If you’ve been following along (thanks all 2 of you) recently I’ve been exploring some of the reasons and exploring questions as to why church planters decided where to start a church and why. Although I cannot pry into the inner-most motives there are some definite reasons that float to the surface. For summary the reasons range from cultural compatibility (affinity) and demographic as well as geographic familiarity. What that means in a nutshell is this … if you best relate to and identify with XYZ area, people and culture more than likely you’ll plant a church there. It makes sense and I get it and even affirm it.

I’ve also tried to be honest with my own leanings, wrestlings, and internal tensions as to what this looks like for me. What that has done in a good way has forced me to ask questions like, “Who am I?” Both Katie and I have been asking each other those kinds of questions a lot as well as asking God for continued clarity as to who He wants us to plant churches among. I’ve also had a number of church planters here in metro Vancouver weigh in and share with me what they thought and saw from afar and I am grateful for that.

Here’s where I’m at today. Maybe I’m saying this out of principle, but I don’t want to necessarily gravitate towards planting among people and in areas that are hip, trendy, and cool. Hear me clearly, there’s nothing wrong with that and we need more and not less. Sure, I’ve questioned out loud as to why, wether the urbs and burbs, the hip trendy places get all of the church planters. In regards to urban environments I struggle with why everyone all of the sudden wants to reach urban hipsters. I believe the answer to that isn’t even scandalous. Based upon my own research and conclusions I set forth  in my dissertation I believe that church planters are part of Richard Florida’s Creative Class. Therefore, it makes sense to plant churches among those who we’re like.

I might be committing church planting suicide but I don’t want to plant churches necessarily among people like me. Sure, I gravitate towards maybe the outdoors crowd or coffee house lovers, etc, but me and Katie were texting back and forth this morning about our own neighborhood. I see the area that is 70% Asian and my pulse quickens as I think of how much God loves us all. I look at all of the refugees whether from Asia or eastern Europe and although I’m just a simple dude from small town Iowa I want to see one of the Ion Communities established here. I want them to know that Jesus too was an Asian refugee who fled to Africa as a child because his family feared for their lives. In a neighborhood beautifully rich with diversity I want them to see how Jesus was mixed racially on His human side and He can relate to us in more ways than one.

So there you have it … :)

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Sean Benesh whos blog blog is The Urban Loft  He says, “born and raised in Iowa (ok … oh so NOT urban), I am married to my high school sweetheart, Katie, and we have 3 sons; Grant, Camden, and Seth. I hang out / office at local coffee shops too much where you can find me almost anytime. We live in Burnaby (Vancouver), BC where I’m in the beginning stages of starting the Ion Community as well as continuing to direct the Epoch Center.”