Angie Crichton: Next Door Social Space
What began as a mission to be a porchlight in a townhouse complex became a vision from God to reach an entire community.
God said to me, “Angie, I want you to be a porchlight in this community.”
Angie Crichton wondered what being a porchlight could mean when she looked out into her broken neighborhood. How could she show hospitality with limited space and resources to neighbors who had no understanding of what being a neighbor meant? Fast forward years ahead and it’s incredible to see where a few steps of obedience in hospitality gave the foundation for Next Door Social Space.
Growing up in the country, Angie always understood the meaning of community. Even though houses were farther apart, the people she lived near practiced being neighborly, like spending time together, relying on each other, and knowing one another. However, a series of challenges in her own life, like a divorce and abusive relationship, left her broken and lonely. She ended up in a townhouse complex. While she was living in closer proximity to people, she somehow felt more isolated than ever.
“I just saw such a lack of connection. People were very somber walking around and very sad. Is this all that life is? What is happening,” she wondered. “They need to be taught how to build community.”
The First Step on the Front Stoop
She took the first step by setting her grill on the tiny front stoop of her townhouse.
“I just got whatever I could find, put it on the barbecue and invited my neighbors to come. And they started coming. I began introducing neighbors to other neighbors that have been living together for years and didn’t know each other.” The small act of moving the barbecue had a huge ripple effect in her community.
Neighbors became acquaintances, acquaintances became friends and children began to play with one another. Angie continued to “be a porchlight” and express creativity in showing hospitality within her means through activities for the kids, tea and a couch, and sharing produce from a vegetable garden; but she was stretched. She only had so much space and resources. If God wanted this to keep growing, He would have to make space for more people. Along came Forestview Church Without Walls and the vision of Next Door Social Space.
“They already had the vision of having the space, but they didn’t have the next part of what God wanted to do. God brought us together and had it all aligned as God does. It just flourished from there.”
Neighbors became acquaintances, acquaintances became friends and children began to play with one another.
From a Porchlight to a Streetlamp
Forestview Church Without Walls provided a space in a neighborhood plaza and Angie led the charge to continue leading her neighbors into becoming a community.
“It started out at a slow pace as we went about building relationships with people and letting them build with each other within the time and ability of our leadership. We started with a community dinner,” Angie remembers. In an act of generosity, one woman donated a year of free catering to these community dinners. Neighbors came with space for relationships to grow.
“The need was there. If we could knock off one meal out of a week it was helpful for many families. They knew they could look forward to that dinner once a week. We began connecting with single dads, with moms, some older people, newcomers, we had a mix of everyone coming.”
Pretty soon, Next Door Social Space began to outgrow their location. They had an opportunity to move to an even bigger place. After weighing the options with their leadership team, they moved to a storefront closer to the initial high rises that were in Angie’s neighborhood. Through an act of God, the business next door went under and the team was able to lease two storefront spaces side by side.
“All of a sudden God just put in my heart- you need to build a community kitchen in the space on the other side of that wall. You’re going to put a double door through the wall and with a commercial kitchen and you’re going to teach people to cook and gather around the tables eating and building community.” With her team on board and the support of the church and some generous donors, they proceeded to make a financial investment in the next vision for the community.
“It grew from there. Our space was used for all kinds of functions: drop in lunches/dinners, fundraisers, teaching people of all ages to cook, investing in children and youth, potluck gatherings, ESL classes, prayer times, a church plant, Bible Studies etc.”
What began as a mission to be a porchlight in a townhouse complex became a vision from God to reach an entire community. Next Door became a streetlight in a dark space to provide hope, love and relationship.
Our space was used for all kinds of functions: drop in lunches/dinners, fundraisers, teaching people of all ages to cook, investing in children and youth, potluck gatherings, ESL classes, prayer times, a church plant, Bible Studies etc.
Hurdles Along the Way
This streetlight wasn’t raised without challenges. Angie and her team at Next Door Social Space had to persevere through many different obstacles along the way. The city came down on them multiple times. In the early days, public health tried to shut them down when they saw their meals came from crock pots. During the process of construction for the new space, the city made them install a new hood range for their kitchen.
“We wanted to put a domestic stove in because we wanted to help people feel empowered by going home and cooking on a regular stove. We did not expect a $25,000 bill to buy a commercial stove and hood range,” Angie said. It was here that another act of miraculous generosity saved the day.
“One of my volunteers, who did not know what was going on behind the scenes, chose to donate some of her earnings to Next Door from the sale of one of her commercial buildings. She was nervous to give me the cheque. When I opened the envelope, it was for the exact amount we needed. It was $25,000.” The shock of this check and God’s provision is what pushed Angie and the team to keep going through the setbacks.
This wasn’t the only hurdle Angie faced. In this kind of relational ministry, Angie has learned a lot about teamwork and boundaries. This is not a one man job.
“I needed more shared responsibility because it’s a lot to take on when you’re committed to the relational side of people.” It was a lesson she learned to make sure there were enough people with vested interest, passion, and pursuit to keep the operation going. A team, or a board of directors on the ground, would have substantially helped lighten the increasing load of running Next Door Social Space AND sustainably care for the people who walked through the doors.
“Solidify what you’re doing and have a shared goal, put it on paper. Above all, stay true to what the Lord has called you to do, and do it well,” she recommends.
All of a sudden God put in my heart- you need to build a community kitchen in this space.
Moving Forward with Hope
The future is bright for Next Door Social Space. Amazing life-on-life ministry has happened since the doors of the new space were opened in 2017 with much more to be done. Angie sees the road to success in maintaining her initial vision of community building and sharing the love of Jesus to the greater surrounding area. There is no confusion to people that Matthew 25 inspires this ministry.
“We are called to feed, love and serve the least of these. And Jesus is in that.” She hopes to continue to pursue partnerships with like minded organizations to continue bearing good fruit through the space and growing their capacity of what they can accomplish.
Overall, it’s the same as it was from the start, it’s about people. The more faces and names that walk through the doors (and double doors) of Next Door will be met with a love and friendship that did not exist in that part of town before God placed Angie there.
When Angie first saw the loneliness and isolation of her neighbors, God revealed the potential.