Join us virtually for this stop on the Strong Towns Local-Motive Tour 2024, featuring Strong Towns Community Builder John Pattison and guest speaker Sara Joy Proppe, founder of the Proximity Project.
LOCATION: Online Event | DATE: October 17, 2024 | TIME: Noon CDT
Churches often occupy incredibly high-value real estate in America’s cities and towns, both in terms of property value and proximity to vital neighborhood resources, people and businesses. Yet many of these buildings sit empty for much of the week as attendance has declined and church programming dwindles. How can developers, planners, residents and church leaders capitalize on this moment in a way that benefits their neighborhoods? Join this session to hear from Strong Towns Community Builder John Pattison and expert Sara Joy Proppe (founder of Proximity Project) with extensive knowledge about the church landscape who will speak to the ways churches across the country are opening their doors to community events, opening their properties as community space and transforming their land into much-needed housing.
Sara Joy Proppe (‘Pro-pay’) is the founder and director of Proximity Project, an educational and consulting firm centered on equipping churches to be strategic stewards of their properties for the common good within the contexts of their neighborhoods. Sara Joy’s professional experience includes several years of private real estate development as well as developing and leading placemaking workshops in communities throughout the Midwest. She writes and speaks on several platforms about the intersections of theology, placemaking, and design for dignity. She is the co-author of Redemptive Placemaking: A toolkit for discerning your church’s mission in the built environment. She is co-host of The Embedded Church podcast and Making Space, a podcast collaboration by Barna Group and Aspen Group.