12 Reasons I Love Living in the Philadelphia Suburbs

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

In the Fall of 2010 our church will be planting a new “daughter” church. Our goal will be to first identify a catalytic church planter and then encourage 300-400 people to go with that planter to start a dynamic new church 10+ miles away from CCV’s campus. Over the next 25 years we will do this at least 20 times.

The problem is we don’t have a church planter yet.

We’re certain that person isn’t on our staff, which means that someone “out there” is being prepared by God to lead this effort.

There’s a chance that person reads my blog. That person might be you.

If so, future church planter, I want to take a few minutes this morning and tell you why the Philadelphia suburbs are an incredible place to raise a family and why we just love living here.* Here goes.

#1. History Galore
Where else can you go in this country that has more history than Philly? Last year we spent the day at William Penn’s Pennsbury Manor (pictured left). It was incredible. There are Revolutionary War battlefields everywhere. Center City has more sites to explore than you’ll ever be able to visit. From Washington’s Crossing to the Brandywine Battlefield – if you’re a history buff like me you’ll find there’s more to explore and learn than you’ll ever have time for.

#2. Sports
Philly sports fans are crazy. I mean it. We went to a Phillies opening day a few years back and three fights broke out just in our stands alone. It was more entertaining than the game itself. Our fans are serious about sports. Why? We’ve got it all. What other town has The Eagles, The Sixers, The Flyers, The Soul, The Wings (they’re a Lacrosse team…just go with it), The Kixx, and The Phillies? Villanova, St. Joe, and Temple just made it to March Madness. On top of that we’ve got LaSalle and Penn (okay, they stink, but I’m on a roll) and a boatload of smaller schools. We even have a professional MLS soccer team coming in 2010.

#3 Center City
Forty minutes away Center City is packed with amazing stuff. However, it won’t take you forty minutes to get there because you’ll get lost. Nobody uses the proper names for the streets around here – Rt. 76 is “The Schuylkill,” 476 is “The Blue Route.” Go figure. Each street changes names 6 times before you get to where you’re going. Okay, I digress; back to the point…Center City is amazing. Countless museums, the Reading Terminal Market (pictured left), The Italian Market, South Street where all the hippies and drunken college students hang out, amazing historical graveyards and theaters – only New York City has more stuff to do (but there you have to be around Mets fans…and who wants to do that?).

#4 Hot Air Balloons
In the warmer months they’re everywhere. Two years ago we were in the middle of soccer practice and a hot air balloon just landed in our field. It was crazy. “Hey down there, can we land?”

#5 Wawa
People here eat at gas stations that serve food. I know that sounds strange, but trust me they’re really cool. Wawa? I know, every time I drove by one the first few weeks I moved here I laughed, “Hey, it’s Wawa. Wawa. Wawa. Wawa.” I couldn’t stop laughing. It comes from an old Ojibwe name for “goose.” Every corner of every town has a Wawa near it. Lisa is addicted to their coffee. Every day, once a day, she has to get her “Wawa coffee” or she’ll go into anaphylactic shock.

#6 Rita’s Water Ice
Another funny name, but awesome stuff. The first time I heard of water ice I said, “Isn’t ice made out of water? Water? And Ice? Water Ice?” It’s an old Italian delicacy – ice shavings with syrup flavoring poured over it. Every opening day in the spring (this Thursday actually!) people will line up around the store to get their first “water ice” of the year.

#7 The Perkiomen Trail
There’s this amazing bike trail which goes from this beautiful park called “Green Lane Park” and connects all the way down to Center City. It’s beyond cool. Last summer our family took a bike ride towards Center City because I convinced everyone we could possibly make it there and back all in one day. Five hours later my youngest was crying and my other two girls and wife were complaining (Lance Armstrong call me…we need to ride together my friend)…anyway…we had to take a taxi back. Beautiful trails for those with tough rear-ends.

#8 Awesome Weather
The weather is great here. Mild “sunshiney” winters. Temperate summers. The only downside is that people can’t drive in the snow here. We’ll get 2 inches of snow and they’ll cancel school and make a mad run on the stores for milk and staples just to make it through the arctic conditions. It’s hysterical for someone who grew up in blizzardville Ohio.

#9 Valley Forge National Park
Valley Forge National Park is just minutes from our house. It’s great for the history but even better for the walking and bike trails. It’s stunning. On one 15 minute car ride we counted over 100 deer in the fields.

#10 Cool family stuff
Get this – just minutes from our house we have the Elmwood Park Zoo and ski slopes called Spring Mountain.

#11 Community Festivals
We have every community festival imaginable going on throughout the year –everything from the Philadelphia Folk Festival to the world-famous Kennett Square’s “Mushroom Festival” (it smells for miles). Fall is a favorite time for our family. We always head own to Linvilla Orchards to take a hayride, pick pumpkins, and eat a zillion hot cinnamon donuts.

I could go on and on about The King of Prussia Mall, and little quaint out of the way towns like Yellow Springs (pictured left), or ramble on about the trout fishing or how we’re two hours from everything here – the Poconos, New York City, Baltimore’s Inner Harbor, the beaches at the Jersey and Delaware shore, the beautiful rolling hills and stunning old Dutch farm houses. But the most important thing you need to know about this area is below.

#12 The People Are Incredible
You could have all of the stuff I just listed above and more, and if it weren’t for the people here – their incredible honesty, the way when they put their mind to something they’re unstoppable, their transparency, their love for family – you could have every amenity in the world and if you took away these incredible people you’d be left with nothing.

Future church planter, I’d like to invite you to begin praying about becoming a part of the work God has been doing here for hundreds of years now – starting with the gentle Quakers and now placed squarely in the hands of 21st century believers like you and me.

There may be lots of cheaper places you could go, or newer, or faster growing. But you’ll be hard pressed to find a place that will sweep you off your feet more than Philadelphia.

I’m waiting for your call.

Brian

*Fellow CCv'ers, did I leave anything out that should be on the list?