If we hope to make an impact upon our city we need to get to know our city at every conceivable level.
Some reading this piece have been stuck at a level of awareness yet not knowing our city – i.e., the people of your city.
Suffice it to say, it is impossible to effectively love your city into relationship with Jesus until you have first gotten to a point of understanding them.
Some have taken this idea to a spiritual extreme by doing homework into the spiritual background of their city, the origins of the city, etc. There is perhaps some virtue in some of that, but there is scant biblical encouragement to that end.
HINT: It will take you at least five years of diligent connecting with the people of your city in order to get to know what makes your city “tick.”
However, many reading this piece are in the category of “Been here for years, but have no clue as to what makes this city tick.” You wonder why your church is not making progress. This is not a difficult question to answer.




2 users commented in " Listen to Your City "
Follow-up comment rss or Leave a TrackbackSteve… what a great article.
But in our microwave, high-speed Internet culture in America… this is hard for us to hear. Even within the church planting movement… the question is how big can we make our launch day. But for you to say it will take five years for us to get to know our community… that is going to be hard for hear church planters and church leaders/ supporters to hear and understand.
But if we contrast that with other cultures and countries… I know that it takes missionaries years to get to know their culture and communities. I know of one missionary family that has been in Asia for decades… their kids are there now continuing the work the parents started… but it took them seven years before they had their first baptism.
The question is… can we in American churches accept that kind of commitment to a community… that kind of tough ministry without giving up?
Don’t know.
Malcolm
http://www.completinggodsmission.com
Steve,
This is a great challenge.
In our 2 years in Waterville, ME, I’ve turned down a number of “inter-church” events because of the community and economic boards or task forces I’m involved with.
Last year, I emailed the mayor to see how we could help him carry out his vision in the city. He ended up appointing me to the board of an economic development association that’s seen as a significant force in moving this depressed, former-mill town region forward.
Why WOULDN’T I want to be with these leaders and community representatives. It definitely helps us discover the heartbeat of our region.
(I don’t know if I can say this or not but these folks are often more fun than the churched folks!)