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  • Frank Lockwood is the religion editor at the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Frank is a graduate of Harvard College and the University of Idaho College of Law. In 2004, he received a Knight Wallace Fellowship at the University of Michigan. A native of Oregon, Frank has been a reporter in Idaho, Kentucky and Washington, D.C.

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ArkansasOnline | Bible Belt Blog Home

No car, no service

Posted July 15, 2006

Bible Belt Blogger: No car, no service

Frank Lockwood

I'm in Fort Worth, Texas this weekend and plan to attend church -- but I'm not sure exactly where I'll go. This week, I've been searching the internet, looking for interesting houses of worship. Along the way, I've discovered something rather obvious -- it's hard to get to church if you don't have a car. Even in a metropolitan area with an impressive public transportation system, many megachurches are simply out of reach.

I've looked at several websites, including The Potter's House, Christ Church in Plano, Cathedral of Hope in Dallas, Richland Hills Church of Christ in Fort Worth, Iglesia Evangelica Bethania in Carrollton and First Baptist Church Dallas. Each of their websites offers driving directions from all four corners of the earth. But as far as I can tell, none of them explain how they can be reached via city bus or train.

That leaves me wondering why the information is missing? Perhaps it's an oversight. Perhaps a few of them just aren't located near any bus stops or metro rail lines, but it seems unlikely. Perhaps no one has ever requested the information, but I doubt it. These are megachurches, each of them has average weekly attendance of 2,000 people or higher.

By not displaying this information, churches may be sending a message that public transportation users -- disproportionately poor -- are unwelcome in their sanctuaries.

Thanks to Lucy, a Bible Belt Blogger reader who attends Lexington's Quest Community Church, I have found one large church with public transportation directions on its website.

Kudos to Fellowship Baptist Church in Dallas, located at 9330 North Central Expressway, "within easy walking distance of the DART Rail station at Park Lane, just to the Southeast." Perhaps I'll go there.

COMMENTS:

AUTHOR: Sharon Ward

EMAIL: sharon@ehward.com

DATE: 07/22/2006 01:55:34 PM



All churches should provide transportation via church bus/members. No one should ever miss church because they have no transportation.