies to the types of residents they are called to serve. The church in the city can be adapted in countless ways, and church planters can reach and serve a diversity of current and newer residents because the Gospel is for all people. Congregations may—by their form, style, or language—be better equipped to reach specific groups of people with whom they can make the most impact.

Church planters seeking primarily to reach specific immigrant groups like Nigerians, Brazilians, or Vietnamese, for example, need to know where these nationalities are more concentrated. Churches seeking to serve college students need to find meeting space within walking distance of campuses or in reach of public transportation while being sensitive to the needs, concerns and culture of students. Leaders seeking to reach and serve Boston’s new population growth areas will need to take the time to understand the characteristics, cultures, work, and interests of the people who will be living there.

Here’s a look at eight of the bigger residential development areas across the city:

1. Seaport District by the Waterfront. While there are many new high-rise housing and office buildings being built here, there are very few churches in the area.

2. South End. The northeastern and eastern parts of the South End from the Ink Block to the Boston Medical Center between Albany and Washington Streets will soon have hundreds of new apartments and condos which are being planned and built. Will the South End churches be ready?

3. South Boston from Andrew Square to the Broadway MBTA stations. Although still in the future, “Plan: South Boston Dorchester Avenue” calls for 6,000 to 8,000 new housing units. DJ Properties is also building Washington Square, a mixed use development near Andrew Station with 656 residential units. The nearby Widett Circle and New Market/South Bay areas are also potential major development sites proposed by the City of Boston. Currently there are already many new housing units and new residents around Broadway and in South Boston generally. The neighborhood has few Protestant churches.

Nine-building Washington Square Development with 656 residential units approved and to be completed in the next four years.

4. Charlestown – Sullivan Square and other areas. The Sullivan Square area is one of the six main areas the City of Boston has proposed for major housing expansion. Meanwhile the 1,100 units of the Bunker Hill Housing Development will be totally redeveloped into 3,200 units of mixed housing. Charlestown has very few Protestant churches.

Bunker Hill Housing Development Plans

5. Allston Brighton – Beacon Yards. This is one of the six major areas proposed by the City for development into new expanded neighborhoods. The Boston Landing Campus of New Balance is an area with new residential units and Stop & Shop will be building 1,000 new housing units. Other major housing developments are in the works as well.

Boston Landing in Allston near New Balance (NB Development Group and HYM)

Residential development with 295 units for 2018 opening.

6. Roxbury – from Dudley Square area to Ruggles MBTA station. Coming up in the next several years is the recently approved $500M Tremont Crossing development with over 700 apartments. The nearby Whittier St. Housing Project received funding for a full redevelopment into an expanded mixed income development. Other significant residential developments are also in the works, and Northeastern University is expanding in the area with high-rise dorms.

Tremont Crossing, just one mile from EGC

Whittier Choice redevelopment with 387 units of mixed income housing in three new buildings.

Whittier Choice redevelopment near Ruggles Station.

7. Jamaica Plain – Forest Hills Station. This area is booming with several large new housing developments in various stages of planning and completion. Also, the nearby Washington Street corridor recently completed a new (and controversial) plan which includes potential new residential development in addition to what is already being built in the area. Although there are some thriving churches in this area, because there will be so many new residents there is room for more churches not only here, but throughout Jamaica Plain.

The Residences at Forest Hills

8. Suffolk Downs. In the future, this former racetrack will likely become a whole new community. This massive 161-acre site is one of the six major areas proposed by the city for expansion, and was recently purchased by a developer, HYM Investments. This could become one of the largest developments in the whole region.

Planting now for future harvest. As these new communities emerge across the city, the need to plant new congregations should be high on the list for Christians in Boston as we think about the witness and work of the Kingdom of God over the next few decades.

Take Action

Learn more about the City’s plans for housing new residents.

Connect with the Greater Boston Church Planting Collaborative.

Gender Based Violence & the Church [Resources]

Gender Based Violence and the Church [Resources]

by Rudy Mitchell, Senior Researcher

The Church has a critical role in prevention, intervention, and healing from gender-based violence (GBV). GBV includes domestic abuse, sexual assault, incest, human trafficking, and other forms of abuse, most often directed towards females.

GBV happens in every corner of the U.S., and it happens in church families. Church leadership can equip themselves to respond with wisdom and skill when we become aware of GBV in our church or community.

Healing the Wounded Heart, 2017

See also the companion workbook and conference audio of the same title. See also the Allender Center website for information and resources. 

The mission of The Allender Center is to "foster redemption and healing in individuals, couples, and communities by helping them tell their stories with awareness and integrity while also training leaders and professionals to engage the stories of others with courage, artistry, and care."

Religion & Intimate Partner Violence, 2017

Because this book is based on many years of research, it can give evidence and illustrations for its many insights, principles, and proposed solutions.

Each chapter presents key findings in numbered points with detailed descriptions and illustrations, followed by proposed solutions and practical applications based on extensive research and experience.

The chapters deal with ministry with victims/survivors, and also with abusers (based on additional research). Another chapter explores the complex dynamics within the congregation as a whole when dealing with domestic violence ministry.

Two final chapters cover the need for more training for church leaders, with specific suggestions, and the importance of collaborative community responses.  This very readable study is perhaps the most comprehensive, research-based, and practical book on this topic.

Broken Vows

FaithTrust Institute

Broken Vows, 1994

This film is a two‐part (37 minutes and 22 minutes) documentary that presents the religious perspectives on domestic violence including Jewish, Roman Catholic, Protestant, and Evangelical Christian. There is also a Spanish language version.

Domestic Violence: What Churches Can Do

Faith Trust Institute

Domestic Violence: What Churches Can Do, 2009.

This is a 20‐minute video to be used with a 24‐page study guide and brochures in a one hour educational program. Offers basic information on domestic violence, as well as concrete ideas about how congregations can become involved in prevention and offer a safe space for battered women.

 

RESOURCES BY TOPIC

General

Storkey, Elaine. Scars Across Humanity: Understanding and Overcoming Violence Against Women.  Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 2018.

Domestic Battery / Wife Abuse / Intimate Partner Violence

Alsdurf, James, and Phyllis Alsdurf. Battered Into Submission: The Tragedy of Wife Abuse in the Christian Home. Eugene, Oregon: Wipf and Stock, 1998. (originally- Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1989).

Basham, Beth, and Sara Lisherness, editors. Striking Terror No More: The Church Responds to Domestic Violence. 2nd edition. Louisville, Ken.: Bridge, Resources, 2006. Although written with Presbyterian churches in mind, this book with its essays, worksheets, and workshop lesson plans can be used in other churches.

Broken Silence: A Call for Churches to Speak Out—Protestant Pastors Survey on Sexual and Domestic Violence. Washington, DC: Sojourners and IMA World Health, 2014.

Cooper‐White, Pamela. “Intimate Violence Against Women: Trajectories for Pastoral Care in a New Millennium.” Pastoral Psychology 60, no. 6 (2011):809-855.

