Here is the church and here is the steeple. Open the door and see all the people. This well-known nursery rhyme, complete with hand motions, has likely been taught in Sunday school classes for generations. But it might be time to retire it.
As church membership across denominations continues to decline and the
number of religiously unaffiliated increases, some leaders are thinking outside the box to find ways to reconnect congregations with their neighbors and bring back the emphasis that the church isn’t the building but the faithful who gather to share the good news. Around 190 of the ELCA’s new congregations have thriving ministries that don’t
involve any steeple—some don’t even involve doors. Chicken Coop Church in Grantsburg, Wis., an ELCA synodically authorized
worshiping community, is one of those nontraditional congregations—in more ways than just its unique name. The “chicken coopers,” as mission developer Peter Johnson refers to them,
worship in a converted chicken coop. Instead of a pew, chicken coopers take a seat on a sofa or recliner. For music, they sing contemporary Christian songs, but they’ve also been known to belt out the words of “Jesus Just Left Chicago” by ZZ Top. While all of these components sound fun, and Johnson said they do have a lot
of fun, make no mistake that this worshiping community is serious about keeping the focus on God and sharing the gospel with their community. “We live in mission with and for others who are beautifully broken, made new by the power of the Holy Spirit,” he said. Most of the people who attend Chicken Coop Church, which started in 2014,
are between their late 20s and early 40s with families and live at or below poverty level. Most are also in recovery or dealing with addiction and mental health issues, Johnson said. “Our church is the unchurched and the marginalized, and that isn’t embellishing
anything,” he said. “One could classify them as being some sort of statistic, but what you have is a faith community of survivors.” “Community” isn’t a word Johnson uses lightly. The first-time mission developer
Photo: David Joel Photography
CONGREGATIONAL LIFE •
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