Drive through the old town center in Anywhere, USA, and you will find two buildings encircled by the main road: the courthouse and the church. Historically, the church has been the locus, or central focus, of the community. For better or worse, it was where people congregated to share life's stories.

Once the center of connection, the church has become an ancillary part of the greater community. It has lost its status as a "third place."

Sociologist Ray Oldenburg coined the term "third place." The concept of a third place involves a gathering place for people separate from home (the first place) and work (the second place). These informal meeting places have existed throughout history, but they have increased in importance in the last decade. As the lines between home and work blur, and as people travel farther distances from home to work, the third place has become an important gathering point for people wanting a break between the first and second place. That's why high-end coffee shops are on every street corner. They charge $1 for a cup of coffee combined with a $3 experience of communal gathering.

The issue of lost fellowship is obviously not a new phenomenon. People in the New Testament hungered for community as well.

Mark 6:30-44 reveals that, after an exhausting day, Jesus attempts to escape the massive crowd, retreating by boat. But the crowd follows him on foot, beating him and the disciples to the next destination. Having compassion on the people, Jesus takes five small rolls and two dried fish, and God multiplies the food to satisfy the crowd of more than 5,000 people.

The miracle of food multiplying isn't the only important piece of the story. People from all different communities and backgrounds interacted with each other. Most of the surrounding towns had less than 3,000 people. This gathering of more than 5,000 people would have been much larger than most had ever seen. Perhaps just as important as God's provision are the conversations that likely occurred after the meal—small groups of people discussing the teaching they received from Jesus.

Surrender time and convenience

When the crowd followed Jesus, he did not vent frustration and skirt off to another place but had deep compassion for the people. He filled them spiritually and physically. The Giver of Living Water, the Bread of Life, met the needs of this hodgepodge community of people. He did so sacrificing much-desired rest in order to reach a group of people searching for a sense of community.

Stick to the glue of community

Within any community, people share common beliefs, resources, preferences, and needs. Faith communities, however, have something that gives them definition, structure, and glue.

Jesus Christ holds the members of the body together. He shapes the community of the Church. He is the head. The essential connection of community must revolve around Christ. He is the bond and the glue. Changing the setting or the physical features of the church won't create community if it isn't grounded in the truth and love of Christ.

A vital church community centers on the message of Jesus Christ and the going and telling of that message to those outside of the church. Get people fired up about the gospel and watch a strong church community unfold.

See the church as a third place

The church must regain its status as the "third place." This answer is not a panacea for churches, but it is a piece of the equation.

Through our research for the book Essential Church, almost three-fourths of the formerly unchurched say they were attracted to a faith community that features a third place.

Let me be clear: Building a coffee shop in your church is not the magic bullet. But Christ-centered churches that have a third place are more likely to attract the unchurched. Churches that become a third place are more likely to be viewed as the spiritual beacon of the community.

The church must reclaim its status as the locus of community if it wants to be seen as an essential element of people's lives. An investment of time and a sacrifice of convenience, along with a proper focus on Jesus Christ, who is the head, will aid the church in becoming the place away from home and work where people come to tell the stories of their lives.

What are you doing at your church to become that third place?