In 2017 Rod Dreher created waves with his Benedict Option. Others countered with the “Boniface Option.” I affirm the insights of both options, while also advocating for the necessity of the “Bugenhagen Option.” Johannes Bugenhagen’s (1485-1558) work as reformer and organizer of the Lutheran reformation is a model to follow as evangelicals seek strategies to live in what Aaron Renn has termed the “Negative World,” a world that is increasingly hostile to orthodox Christianity. The Bugenhagen Option can help evangelicals to hold fast to the long Christian heritage of pursuing the shalom of our communities. Loving the poor, the widow, and abandoned children was a central apologetic of the early church. Christians have always been on the front lines of starting hospitals, caring for and educating the poor, and crossing socio-economic barriers. The Bugenhagen Option models how to continue this legacy in a Biblical and Reformational way.