Pentecostal City-Making Must Serve the Neighbour, Not Build Enclaves

African Pentecostalism is not only present in the city. It helps to make the city. A congregation changes patterns of movement, land use, commerce, sound, safety and belonging when it acquires property, builds an auditorium, opens a school, operates media, runs transport, provides water or health services, attracts vendors and gathers thousands of worshippers. These effects can be life-giving. They can also deepen exclusion while being narrated as transformation.

The theological question is therefore larger than whether a church owns land lawfully or attracts people successfully. We must ask what its urban presence does to the neighbour: the tenant whose rent may rise, the trader whose access may be restricted, the child crossing a congested road, the person with a disability approaching the building, the resident enduring noise, and the family needing housing, water, public space and secure tenure.

Pentecostal city-making becomes Christian witness when spiritual vitality and institutional growth are disciplined by love of neighbour. Renewal that beautifies a religious enclave while displacing or burdening the surrounding community is not yet the common good.

World Cities Day is observed on 31 October 2026 under the theme, “Regenerating the City: Adequate Housing for All.” The United Nations describes regeneration as an opportunity to improve homes, infrastructure, public space, connectivity and climate resilience while protecting existing residents from displacement. The Secretary-General's message emphasises partnership and the…