London is a strange and wonderful beast. It’s a multicultural, diverse melting pot which pulsates with energy and innovation. It’s an incredible privilege to live here. But with the many strengths, there are also significant challenges. Despite living in a city of millions of people, it’s very possible to live a lonely and isolated existence. It’s easy to get caught up in the busyness of London life and to fall out of healthy patterns of rest. The distinctive rhythms of the city mean that doing church life here requires a slightly different approach to elsewhere.
Here are my five top tips for doing church in the city:
1. Commit to the rhythms of community
In our transient and consumeristic context, it’s fairly common for folk to treat church like something you go to every now and again. I want to encourage you to commit to church every Sunday (however tempting that weekend break to Amsterdam looks). Seeing the same folk every week, you’ll quickly start to be known, to find friendships and to find a place to serve. Church is intended to be a family who are committed to one another, not an anonymous crowd. The more regularly you commit to Sundays and life group, the more it will start to feel like that.
2. Invest deeply in a few friendships
Friendships in London don’t just happen. They require intentionality. Ask someone out for a drink. Be intentional in sharing what's actually going on in your life. I’m convinced our generation (millennials and younger) have lost something of the art of making friends and this is a root cause of much of the loneliness that we experience. Christian community is a brilliant context for you to build deep abiding relationships with people who share your love for Christ.
3. Make sure you get healthy rest
It’s easy to get swept up in the fast pace of life and fall into the weekend exhausted. Good rest requires intentionality. Consider what healthy rest looks like. It probably isn’t only a Netflix boxset. Good rest involves stepping back from work, connecting with friends (perhaps over good food and drink) and time with the Lord. It’s an essential time to reset and approach the next week with a restored focus on the things that matter.
4. Learn to serve the city
It’s easy to approach living in London with a consumeristic mindset. You come here to study, work and perhaps achieve your dreams. Instead, consider what it means to invest in others. Who are the people God has placed you around that you can learn to serve? How might God use you to help those around you take steps towards him?
5. Geography matters
Many people live in one part of the city, work in another part and do church in another part of the city. That’s fine. But you may feel like your life is a set of disconnected interactions. Life is easier if you work, rest and do church in a similar part of the city. People attend Grace from all parts of the city, but many people who’ve been part of the church for a while chose to live in the Waterloo / Kennington / Oval / Camberwell area. They probably work elsewhere but they do life and church in a similar place. They live among friends, which is a rare privilege in this city.