Ellison, Christopher G., and Kristin L. Anderson. “Religious Involvement and Domestic Violence among U.S. Couples.” Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 40 (2001): 269-286.

Gaddis, Patricia Riddle.  Battered But Not Broken: Help for Abused Wives and Their Church Families. Valley Forge, Penn.: Judson Press, 1996.

Kroeger, Catherine Clark, and Nancy Nason-Clark. No Place for Abuse: Biblical and Practical Resources to Counteract Domestic Violence. Revised ed. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 2010.

Miles, Al. Domestic Violence: What Every Pastor Should Know. Rev. ed. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2011.

Murphy, Nancy. God’s Reconciling Love: A Pastor’s Handbook on Domestic Violence. Seattle, Wash.: FaithTrust Institute, 2003.

Nason‐Clark, Nancy. The Battered Wife: How Christians Confront Family Violence. Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster/John Knox Press, 1997.

Newton, Dorothy J. Silent Cry: The True Story of Abuse and Betrayal of an NFL Wife. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 2015. Although her life appeared successful to outsiders, Dorothy Newton was being treated abusively by her husband, who was a Dallas Cowboy football star. This is a story of pain, survival, hope, recovery, and new life in relationship with Christ.

Family Violence

Branson, Brendan, and Paula J. Silva. Violence Among Us: Ministry to Families in Crisis. Valley Forge, Penn.: Judson Press, 2007.

Fortune, Marie M. Violence in the Family: A Workshop Curriculum for Clergy and Other Helpers. Cleveland: Pilgrim Press, 1991.

Kroeger, Catherine Clark, Nancy Nason-Clark, and Barbara Fisher-Townsend, editors. Beyond Abuse in the Christian Home: Raising Voices for Change. Eugene, Oregon: Wipf & Stock, 2008.

Miller, Melissa. A.  Family Violence: The Compassionate Church Responds. Scottdale, Penn.: Herald Press, 1994.

Sexual Assault / Abuse

Broken Silence: A Call for Churches to Speak Out—Protestant Pastors Survey on Sexual and Domestic Violence. Washington, DC: Sojourners and IMA World Health, 2014.

Pellauer, Mary D. Sexual Assault and Abuse ‐ A Handbook for Clergy and Religious Professionals. San Francisco: Harper and Row, 1987.

Culture-Based Resources

Choi, Y. Joon. “Korean American Clergy Practices Regarding Intimate Partner Violence: Roadblock or Support for Battered Women?” Journal of Family Violence 30 (2015): 293-302.

Eugene, Toinette, and James Poling.  Balm for Gilead: Pastoral Care for African American Families Experiencing Abuse. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1998.

White, Evelyn C.  Chain, Chain, Change: For Black Women in Abusive Relationships, 2nd edition. Seattle, Wash.: Seal Press, 1994.

Church/Religion-Based Studies

Cooper‐White, Pamela. The Cry of Tamar: Violence against Women and the Church’s Response. 2nd edition. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2012.

Ellison, Christopher G., Jenny A. Trinitapoli, Kristin L. Anderson, and Byron R. Johnson. “Race/Ethnicity, Religious Involvement, and Domestic Violence.” Violence Against Women 13, no.11 (2007)): 1094-1112.

Heggen, Carolyn, H.  Sexual Abuse in Christian Homes and Churches. Scottdale, PA: Herald Press, 1993.

Horton, Anne L., and Judith A. Williamson, editors. Abuse and Religion: When Praying Isn’t Enough. Lexington: Lexington Books, 1988. This extensive anthology is one of the most comprehensive.

Interrogating the Silence: Religious Leaders Attitudes Toward Sexual and Gender Based Violence.   Cambridge, Mass.: Science, Religion, and Culture program, Harvard Divinity School, 2015. Online at- https://src.hds.harvard.edu/files/srcp/files/rla-sgbv_final_report.pdf  Sojourners and IMA World Health, on behalf of WeWillSpeakOut.US, commissioned a survey of Protestant pastors’ views on sexual and domestic violence.

Johnson, Andy J., editor.  Religion and Men's Violence against Women.  New York: Springer, 2015.

Nason-Clark, Nancy, Barbara Fisher-Townsend, and Victoria Fahlberg, eds. Strengthening Families and Ending Abuse: Churches and Their Leaders Look to the Future. Eugene, Oregon: Wipf & Stock, 2013.

Volcano Press Staff, compilers. Family Violence and Religion: An Interfaith Resource Guide. Volcano, CA: Volcano Press, 1995.

For Women

Fortune, Marie M.  Keeping the Faith: Guidance for Christian Women Facing Abuse. San Francisco: HarperCollins, 1995.

Holcomb Justin S., and Lindsey A. Holcomb.  Is It My Fault?: Hope and Healing for Those Suffering Domestic Violence. Chicago: Moody Press, 2014.

Holcomb, Justin S., and Lindsey A. Holcomb. Rid of My Disgrace: Hope and Healing for Victims of Sexual Assault.  Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway, 2011.

McCaig, Mari, and Edward S. Kubany. Healing the Trauma of Domestic Violence: A Workbook for Women. Oakland, Calif.: New Harbinger Publications, 2004.

Nason-Clark, Nancy, and‎ Catherine Clark Kroeger. Refuge from Abuse: Healing and Hope for Abused Christian Women. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 2004.

Abusive Men

Nason-Clark, Nancy, and Barbara Fisher-Townsend. Men Who Batter. New York: Oxford University Press, 2015.

Christian Leadership & Pastor Resources

LeRoux, Elisabet. “Men and Women in Partnership: Mobilizing Faith Communities to Address Gender-based Violence.” Diaconia  8, no. 1 (Apr 2017): 23-37.

Nason‐Clark, Nancy. “Clergy Referrals in Cases of Domestic Violence.” Family and Community Ministries 23, no. 4 (Winter- Spring 2010): 50-60.

Nason-Clark, Nancy, Catherine Clark Kroeger, and Barbara Fisher-Townsend, editors. Responding to Abuse in Christian Homes: A Challenge to Churches and their Leaders. Eugene, Oregon: Wipf and Stock, 2011.

Reed, Lou. “When Domestic Violence Knocks: It's All Too Common but Rarely Acknowledged. How to Minister Wisely and Well when It Shows up in your Congregation.” Leadership 30, no. 4 (Fall 2009): 74-78.

WeWillSpeakOut.US. Sacred Spaces. A Resource for Faith Communities to Prevent and Respond to Sexual and Gender Based Violence. Available online https://wewillspeakout.us/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Sacred-Spaces-.pdf

Tron, Claudia. “Challenges for the Life and Mission of the Churches: Our Lived Experience of Gender-based Violence.”  Reformed World 66, no. 2 (2016): 26-36.

Zust, Barbara L., Jaclyn Housley, and Anna Klatke. “Evangelical Christian Pastors’ Lived Experience of Counseling Victims/Survivors of Domestic Violence.”  Pastoral Psychology 66, no. 5 (Oct 2017): 675-687.

