Starting a church. (Vancouver, Longview: low income, apartments, rent)

[squatAlot]

So, I've been planning on moving to Vancouver for some time now. Let begin by saying that the purpose of the move is to start an old fashioned, King James Bible preaching, soul-winning church. I am aiming for spring 2017.

I will be starting the church in a house and moving out in to a commercial property of some sort when it grows large enough to warrant it. I already have several families committed and the potential of many more individuals joining.

That said, I am looking for a low income area. Preferably in or near the 205-5 loop south of the 500. I am sure the locals there have a name there for this area. My thinking is this. Lower income areas will be more accepting of having cars parked on the street during services and less hostile if they disapprove of what I am doing. This is due to the fact that often they them-selves are disrupting the serenity of the neighborhood with their latenight weekend parties and what not. I am of course open to other ideas/locations that would make sense.

Obviously, only a house will do and apartments are out of the question.

I have a family of 5 with all of my children under 5 years of age. As far as a job, I will be taking what I can get but I am in a skilled trade at this time.

If anyone has any ideas, please share.

Thanks!

[notnamed]

Do know that this is the least religious part of the country right? Well perhaps that's your motivation.

There isn't anything I would really call low income in that 205/5/500 box. Property and rent prices have forced a lot of the lower income folks to relocate to the Longview area 30-40mins north which is more industrial.

[backdrifter]

Originally Posted by squatAlot

So, I've been planning on moving to Vancouver for some time now. Let begin by saying that the purpose of the move is to start an old fashioned, King James Bible preaching, soul-winning church. I am aiming for spring 2017.

I will be starting the church in a house and moving out in to a commercial property of some sort when it grows large enough to warrant it. I already have several families committed and the potential of many more individuals joining.

That said, I am looking for a low income area. Preferably in or near the 205-5 loop south of the 500. I am sure the locals there have a name there for this area. My thinking is this. Lower income areas will be more accepting of having cars parked on the street during services and less hostile if they disapprove of what I am doing. This is due to the fact that often they them-selves are disrupting the serenity of the neighborhood with their latenight weekend parties and what not. I am of course open to other ideas/locations that would make sense.

Obviously, only a house will do and apartments are out of the question.

I have a family of 5 with all of my children under 5 years of age. As far as a job, I will be taking what I can get but I am in a skilled trade at this time.

If anyone has any ideas, please share.

Thanks!

Wow, I don't know where to begin. I will try to remain as nonjudgmental as possible, but you are making a lot of assumptions about people there, so it will be difficult for me.

My domestic partner and I live in that I-5/I-205 box you speak of and some areas are very well off with some million dollar homes, while there are pockets, mainly along Fourth Plain Blvd, that are not so well off. We are higher income earners, but purposely purchased a cheaper home in an "up and coming" neighborhood that is a bit lower income, since we were first time homebuyers and want to live below our means. It is a quiet neighborhood with retired people, families, and quiet, mature, young professionals like ourselves, and some hard working, blue collar folks as well. Nobody is disrupting the neighborhood with their lifestyles or their "late night parties" here, but you certainly might be if you started running a church out of your home in our neighborhood. I can assure you, my neighborhood is tight knit and we would band together to do something about it if it really was impacting us. Many neighborhoods here in Vancouver, even the poorer ones, are like that.

Now, there is a Sikh gurudwara in our neighborhood and also a very small church a couple blocks away from our home. The Sikhs I have never run into so they are good neighbors by default just by their lack of visibility. The churchgoers really don't participate in our neighborhood, live out of the area, and have been somewhat cool towards some in the neighborhood, but they are quiet, respectful, and keep to themselves, and they park in their own parking lot and not on our streets. So ultimately they are good neighbors too, and so we live and let live.

Hopefully you can arrange such a situation where you are not impeding on your neighbors, especially since you are planning on going in and judging them to be poor in finances and in moral fortitude and undeserving of basic neighborly respect for both of those reasons. I'm all for practicing your beliefs, but coming into our neighborhoods with a snobbish, confrontational attitude like that is not going to win anybody over to tolerating your activities or convincing them that your beliefs are the ones they should follow. What was it Jesus said again? Oh yeah, love thy neighbor as thyself.

Good luck.

[silibran]

I'm just curious why you have chosen Vancouver? In my weekly trek to church, I've noticed that we already have some pretty fundamentalist fellowships already here. Do you feel you are truly unique?

And I just have to ask, why in the world are you tied to the KJV? Most people here seem to me to be pretty socially progressive; I am not sure what the attraction of a 400 year old translation of the Bible would be.

[Disgustedman]

I have a sneaky suspicion that the OP is a troll.....

[backdrifter]

Originally Posted by Disgustedman

I have a sneaky suspicion that the OP is a troll.....

Perhaps you are right. We'll see if OP responds. You never know... IRL people continually amaze me.

[texasdiver]

I would try Longview.

It has more scruffy low-income areas where people won't care what you do with your cars or your church.