Book Review: Church Forsaken: Practicing Presence in Neglected Neighborhoods by Jonathan Brooks

 

In Church Forsaken: Practicing Presence in Neglected Neighborhoods, Jonathan Brooks (Pastah J) offers a deeply personal narrative that blends theology, community development, and social justice. Drawing from his experience as a pastor in the Englewood neighborhood of Chicago, Brooks invites readers to rethink what it means to be the Church and challenges common assumptions about poverty, place, and calling.

At its core, Church Forsaken is about faithfully staying, living, and loving in communities that society has often written off. Rather than viewing these neighborhoods as problems to be solved or areas to escape, Brooks argues that they are rich with God’s activity and are critical spaces for renewal, both for individuals and for the church itself.

Overview and Themes

The book is organized around seven key themes or “forsakings” that reflect the ways the Church has often failed to engage with marginalized communities. These include:

1. Place Forsaken
2. People Forsaken
3. Systems Forsaken
4. Power Forsaken
5. Identity Forsaken
6. Witness Forsaken
7. Hope Forsaken

In each chapter, Brooks combines Scripture, theology, and his lived experience in Englewood to challenge the dominant narratives about urban life and ministry. 

He argues that the Church has often participated in the abandonment of inner-city neighborhoods, either through physical flight or theological detachment, and calls Christians to return, remain, and rebuild in solidarity with their neighbors.

Key Lessons and Takeaways

1. Presence Matters More Than Programs

A central message in Church Forsaken is that transformational ministry begins not with programs or strategies but with being present. Brooks emphasizes the need for Christians to live in, not just commute to, the communities they serve. He writes, “Presence communicates value. It says, ‘I care enough to stay.’”

Application to Your Community: Whether you live in a disinvested neighborhood or a stable one, consider how your physical and relational presence reflects your values. Are you truly involved with your neighbors? What would it look like to build consistent, authentic relationships rather than drop-in outreach?

2. Redefining Success and Power

Brooks critiques how many churches and ministries measure success—by size, influence, or aesthetics—and instead lifts up faithfulness and solidarity. In his words, “God’s kingdom values the margins.” He reminds readers that real power often comes from listening and serving, not leading with control or prestige.

Application to Your Community: Are we centering the voices of the marginalized in our local decision-making? Are we equating success with bigger buildings or deeper relationships? Reorienting goals around faithfulness can change how you serve and love locally.

3. The Importance of Dignity and Asset-Based Thinking

Brooks is an advocate of Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD), which focuses on identifying and strengthening the existing gifts within a community, rather than only addressing needs. He challenges the common deficit mindset that views poor neighborhoods as broken or void of value.

Application to Your Community: Rather than beginning with what your neighborhood lacks, start by mapping its assets (including local leaders, artists, elders, businesses, traditions, and stories). This shift in thinking can spark new partnerships and instill dignity.

4. The Role of the Church as a Neighbor, Not a Hero

The book challenges churches to shift from a savior complex to a neighborly posture. The church isn’t the hero of the story—God is. Brooks calls for churches to be listeners, learners, and partners, embedded in the daily life of the neighborhood.

Application to Your Community: Practice neighboring. Instead of hosting another top-down service project, consider attending a neighborhood association meeting, partnering with a local school, or simply hosting a meal with people on your block. Transformation happens through relationship, not charity alone.

5. Place Is Theological

In Church Forsaken, Brooks asserts that place is not incidental to faith—it’s central. He writes that Jesus’ incarnation was an act of divine presence in a specific place and time. Similarly, Christians are called to love and invest deeply in the places where they live.

Application to Your Community: Take time to learn the history of your neighborhood. What forces shaped it? Who lives there now, and why? Prayer walks, community mapping, and story collection can all deepen your understanding and theological commitment to place.

6. God Is Already at Work—Join In

Perhaps the most liberating message of the book is that God is already active in neglected places. The job of the Church is not to “bring God” to a neighborhood but to recognize and participate in what God is already doing there.

Application to Your Community: Approach your neighborhood with humility and curiosity. Who are the “unseen saints” already doing good work? How can you support them rather than compete? Ask where the Spirit is moving—and join.

Conclusion: A Call to Stay and See Differently

Church Forsaken is more than a critique of how the Church has failed the urban poor—it is a prophetic call to return, remain, and rediscover the beauty and strength of neglected places. Jonathan Brooks offers a deeply hopeful vision: one in which Christians reclaim their neighborhoods not as projects, but as homes; not as missions, but as sacred ground.

For anyone wrestling with questions of place, purpose, and presence, Church Forsaken is both a challenge and a guide. It dares you to believe that God is not absent from hard places but deeply present—and that the Church, by choosing to stay, can reflect that presence in transformative ways.

In your neighborhood, this might mean slowing down, listening more, building unlikely friendships, and trusting that transformation grows from faithfulness, not flash. In a world of quick fixes and mobility, Church Forsaken invites us to love where we are—and to stay.

Written by David L. Burton

MORE INFORMATION

Take the Engaged Neighbor pledge and become part of a movement! The pledge outlines five categories and 20 principles to guide you toward becoming an engaged neighbor. Sign the pledge at https://nomoregoodneighbors.com. Individuals who take the pledge do get special invitations to future events online and in person. Contact the blog author, David L. Burton via emal at dburton541@yahoo.com.