Theology & Preaching

Adams, Carol J., and Marie M. Fortune, editors. Violence against Women and Children: A Christian Theological Sourcebook. New York: Continuum, 1998.

Anderson, Kenton C.  “Preaching that Encourages Peace and Safety in the Christian Home.” Preaching.com, accessed April 2018.

Bussert, Joy M.K. Battered Women: From a Theology of Suffering to an Ethic of Empowerment. New York: Division for Mission in North America, Lutheran Church in America, 1986.

Cummings, Chloe. What Would Jesus Do about Domestic Violence and Abuse towards Christian Women?  A Biblical and Research-based Exploration for Church Leaders, Counselors, Church Members, and Victims. N.p.: Booklocker.com, Inc., 2010.

Kroeger, Catherine Clark, and James R. Beck, editors. Women, Abuse, and the Bible: How Scripture Can Be Used to Hurt or to Heal. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Book House, 1996.

McClure, John, and Nancy Ramsay, editors. Telling the Truth: Preaching About Sexual and Domestic Violence. Cleveland: United Church Press, 1998.

What Are We Missing?

Understanding Jamaica Plain Today: Overview + Resources

Understanding Jamaica Plain Today: Overview + Resources

by Rudy Mitchell, Senior Researcher

Affectionately known as "JP", Jamaica Plain's reputation includes diversity, friendly community, unique businesses, socially-conscious activity, increasing gentrification, and natural beauty.

JP is in a period of rapid growth. Hundreds of new residential units are recently completed or underway. The JP/Rox Plan for the Washington Street and Columbus Avenue areas is likely to bring additional changes in the coming years. While Jamaica Plain continues to transition into the future, its beautiful green spaces will keep it true to its nickname as the “Eden of America.”

Copper European Beech Tree at Forest Hills Cemetery, Jamaica Plain, MA. Photo licensed for public use.

JP AT A GLANCE

Residents by Race

Total Population - 39,240. Data from Boston By the Numbers, 2017.

Residents By Age

Data from Boston Planning and Development Agency, "Boston in Context: Neighborhoods, American Community Survey - 2011-2015." Boston: B.P.D.A., January, 2017

Educated   More than 63% of Jamaica Plain residents 25 years or older have obtained a bachelor’s degree or higher. This is much higher than the percentage for the U.S. (30%) or Boston (45%).

Increasingly Young   The proportion of 25-34 year olds in Jamaica Plain has risen from 23% in 2000 to 27% in 2015. The percentage of young adults aged 20 to 34 in Jamaica Plain is exactly the same as in Boston - 34.7%  (a very high proportion).  The median age of Jamaica Plain residents is 33 years compared to 39 years for Massachusetts.

Family Friendly   Jamaica Plain had 6,719 children under the age of 18 years (6th highest number of children out of 22 Boston neighborhoods).

“Jamaica Plain has been a wonderful neighborhood for our family. JP is rich in diversity, full of green space, and yet densely urban and teeming with energy. It’s a neighborhood that cares a lot about the world and about building stronger community.
”

— Pastor Brice Williams

Rev. Brice Williams spent two years researching JP as a church planter. He lives in JP with his family and is the new pastor of the South End Neighborhood Church.

Language Diversity  8,611 Jamaica Plain residents speak Spanish at home (23.4% of the population); 765 residents speak Chinese at home; 586 speak French or Haitian Creole; 382 speak Portuguese or Cape Verdean Creole. About 23% of the population – 8,879 residents – are foreign born.

Income Inequality  The poverty rate in Jamaica Plain is 18.3% with 7,039 people living below the poverty line. However, the median household income is a relatively high $76,968, which indicates significant income inequality between a large number of low income residents and many high income residents. Almost 63% of the neighborhood’s employed adults have occupations in management, business, science, and the arts.

“With all of its beauty, JP is also a neighborhood burdened with gentrification, miscommunication, and fragmentation. Be a cultural anthropologist. Be a community member before a Christian leader. Listen well and learn from men and women who have lived and built the story of JP as we see it today, no matter their religious background or bent. 
”

— Pastor Brice Williams

Bike-Friendly  Although most residents commute to work by car or subway, 1,318 people commute by bicycle, and 1,292 walk to work.

Natural Beauty

Jamaica Pond, Jamaica Plain, MA.

Jamaica Pond

One of the attractions of this neighborhood has always been Jamaica Pond, which is surrounded by a biking/walking trail. Beginning in the early years of the neighborhood’s history, residents built homes and summer estates which overlook the pond to this day. 

In the past, ice skating was a popular recreation at the pond, while boating, fishing and jogging or walking continue to be enjoyed by many. In the late nineteenth century, the pond became a part of the Emerald Necklace designed by Frederick Law Olmstead. One popular activity today is the annual Lantern Festival.

Lantern Festival, Jamaica Pond, Jamaica Plain, MA.

Small pond within Arnold Arboretum. Photo by Daderot, English language Wikipedia.

Arnold Arboretum

Founded in 1872, the arboretum has one of the largest and best documented collections of woody plants in the world. More than 15,000 plants from some 4,000 species grow here. Among these are about 400 lilac bushes of 179 types featured every spring on Lilac Sunday. The arboretum’s 281 acres are managed by Harvard University and have been designated a national historic landmark. The residents of Jamaica Plain as well as Boston enjoy the unique beauty of the arboretum in all seasons. 

 

Recommended Resources

Plan JP/Rox – Boston Planning and Development Agency

The PLAN: JP/ROX document provides recommendations and strategies around affordable housing, jobs and businesses, guidelines for urban design, and suggestions for improvements to transportation, connections, open space, sustainability, and the public realm in Jamaica Plain. 

Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Council

The Jamaica Plain Gazette 

Getting to Know Your Neighborhood: Jamaica Plain

Leading By Letting Go: Skills in Courageous Leadership for Healthy Collaborations

Leading By Letting Go: Skills in Courageous Leadership for Healthy Collaborations

By the Woven Team

At Woven, Christian women leaders gather to encourage and consult one another. For this year’s consultation, we focused on igniting local collective-action movements. Morning plenary sessions gave practical tools and best practices for effective collaboration and movement building. In the afternoon, women participated in one of two workshops, where they advised local networks focused on social justice and church unity. This blog celebrates the leadership growth we observed from that gathering.

Godly leadership is not about taking control on behalf of God—it’s about taking the lead in making room for God. Knowing how to make space for the movement of God is especially true in collaborative situations.

When we work for a collaborative mission—without seeking individual accolades—Jesus moves freely. And when Jesus moves freely, God’s design for the Church comes alive.

As the women engaged at Woven, they showed courage and growth in collaborative leadership. Here we celebrate that growth and share it with you for your reflection and action in your spheres of influence.

