Churches in non-traditional places

I’ve been a churchgoer since I was a child and have sometimes questioned how the expenses related to maintaining worship facilities can interfere with work in their communities when funds are lacking.

With this in mind I have looked at congregations who use non-traditional spaces – spaces that are easier to maintain and could be rented or sold for other uses if necessary – with a degree of interest and in some cases admiration.

An article in the Wall Street Journal is talking about how churches in unique spaces might not always be welcome.  A case of a congregation setting up in a strip mall, and some noise complaints, is used to highlight some of the problems that can arise. 

An interesting detail in the story is that there are rules in the US have been in place since 2000 that ban zoning authorities from keeping churches out of particular areas.

With changing demographics and community attitudes toward faith it can be expected that churches will continue to move into new and interesting places.