Date

9-25-2025

Department

College of Arts and Sciences

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy in History (PhD)

Chair

Timothy Holder

Keywords

religious disinterest, spiritual decline, declining church, church leadership, discipleship, outreach, financial stewardship

Disciplines

History | Religion

Abstract

There are churches in working-class neighborhoods throughout America that were built by the community’s residents. Some of these churches are close to or more than 100 years old and still function as places of worship. Riverdale Baptist Church in Roanoke and Fairview Christian in Lynchburg are two such churches. During the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries something changed about the Riverdale Farm and Fairview Heights neighborhoods. New neighbors arrived who were not interested in attending these corner churches, or in having close-knit relationships with their neighbors. The children of the older members had moved to other neighborhoods, and although some continued to come to Riverdale, others left. These factors combined with a spiritual disinterest that was taking place in the early twenty-first century affected both churches’ attendance and memberships. Despite this, Riverdale Baptist and Fairview Christian continued to renew themselves and their outreach which brought in new member. Riverdale and Fairview have managed to beat the odds that some neighborhood churches of the same era were not able to and had to close their doors. To discover what Riverdale Baptist and Fairview Christian had in common that contributed towards their survival, four areas of church operation were examined at both churches. Financial stewardship, discipleship, outreach, and leadership. Both churches remained strong in all four areas throughout the decades and remained true to the core beliefs of Christianity. Their resilience is an indication of the faith of past and present members, people who love the Lord and desire to obey the Great Commission.

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