GROWTH AREAS FOR Christian LEADERSHIP IN COLLABORATIONS

Growth Area #1: Surrendering the Mission Back to God

Once you enter a collaborative situation, prepare to lay down what you think is “the mission” on the altar of trust in God’s wisdom. While God may call you to pick it back up, allow yourself time to hear from God—maybe through others—about God’s assignment and priorities.

Unity is not inviting or bringing people along towards your mission statement. Our own mission statement is not the whole of God’s mission within a collaboration.

“Unity is not inviting or bringing people along towards your mission statement.”

Instead, as we put ourselves into a broader array of work God is doing, we piece together all the missions, like a stained-glass window.  Our mission is just one broken piece of glass that God fits with others. If you’re in a leadership role within the collaboration, prepare to facilitate discovery and clarification of a shared mission.

In past years, we designed the Woven consultation day to invite women to discuss their own leadership challenges and supports. This year we decided to focus on building skills for collaboration. We designed a time that would challenge the women to apply the values described here.

Towards that end, we designed workshops that would require the women to lay aside their expectations and agendas to work together towards a concrete goal, in this case, building movements for social justice and Christian unity. We are grateful to the women for their flexibility.        

Growth Area #2: Letting Go of Control

As you step into a community of people who are thinking differently, prepare to experience a new level of trust in God.

Letting others change your perspective is uncomfortable. But as women who have let go of needing to be the one with all the answers know, this openness is critical to engaging in unity work.

In the social justice workshop, one Woven team member was taking whiteboard notes while a group of women was refining language for a discussion question. She noticed that women were using the word “difference” in unexpected ways. Seeking further clarity, she started asking clarifying questions about what the women meant by “difference” and advocated for a specific definition. In doing so, she confused some people and distracted the group from brainstorming ideas. On later reflection, she realized that she needed to set aside her need for precision in order just to listen and capture what the women were saying.

As you listen, try not to “correct” others' thoughts. Instead, focus on gaining perspective. This different focus sometimes requires laying aside how you think a conversation or activity should go.    

Growth Area #3: Sharing Resources

Sacrificial giving is critical to collaboration. If you offer your resources into God’s hands, you might receive them back from the woman next to you, who is giving up her stuff for you. Or you might be the one giving up things for her benefit.

Everyone in a collaboration needs to come into a sharing posture. One participant describes, “Coming in, I didn't realize I'd be engaged in consultancy.  So I had to shift from ‘What do I get out of this immediately?’ to a ‘How do I serve/give?’ mindset and trust that my purpose for being here will be revealed—maybe even after today.”

“Everyone in a collaboration needs to come into a sharing posture.”

By laying aside her agenda, this woman gave herself as a resource. She decided to share her focus, her listening ear, and her expertise as a gift to the workshop group.

Growth Area #4: Role Shifting

Be prepared that you may need to play a different role than the one you are accustomed to. When entering a collaboration, ask God to remind you what has served you in the past, and what has proved useful others. He’ll guide you to the best ways to lead and collaborate in the present situation.

All the Woven participants are experienced leaders, serving in leadership roles in their homes, churches, and organizations. But in the workshop times, many women saw the need to take a follower posture, playing a supportive role—sometimes even for a topic in which they are accomplished experts.

One woman notes, “I did need to continually remind myself of the different places that people were coming from to have this discussion.” In seeing this diversity, she was able to adjust her participation to what the larger group needed.

Growth Area #5: Admitting Failure & Celebrating Success

“Don’t wait for an “end” to celebrate!”

Collaboration doesn’t happen overnight without setbacks or missteps. Learning together requires honest evaluation and continual reflection. Admitting failure builds trust and transparency—prerequisites for genuine cooperation.

Conversely, celebrating successes as we realize them is foundational. Collaboration is a journey, not a destination. Don’t wait for an “end” to celebrate!

When you observe others sharing themselves generously or with bravery, call it out and praise it. When the group pushes through obstacles or engages in hard conversations, celebrate that dedication together.

Woven participants give day-end feedback surveys, and many also seek out team members to share their input in person. We’re grateful that women let us know what tools worked and which felt bulky or distracting. They shared how we could have fine-tuned our facilitation. We welcome and celebrate this feedback. How could any of us improve without honest evaluation?

We see Woven as successful, not because it is flawless, but because it’s an adaptive space that grows based on feedback. We’re honored to support a space where women can come and share as they are, learning and growing together.

One participant shared, “It is not easy for me to share my opinions/thoughts in other circles because of traditions, etc. I tend to be shy anyway. Woven is a place that I felt welcome to speak up. More than that, Boston needs women working towards transformation in all spheres, and Woven encourages me and others.”

The Woven Team 

(Left to Right) Liza Cagua-Koo, EGC Assistant Director, facilitated the social justice workshop. Jess Mason, EGC Supervising Editor, took notes. Nika Elugardo, EGC Leadership Systems Architect, led a plenary session and facilitated the unity workshop. Stacie Mickelson, EGC Director of Applied Research & Consulting, facilitated the consultation day.

Connecting Multi-Site Church Leaders [PhotoJournal]

On November 20, Vision New England brought together 38 current and aspiring multi-site leaders from across New England for a Multi-Site Forum at LifeSong Church in Sutton, MA. The full-day event provided a space for peers to build relationships with fellow multi-site leaders, exchange insights, and share successes and failures in their multi-site experience.

Bob Atherton, VNE Vice President of Member Services and the forum's organizer initially thought the event would draw a handful of leaders. As registration grew to include leadership teams from 17 churches across seven states, it became clear that current and aspiring multi-site leaders were eager for time to learn and connect.

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The plenary sessions, facilitated by veteran multi-site leader, Pastor Rex Keener, focused on seven critical questions for current and aspiring multi-site leaders.

7 Critical Questions

1. Why should our church go multi-site?

2. How do we determine which multi-site approach fits us best?

3. What constitutes success?

4. How do we get our church ready to launch its first site?

5. How do we manage the multi-site monster?

6. What are the persistent challenges of a multi-site church?

7. What is the multi-site movement’s “dirty little secret”?

Pastor Rex presented best-practices and personal experiences around each of the critical questions. He made it clear at the start of the day that he wasn't trying to talk anyone into multi-site leaderships.

"If you wanted a sales guy today, you got the wrong guy, but I'll tell you the truth about it as I see it.” His transparency and candor about both his success and failures set the tone for how participants would share in their small group discussion.

““What is needed it this—to share both success and shortcomings.”
-participant”

Participants were grateful that the small group discussions were both honest and practical. One participant noted that "learning about the realities of the challenges was very sobering and very helpful." Another said, "What is needed is this—to share both success and shortcomings."

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Based on small group report-backs and participant surveys, Vision New England and EGC’s Applied Research & Consulting team discovered four key insights multi-site leaders repeatedly shared.

