2026
Being the Church in the neighborhood, together.
Inhabit is an annual gathering for people learning how to live faithfully and locally rooted in real neighborhoods, shaped by shared practice, and grounded in hope.
IT’s the heart of a movement, connecting us to be the Church in our neighborhoods for the flourishing of everyone and everything.
Inhabit, at a Glance
Hosted in Chicago’s North Lawndale neighborhood
The national gathering of Parish Collective
Built around practice, presence, and place
Gathers people from across the U.S.
Rooted in real neighborhoods, not hotel ballrooms
Designed for pastors, practitioners, and neighbors
No celebrity speakers, real people
You’ll leave with names, not notes
What Inhabit Is About
At Inhabit, we discern together how God is calling us to be the Church in our neighborhoods through practice, presence, and place.
Practice
We equip one another for the work of loving our neighbors through stories, prayer, shared learning, and embodied experiences you can carry home.
Presence
We gather across difference to experience a taste of the Beloved Community, being together in ways that are honest, relational, and deeply human.
Place
We renew imagination for God’s dreams in our neighborhoods by paying attention to particular places, honoring unique contexts, and learning from the ground beneath our feet.
What Actually Happens
Over two days, people gather to listen, share stories, eat together, walk the neighborhood, wrestle with real questions, and practice being the Church in place.
You can expect:
Stories from the ground
Small-group conversations
Workshops you can actually use
Shared meals (yes, really)
Time in the neighborhood
Space to reflect, not rush
Things People Are Surprised By
There’s a lot of laughter.
People talk to strangers, and mean it.
You won’t sit and listen all day.
The neighborhood matters as much as the stage.
It feels thoughtful, but not academic.
Conversations continue long after the gathering ends.
Who Inhabit Is For (and Isn’t)
You’re tired of abstract church talk
You care deeply about your neighborhood
You’re asking hard questions and are still hopeful
You want companions, not formulas
You believe faith is lived, not downloaded
This is for you if:
You’re looking for a growth strategy
You want a big stage and big names
You prefer clear answers over shared practice
You want to sit back and observe
This might not be for you if:
Why Lawndale?
Inhabit returns to the same neighborhood year after year because place matters.
Lawndale is not a backdrop, it’s a teacher. By gathering in one place, we learn to listen longer, notice more, and resist the urge to extract ideas without relationship.
This is part of the practice: staying put long enough to see what God is already doing.
Voices from Inhabit
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Good coffee
Shared tables
Unhurried conversations
Honest questions
Familiar faces and new ones
Leaving without a binder
