Glenn Hoburg is the pastor of Grace DC, a new church plant in Washington, DC. The movement caught up with him one afternoon to find out about this new church, its ministries and how God is working in the Washington DC community.         

Tell us about Grace DC.
Grace DC is a new church planting project and an answer to a 15-year-long prayer. The Potomac Presbytery and McLean Presbyterian Church have desired to start a new project in the District for a long time. Five years ago McLean's Pastor John Hutchinson started a dialog with Redeemer Presbyterian Church about a city-center church in downtown Washington, DC. An emerging group of core members began meeting at that time, and I was invited to be the church planter in 2003.

Describe the demographic and ethnographic makeup of your congregation.
During the past 10 to 15 years, Washington, DC has witnessed a flood of re-migration back into the city. This migration has in large part been initiated by young single professionals; Grace DC reflects this trend with 85 percent of members being young singles (with an average age of 27).

In January, 2004, we began worship services and currently average 250 people each week. Nearly half of Grace DC attendees live in the District proper, with the other half coming from the greater Metro DC area. Most are urban professionals who work on Capitol Hill, including lawyers, politicians, educators and government workers. Our church community is comprised of Anglos, Asians, some Indian and African-Americans, representing the multicultural, global community of Washington, DC.

How do you work with the diversity in your community?
While we want to reflect the ethnic and racial diversity of DC, we are trying not to be naïve regarding issues of contextualization. It takes a great deal of intentionality, wisdom and grace to navigate cultural diversity. There is a need to protect the church's focus from growing inward (i.e., getting the different cultures to work together) and thus neglecting the community outside the church. We want to be accessible to people but also realize no church this side of heaven can serve all cultures.

With its presence of foreign embassies and diverse ethnic communities, Washington, DC, represents global interests both in the political sphere and in individual neighborhoods. People come to Washington, DC, from all over the world, many of them with a vision for making a difference in the world. This vision unites them and provides a sense of commitment to a common cause. This common purpose makes DC different from other cities like New York or Boston.

In actuality, Washington, DC is a tale of two cities. First, there is Washington where professionals come to work (while maintaining a residence in the suburbs). Then, there is the District of Columbia, the native city with primarily African-American constituents, Latin American immigrants and lower socio-economic populations. The re-migration of urban professionals back into the city presents an opportunity to bridge the chasm.  But it will not happen simply by way of gentrification (although this isn't all bad). We can't confuse urban renewal with the opening of a new Starbucks. It's superficial to view renewal only in terms of urban amenities. As Christ's church we should care about the grace of God renewing all aspects of the city.

OK, so what does this mean in terms of your programs? How are you doing this in your ministry?
We are thinking hard about what it means to incorporate redemptive, authentic, Acts 2:42- type of community. We have adopted the purpose of being "inwardly growing, yet outwardly facing." As the gospel enables us to practice real love in community, we want it to be visible to others, not for the sake of self-righteousness but for the purpose of introducing our friends and co-workers to Jesus. We do this as we invite non-Christians to attend our picnics, weekend getaways, community groups and dinner parties. We involve them in our lives.

We also do community outreach in the city. All of our Community Groups perform a service project once a month in place of one of their meetings, such as working together at a local food pantry, providing assistance at a medical shelter for the homeless, or monthly field trips with at-risk children. This may sound extreme, but I say to my congregation: ‘If you aren't serving the poor and oppressed, you're not in the ministry of Jesus.'

How are you bringing in the unchurched?
We are learning more about this– we try to establish a culture that is accessible to non-believers through every aspect of our church. We try to be mindful to everyone in the community.  We are intentional about inviting non-believers to fellowship events. We are also starting seeker study groups (Discovering Christianity) for non-believers this fall so that we can address their questions and concerns about the Gospel.

Right now, we have approximately 5 to 8 percent non-believers and nominal Christians, so we need to be doing more. Church is the continuing ministry of Jesus, and therefore it should be a mix of both believers and non-believers. We don't want to be just a haven for Christians.

How have you been challenged in the process of planting Grace DC?
Perhaps the biggest challenge has been learning to be a leader. As a church planter, I am not just a preacher or pastor but a leader of a growing organization. I'm not trying to suggest a corporate model for the church, but there is some aspect of leadership which is inevitable – -the values we're asking people to embrace, the energy with which we direct, the ministries that we emphasize. Our decisions have a serious impact on the shape of the ministry, not just for the present time but for the future of the church! That fires me up! It's a wide-open field and that's exciting. But it is also frightening and overwhelming at times. I feel the weight of that and the impact of that on my spiritual life. It creates a sense of desperateness that drives me to a deeper devotional life.

It takes faith to commit to the means of grace daily — for personal and corporate growth. And there's a decision-making process that has to have what I call Holy Spirit intuition. And you must have communion with God to get that.

What do you have to say to other leaders in the church?
Don't be satisfied with a successful-looking church. Work for radical changes in the city. Look for God's kingdom to advance in your community.