We believe their insights clarify—both for leaders exploring the multi-site option and for current multi-site staff facing vexing challenges to sustainability—the need for four life-preserving team commitments:

Staying Afloat in Multi-Site Ministry: 4 Key Commitments for Long-Term Health

Staying Afloat in Multi-Site Ministry

4 Key Commitments for Long-Term Health

By the EGC Applied Research & Consulting Team and Vision New England

Multi-site church leadership is risky. Enough funding, attendance, and facilities for a site launch provide a great start. But for a new worship location and community to survive and thrive long-term, more is needed. 

The multi-site church movement—wherein a single team manages the operations and shepherding of multiple co-branded churches—hit a major stride in the US just 25 years ago. So multi-sites are not yet old enough to assess their long-term impact on American Christianity. But lead teams are swimming in deep enough waters to have learned some key factors crucial to sustainability.

On November 20, Vision New England brought together 38 current and aspiring multi-site leaders from across New England for a Multi-Site Consultation at LifeSong Church in Sutton, MA. The full-day event provided a space for peers to share insights, successes and failures, and a few dirty little secrets of the multi-site experience.

Based on small group report-backs and participant surveys, Vision New England and EGC’s Applied Research & Consulting team discovered four key insights multi-site leaders repeatedly shared. We believe their insights clarify—both for leaders exploring the multi-site option and for current multi-site staff facing vexing challenges to sustainability—the need for four life-preserving team commitments.

1. Connect with Other Multi-Site Teams

Opportunities are rare to talk openly and honestly about the unique challenges of multi-site ministry. But regular connection to peers in the multi-site experience is make-or-break crucial for team health and practical insights.

Actionable ministry team learning and development happens best with others in the multi-site boat. Other church structures—church plants, missional communities, denominational leadership—are not comparable. The multi-site situation involves logistical challenges not relevant to other leadership experiences.

““What is needed is this—to share both success and shortcomings.””

— participant

Furthermore, spending time with multi-site peers means the conversation won’t shrink away from addressing real-world hazards or the ugly side of multi-site. “Hearing from others and their success and failures” added value in the table discussions.

According to a 2014 Generis report surveying 535 multi-site leaders from around the world, multi-sites also grow faster than single churches or church plants. To stay ahead of the whirlwind, multi-site leaders acknowledge the wisdom of ongoing relationships with others who are currently leading a multi-site or exploring it as an option.

Get Connected with Other Local Multi-Site Leaders

Get Connected with Other Local Multi-Site Leaders

2. Clarify Your Multi-Site Approach & Leadership Structure

Org charts aren’t sexy, and little to no attention is devoted to organizational strategy in seminary training. But a prayerfully and carefully constructed chain of team responsibility and support can mean the difference between a failed experiment and a thriving multi-site community.

“Getting a grasp on different models of multi-site ministry was tremendous," reflected one participant.  Lack of clarity on multi-site approach and leadership structure was the most commonly cited ministry challenge by both current and in-process leaders.

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Adapted from Pastor Rex Keener's plenary presentation at the Multi-Site Consultation, November 20, 2017, in Sutton, MA. Click to enlarge.

In plenary session, Pastor Rex Keener clarified that multi-site is not a single organizational approach, but three: franchise, localized, or church-plant style (with multi-site governance). For leaders to thrive, they need to be clear about which multi-site approach they’ve chosen. Asking and agreeing upfront, “What are we going to standardize?” avoids unnecessary community stress.

In Pastor Rex’s experience, asking leaders to adjust, for example, from a more controlled role towards more autonomy is usually not difficult. But asking leaders to adjust mid-stream from more autonomy to less can be painful and demoralizing.

“A prayerfully and carefully constructed chain of team responsibility and support can mean the difference between a failed experiment and a thriving multi-site community.”

In addition, different multi-site approaches require different gifts and skills. Intentionally choosing your church’s approach from the start allows your team to avoid squandering your leaders’ gifts in the wrong role.

For example, sustainable franchise leaders tend to excel in interpersonal skills for partner-, leader-, and community building, whereas effective church plant pastors require strong communication gifts for regular preaching.

But more than any other topic, leaders cited the leadership org chart conversation as the most helpful and impactful part of the day. There Pastor Rex shared multiple, legitimate options for chains of authority and leader support.

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Adapted from Pastor Rex Keener's plenary presentation at the Multi-Site Consultation, Nov 20, 2017, in Sutton, MA. Click to enlarge.

For example, in some multi-sites the senior leader directly supervises the campus pastors as well as other key leaders. In other multi-sites, the senior leader supervises another pastor who oversees and supports the campus pastors. Pastor Rex recommended the latter structure especially for churches with more than two sites, because it tends to be more readily scalable—adding a fourth or fifth site will not require a lead team restructure.

3. Go Deeper on Timeline, Location & Real Cost

Participants agreed that not enough conversation has been happening around the logistical challenges of multi-sites.  According to one participant, “The conversation around the way to think through location, timeline, and budgeting were helpful in that they didn’t offer what to think but how to think.”

The financial realities of multi-sites were of particular interest. The most impactful topic of the day was, as one leader put it, “the budget stuff—NO ONE has written a book about that yet!” Published estimates for the first-year cost of launching a multi-site vary wildly. Participants in the room shared estimates ranging from $250,000 to $1 million. In the Generis survey of 535 multi-site churches, first-year estimates ranged from $46,000 to $1.4 million.  

“Not enough conversation has been happening around the logistical challenges of multi-sites.”

The budget discussion raised a number of factors responsible for the wide range of estimates, including: the number of staff; the combined attendance at all sites; whether the site is buying, leasing, or renting property; and the leadership structure.

The leaders broadly appreciated the time devoted to this level of logistical detail, and expressed a desire for more opportunities for such practical deep dives.

4. Prepare to Face Hard Realities

The idea of launching a multi-site in some ways can feel to a church community like a reward for a job well done. When a church community multiplies beyond its capacity, it must expand or risk crowding people out—Yay, growth!

“Going multi-site fixes nothing, it only multiplies everything.”

— from Multisite Church Pitfalls, D'Angelo and Stigile

But leaders can hold an unconscious assumption that multi-site ministry will “just flow”—that the “repeat performance” will be easier than the sweat and spiritual labor that went into the original. Similarly, churches struggling to address the needs of a community bursting at the seams may assume that the multi-site launch will bring relief for overworked ministers.

The reality can often be the opposite of these assumptions, and churches considering a multi-site need to enter such a commitment with eyes wide open. D’Angelo and Stigile warn,

Multi-site creates more problems than it solves—it multiplies exactly who you are today, nothing more, nothing less. It’s not only the good that grows, it has a way of expanding everything in your church…Going multi-site fixes nothing, it only multiplies everything.

For example, despite its efficiencies multi-sites require substantially more—not less— leadership development. Multi-sites boast a higher average level of lay participation that individual churches. Wise lead teams plan to exercise intensive leadership development as a given duty, and prepare for even higher levels of leadership skill and maturity themselves.

Pastor Rex candidly shared the pain with which his church learned the need to restructure their lead team. As the senior pastor, he had been overseeing each campus pastor directly. But he was spread too thin and ministry quality visibly suffered.

