Practical Urban Mission - Part 5

In this post we will look at two contrasting approaches to evangelism and discipleship. One is common. The other is less common but better suited to the complexity of urban mission.

Practical Urban Mission - Part 4

This is our third post digging into the second essential element - discerning how God is already working so we can respond in prayer and action. The key to discernment is to be curious and attentive as we go about our daily lives. Today we will look at the Conversation Grid, a tool that helps us listen to people and what God might be stirring in them.

Cities are complex. There is so much need. So many opportunities and possibilities. You know God is calling you to engage in the urban harvest. You know the task is too big to accomplish by yourself. You know you need a team, but where do you start?

Practical Urban Mission - Part 3

Today, we continue to look at the second essential element - discerning how God is already working so we can respond in prayer and action. Practising curiosity and attentiveness can help us “listen” to God. The People Map is a visual tool that helps us listen.

Practical Urban Mission - Part 2

Today, we’ll look at a second essential element - 15 questions to help us practically “listen” and discern how God is already working so we can respond in prayer and action.

I have had a number of cross-cultural assignments in over the last 25 years. The "what" was clear. Less clear was the "how". Each urban context is different. There are no guaranteed formulae to success. However, we are seeing patterns across different cities.

Practical Urban Mission - Part 1

God is at work, people are dissatisfied with the brokenness they see and experience, but the vast majority of residents in our cities are not responding to Jesus' Good News. There is a disconnect here. How can we, as urban harvest workers, be more effective at connecting the dots?

It can be tough carrying a burden for discipleship movement in cities! There can be great encouragement from learning with and from the experiences of peers. That's why peer learning is an important part of the work we are doing in cities.

We recognise that the vast majority have said "No" to our evangelistic approaches and they are not changing their minds. This creates challenges both for followers of Jesus and for seekers.

We previously looked at how population growth and technology have increased the complexity of our cities.
These changes have important implications for urban ministry. These implications confront us with pressing questions that must be addressed if we want to see God’s vision for our cities fulfilled. We will look at three of them here.

God's Kingdom is fundamentally relational and cities have changed the way people relate. The better we understand this, the better we are empowered to sow Kingdom seed that invites people into a renewed relationship with our Father-King.

The growing urbanism of our world is well documented. Growing numbers of disciple-making movements (DMMs) are also well documented. What's missing is well-documented DMMs in urban contexts. Anecdotally, there are few urban instances of DMM, and those that exist are taking place primarily within sub-groups who have preserved a rural social structure. Sustained replicating discipleship is still rare amongst majority populations in our cities.