His church has now taken the hard transition to a model where he supervises another leader who oversees the campus pastors. This mid-stream shift has involved significant growing pains. Pastor Rex hoped with his radical candor to spare other church communities of this kind of potentially avoidable team stress.

As a reality check for those exploring multi-site, or those bewildered by their multi-site experience, consider how the participants in this conference honestly describe multi-site leadership:

““More is not necessarily better, just different.” ”

— a current multi-site leader

““A difficult road, if you choose it.””

— a leader exploring multi-site

““Think about your systems and structures and make sure you are ready for the challenges.””

— a current multi-site leader

Experienced leaders agree that leading a multi-site is not trivial—it’s a hard upward calling. But take heart—leaders also shared measured words of wisdom and hope:

““No one has done this perfectly. Keep working on a solution that fits your situation.” ”

— a current multi-site leader

““Take it slow.” ”

— a leader exploring multi-site

Vision New England unifies, encourages, and equips the diverse Body of Christ in New England for intentional evangelism. VNE recently convened the Multisite Consultation to create an opportunity for peer fellowship, support, and shared insights among multi-site church teams in New England. Bob Atherton, VNE's Vice President of Member Services, would be happy to connect you with other local multi-site leaders.

Get Connected with Other Local Multi-Site Leaders

Get Connected with Other Local Multi-Site Leaders

Ethiopian Churches in Greater Boston [map]

Ethiopian Churches in Greater Boston [map]

Map of Ethiopian Churches in Greater Boston. Data source: Emmanuel Gospel Center's Boston Church Directory, 2017. Click for interactive map.

Mekane Hiwot St. Michael Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, Boston, MA

Ethiopian Evangelical Church, Boston, MA.

Boston Ethiopian Christian Fellowship, Cambridge, MA

St. Gabriel WelidetaLemariam Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, Brookline, MA

Ethiopian Christians in Greater Boston: Diverse Journeys

Ethiopian Christians in Greater Boston: Diverse Journeys

by Steve Daman

Bostonians celebrate Ethiopians each year when runners sprint up Boylston Street to the finish line of the Boston Marathon.

Ethiopians took first place in the men’s open four times in the last ten years. In 2016, Ethiopian men took the top three spots, and Ethiopian women took the top two spots in the men’s and women’s open, respectively.

Photo courtesy of the Associated Press, April 18, 2016.

But many Ethiopians in Boston have also been running another good race—that of keeping the faith. 

Boston is home to 9,000 to 12,000 Ethiopians. And like other immigrant groups, Ethiopians Christians have planted various expressions of Christian churches in and around Boston, serving the needs of Ethiopians here today. 

Map of Ethiopian churches in Greater Boston. Data Source: Emmanuel Gospel Center's Boston Church Directory, 2017. Click to go to interactive map.

Ethiopian Christianity Today

"[Ethiopia] has maintained its long Christian witness in a region of the world dominated by Islam. The Ethiopian Orthodox Church currently has a membership of around forty million and is rapidly growing,” according to a 2017 history of the Ethiopian Christian church. Western missionaries also planted Protestant churches among the Ethiopians starting as early as 1634.

Religion in Ethiopia

Ethiopia is 55% Christian: 34% Orthodox, 16% Protestant, 2% Independent, 0.5% Catholic. Data for Ethiopia from World Christian Database, 2017.

In Ethiopia today, more than half the population identify as Christian, including Orthodox, Protestants, Independents and Catholics. The Ethiopian churches in Greater Boston reflect this diversity, with about a half dozen each of evangelical and orthodox churches and one Catholic congregation.

Leader Profile

Workneh Tesfaye - pastor and church planter with Missions Door

Workneh Tesfaye grew up in a Coptic Orthodox family in Ethiopia. A graduate of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, today Pastor Workneh is a Boston-based, church-planting missionary with Missions Door.

Back in 2008, a group of eight family members began to meet regularly every Sunday afternoon to pray for and raise support for orphans in Ethiopia. By 2011, as this group continued to grow, Pastor Workneh followed God’s direction to plant a new church out of this gathering—the Emmanuel Disciples Church—which continues to hold services in the EGC building in the South End.

Boston Ethiopian Christians 

The Ethiopian church in Boston is colorful, diverse, and rich with history, tradition, faith and service. The 2017 revision of “The Story of the Ethiopian Christian Community in New England” explores questions such as:

• What is life like for Ethiopian Christians in Boston?

• What are the biggest challenges they face in the U.S.?

• What are the areas of opportunity for ministry in this region?

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Hundreds of biographical stories on Ethiopian Christians throughout history.

A comprehensive recent history of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church.

Stories of how God has been growing his Church among many people groups and ethnic groups in New England.

Take Action

Connect

Connect

 

How are we doing?

Understanding Dorchester: Overview + Resources

Understanding Dorchester: Overview + Resources

By Rudy Mitchell, Senior Researcher

Sometimes divided into North Dorchester and South Dorchester, this massive area of Boston includes many sub-neighborhoods, shown above. Grove Hall, Glover’s Corner, and St. Marks also are sometimes identified as sub-neighborhoods of Dorchester.

Dorchester is Boston’s largest and most populous neighborhood. In fact, Dorchester was a separate town from 1630 until 1870, when it voted to become a part of the city of Boston. If Dorchester’s population was separated from Boston, the community would be the fourth largest city in Massachusetts!

Dorchester reflects the diversity of Boston in its varied churches, people, business centers, buildings, and landscapes. The community has a long and rich history with many significant personalities, including activists Lucy Stone and William Munroe Trotter. Today Dorchester also has a rich mixture of diverse people groups ranging from Cape Verdeans to Hispanics and Vietnamese, as well as Irish, African Americans, and immigrants from the Caribbean.

Caleb McCoy, hip-hop artist and producer for OAK music group, was born and raised in Dorchester, MA. Caleb is also the development manager at EGC in the South End.

"Growing up in Codman Square has been a rich experience for me. So much of my story has been influenced by what this town has to offer. From the danger to the diversity, and everything in between, I take pride in being from Dorchester." - Caleb McCoy

Dorchester today: Top Ten Distinctives 

1. Size  

Dorchester has the largest population of any neighborhood in Boston – 124,489.

2. Immigration  

More than one third of Dorchester’s residents are foreign born (41, 685).

3. Higher Education  

Twenty-five percent of Dorchester residents aged 25 older had bachelor’s degrees or higher, compared with 45% of Boston residents.” This grew from 18% in 2000 to 25% in 2015.

4. Income 

The 2015 median household income for Dorchester was more than $12,000 lower than the Boston median income.

5. Housing  

Dorchester’s population is likely to experience future growth since 1,244 new housing units were approved in  2016 as a part of nearly two million square feet of new building development. Currently another 512 new housing units are approved or in the pipeline at the Boston Planning and Development Agency, including about 700,000 square feet of development in a dozen new projects.

6. Languages  

Dorchester residents speak a variety of languages at home:

• 16,918 residents speak Spanish

• 9,395 residents speak Vietnamese

• 4,045 residents speak Portuguese or Cape Verdean Creole

7. Children and Youth   

Dorchester has 15,841 children age 0 – 9 years and 16,428 young people age 10-19 years, which is significantly higher percentage of children and youth than that of Boston as a whole.

8. Poverty   

The poverty rate for Dorchester is about 23% compared with 21.5% for the city and 11.6% for the state.

9. Elders  

Dorchester has 11,879 residents 65 years and over, which reflects Boston as a whole.

10. Ethnic Diversity  

Dorchester is one of Boston’s more diverse neighborhoods with many Vietnamese, Cape Verdean, African American, Caribbean, White, and Hispanic residents.

Ethnic Makeup of Dorchester, MA

Population over 2012-2017. Source: Boston Planning and Development Agency, Boston in Context: Neighborhoods, January 2017, p. 12.

A BRIEF History of Dorchester

English Puritans  from Dorsett County in the West of England first settled Dorchester in June 1630. The organizer of this group, Rev. John White, and a number of the immigrants were from Dorchester, England.

In the early years these settlers built a church and school along with their homes. Two 17th century homes, the Blake House and the Pierce House, can still be visited in Dorchester.

The large area of the town developed as several village centers with farmlands in between and mills along the Neponset River. After the town agreed to be annexed by Boston in 1870, it experienced rapid growth with real estate developers and rail and streetcar lines proliferating. Triple-deckers housed the growing population, as churches, industries, businesses, and cultural activities grew and thrived.

The population peaked in the mid-twentieth century, and then went through several transitions as African Americans, Cape Verdeans, West Indians, Hispanics, Vietnamese and others moved in to replace earlier residents who had left for the suburbs.  Recently, new churches, businesses, and housing developments have taken root to serve the community.

Baker Chocolate Factory, Dorchester, MA. Photo by Mark N. Belanger, 2009.

Some Dorchester Firsts

• Oldest Congregation The First Parish Church of Dorchester is the oldest congregation in present day Boston.

• First Public School The Mather School, founded in 1639, was the first tax supported, free public elementary school in America.

• First Town Meeting  Dorchester held the first recorded town meeting in American history, on October 8, 1633.

• First Chocolate Dr. James Baker and Irish chocolatier, John Hannon began the first chocolate factory in America in 1764 in Lower Mills, Dorchester. The Baker Chocolate Factory became world famous.

Ashmont Station, Dorchester, MA.

Recommended Resources 

Dorchester TODAY

68 Blocks: Life, Death, Hope in Boston’s Most Troubled Neighborhood. Irons, Meghan E., Akilah Johnson, Maria Cramer, Jenna Russell, and Andrew Ryan.Boston: Boston Globe, 2013.

Reporters living in the neighborhood wrote a series of in-depth articles which were combined into the feature 68 Blocks. 

MyDorchester is an initiative to build civic engagement and social capital in Boston's largest and oldest neighborhood, Dorchester.

MyDorchester: Twitter / MyDorchester: Facebook

Books & Booklets on Dorchester today

Streets of Glory: Church and Community in a Black Urban Neighborhood by Omar McRoberts, 2003. McRoberts studied the relationship between churches and the community in the Four Corners area.

Mitchell, Rudy. Theresa Musante, and Elizabeth Spinney. Geneva-Bowdoin. Boston: Emmanuel Gospel Center, Youth Violence Systems Project, 2009.

Mitchell, Rudy, with Tamecia Jones. Uphams Corner. Boston: Emmanuel Gospel Center, Youth Violence Systems Project, 2008.

Dorchester HISTORY

www.dorchesteratheneum.org is an excellent collection of material on Dorchester history, including maps, pictures and articles.

 

BOOKS on Dorchester History

Sammarco, Anthony Mitchell. Dorchester. 2 vols. Images of America Series. Charleston, S.C.: Arcadia Publishing, 1995, 2000.

The notable people, attractions, houses, churches, and other buildings of each section of Dorchester are covered in turn by this illustrated history using many old photographs.

The second volume has chapters covering the periods before and after Dorchester was annexed to Boston. These sections, like late 19th century county histories, focus on prominent citizens and their houses or businesses. This second volume also illustrates the history and various modes of transportation and the history of Carney Hospital. 

The two volumes give a good visual impression of selected aspects of Dorchester’s past history, but not a coherent and full narrative history of the neighborhood.

Taylor, Earl. Dorchester. Postcard History Series. Charleston, S. C.: Arcadia Publishing, 2005.

Edward Taylor’s Postcard History Series book on Dorchester, also by Arcadia Publishing, is basically the same type of illustrated history, but with a slightly different selection of pictures. 

Sammarco, Anthony Mitchell. Dorchester: A Compendium. Charleston, S.C.: The History Press, 2011.

Unlike Sammarco's other three volumes on featuring historical photos with detailed descriptions, Dorchester: A Compendium is a collection of historical essays.

The first chapter traces the development of various parts of Dorchester while describing early leaders, buildings, and landowners.  Later chapters cover the many interesting men and women who have lived in Dorchester:

• Lucy Stone, abolitionist and women’s rights activist

• William Monroe Trotter, African American civil rights activist who helped found the Niagara Movement, a precursor to the NAACP

• Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy, matriarch of the Kennedy family

• Edward Everett, famous orator

• Theodore White, historian, Pulitzer Prize winner

Sammarco's Dorchester: Then and Now, 2005.

The Then and Now books on Boston neighborhoods compare and contrast photographs of the same scenes and buildings in the past with more current ones. Different sections of this book feature schools, churches, and houses with their many changes.

In the case of Dorchester, many impressive houses and churches of the past have been lost over the years. Blayney Baptist Church, Baker Memorial Church, and Immanuel Baptist Church for example became parking lots. Fortunately, the stately buildings of the First and Second Churches of Dorchester still overlook Meeting House Hill and Codman Square respectively.

Dorchester is still home to many vibrant congregations even though many of them occupy more humble buildings today. To the probing mind, some of these pictures may raise the question, why did these churches grow, decline, and in some cases die?

Warner, Sam Bass, Jr. Streetcar Suburbs: The Process of Growth in Boston (1870-1900). 2nd edition. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1978.

Streetcar Suburbs is a very insightful study of how the urban systems of transportation (streetcars) and housing interconnected in the rapid growth of Boston neighborhoods like Dorchester, Roxbury and Jamaica Plain.

This book is still relevant in Boston’s new wave of growth because transportation centered housing development is still important and because the book’s discussion of class divisions and inequality continue to be major issues in the city.

Orcutt, William Dana. Good Old Dorchester. A Narrative History of the Town, 1630-1893. Cambridge: John Wilson & Son, University Press, 1893. (Amazon.com)

Dorchester Antiquarian and Historical Society. History of the Town of Dorchester, Massachusetts. Boston: Ebenezer Clapp, Jr., 1859.

What Did You Think?

High-Rise Gospel Presence: A Case for Neighborhood Chaplains

High-Rise Gospel Presence: A Case for Neighborhood Chaplains

By Steve Daman

In recent blogs, we’ve been talking about Boston’s soon coming population increase and asking how the Church might prepare for that growth. Will some of Boston’s 575 existing churches rise to the challenge and create relational pathways to serve the many new neighborhoods being planned and built in Boston? 

We hope they will, and that church planters will pioneer new congregations among Boston’s newest residents. But can we do more? Might there be other ways to bring the love of Jesus into brand new communities? 

Asking the Right Questions

Dr. Mark Yoon, Chaplain at Boston University and former EGC Board Chairman, starts with a question, not an answer. “The first question that comes to my mind is: who are the people moving into these planned communities? Why are they moving there? What are the driving factors?” 

According to Dr. Yoon, thoughtful community assessment would be the obvious starting point. To launch any new outreach into these neighborhoods will require “serious time and effort to get this right,” he says. “Getting this right” will likely require innovative solutions.

Let’s assume, for example, that a community analysis shows that many of Boston’s newest residents are young, urban professionals. Dr. Paul Grogen, President & CEO of the Boston Foundation, noted recently, “Boston is a haven for young, highly educated people. Boston has the highest concentration of 20-to-34-year-olds of any large city in America, and 65 percent of Boston’s young adults have a bachelor’s degree or higher”, compared with 36 percent nationally.  

If the people moving into these new communities are affluent, educated young people, it is likely that many may be what statisticians are calling nones or dones. 

Nones are people who self-identify as atheists or agnostics, as well as those who say their religion is “nothing in particular.” Pew Research finds nones now make up 23% of U.S. adults, up from 16% in 2007. 

Sociologist Josh Packard defines dones as “people who are disillusioned with church. Though they were committed to the church for years—often as lay leaders—they no longer attend,” he says. “Whether because they’re dissatisfied with the structure, social message, or politics of the institutional church, they’ve decided they are better off without organized religion.”

Adopting New Church-Planting Models

It would seem likely that the dones and nones won’t be looking for a church in Boston—at least not the kind of church they have rejected. 

“To make inroads into these communities,” Dr. Yoon continues, “one’s gospel/missional perspective will be paramount. Most of our church leaders have old church-planting models that focus on certain attractions they roll out.” 

What will be required instead, he says, is a church-planting model “built on vulnerability and surrender, and skill on how to engage, and prayer.” This combination, he feels, although essential for the task, will be “a rare find!”

What, then, might be some non-traditional ideas for establishing a compelling Gospel presence in a brand new, affluent, high-rise neighborhood?

Neighborhood Chaplaincy

What if Christians embed “neighborhood chaplaincies” into emerging communities? Rather than starting with a church, could we start with a brick-and-mortar service center, positioned to help and serve and love in the name of Jesus Christ?

Imagine a church, or a collaborative of churches, sending certified chaplains into new communities to extend grace and life in nontraditional ways to new, young and/or affluent Bostonians. Could this be a way to implant a compelling Gospel presence among this population?

Picture a storefront in sparkling, new retail space—a bright, colorful, inviting and safe space where residents in the same building complex might make first-contact. I envision a go-to place for any question about life or spirit, healing or wholeness, a place where there is no wrong question, where Spirit-filled Christians are ready to listen and offer effective help.

The neighborhood chaplaincy office may serve as a non-denominational pastoral counseling center, offer exploratory Bible classes, and sponsor community-building events. As with workplace chaplains, neighborhood chaplains may serve as spiritually aware social workers, advising residents about such issues as divorce, illness, employment concerns, and such. They may be asked to conduct weddings or funerals for residents. As passionate networkers, they would serve residents by pointing them to local churches, agencies, medical services, and the like.

Community Chaplain Services (CCS) in Ohio provides one intriguing ministry model.  According to their website, CCS “is designed to offer assistance to those in need, serving the spiritual, emotional, physical, social needs of individuals, families, businesses, corporations, schools, and groups in the community.” This ministry grew from a community-based café ministry into a full-service educational resource and pastoral service provider. 

Other than this one example, a quick web survey uncovers little else. Given the ongoing worldwide trend toward increased urbanization, coupled with the biblical mandate to make disciples of all nations, including the urbanized communities, the lack of neighborhood chaplaincy models is surprising. One would think the idea of embedded chaplaincy among the affluent would have taken root by now. 

CURRENT Chaplaincy Models

Certainly, the core idea of chaplaincy has been around a long time and has seen various expressions around the world. One can find chaplaincy venues such as workplace and corporate, hospitals and institutions, prison, military, public safety (serving first responders), recovery ministry chaplains, and more. 

Community chaplaincy in high-crime or low-income neighborhoods is also widespread. Here in Boston, the go-to person for this kind of urban community chaplaincy is Rev. Dr. LeSette Wright, the founder of Peaceseekers, a Boston-based ministry working to cultivate partnerships for preventing violence and promoting God’s peace, and a Senior Chaplain with the International Fellowship of Chaplains. 

Through Peaceseekers and other partners, Rev. Dr. Wright initiated the Greater Boston Community Chaplaincy Collaborative, which has trained over 100 people to serve as community chaplains. Rev. Dr. Wright says their main work is to be a prevention and response team, “quietly serving in diverse places" to provide spiritual and emotional care among New England communities. 

Trained chaplains minister "everywhere from street corners to firehouses to homeless shelters, barber shops, nursing homes, boys’ and girls’ clubs; meeting for spiritual direction with crime victims, lawyers, nurses, police officers, doctors, construction workers, students, children, clergy, etc.”

“We do not have a focus on the affluent or the new high rises,” Rev. Dr. Wright admits. “We do not exclude them, but they have not been a primary focus.”

Who Will Pay For It?

Rev. Dr. Wright says that the biggest challenge she has faced establishing a network of community chaplains in Boston is funding. Some churches and denominations have provided missionary funding for chaplains. She says the interest and openness from the community for this initiative is high, and “with additional funding and administrative support in managing this effort we will continue to grow as a chaplaincy collaborative.”

If Boston were to plant neighborhood chaplaincy programs in new, emerging, affluent districts, funding would still be an issue. 

Rev. Renee Roederer, a community chaplain with the Presbyterian Church in Ann Arbor, Michigan, has been writing about this kind of outreach, asking the same questions. “What if we could call people to serve as chaplains for particular towns and neighborhoods, organizing spiritual life and community connections in uncharted ways?” she writes. “Who will pay for it?” 

Rev. Roederer further considers, “What would be needed, and what obstacles would have to be cleared, in order to create such roles? What if some of our seminarians could serve in this way upon graduation?”

“I’m a realist, knowing it would take a lot of financial support and creativity to form these kinds of roles,” she says, “but the shifts we're seeing in spiritual demographics are already necessitating them.”

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