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Urban Ministry: The Kingdom, the City & the People of God
No. 3 in the Academy of Parish Clergy Top Ten Books of the Year The city presents serious challenges that cry out for answers: poverty, racism, human exploitation and government corruption. How can the church move ahead in the midst of these demands with the gospel of hope? Here, in one comprehensive volume, Harvie Conn and Manuel Ortiz, two noted scholars and proven practitioners of urban ministry, address the vital work of the church in the city. Their dual goal: to understand the city and God's work in it. Through four great waves of development, Conn and Ortiz trace the history of the city around the world. Then they tackle the critical issue of a biblical basis for urban mission. How does the Bible view the city? Are we closer to God in the country than the city? Does the Bible have an anti-urban bias? These questions are given a thorough analysis that unveils God's urban mandate as reflected in both Old and New Testaments. From this foundation the authors unpack the multifaceted nature of the city as place, as process, as center, as power, and as a place of change and stability. They move us beyond fragmented stereotypes to a new way of seeing that is holistic enough for a fully biblical ministry to develop. In addition, Conn and Ortiz lay out what the social sciences have to offer urban mission, including ethnographic and demographic studies and they focus on the particular issues and needs of urban leadership, including a plan for developing and mentoring leaders while equipping the laity for ministry in the city. This is the essential text for bringing God's kingdom to the city through the people of God. Now in paperback!
527 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 2001
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
March 5, 2014
This is a brilliant, thorough primer for Urban ministry. Conn takes us from the history of cities to the import of cities in the Bible to demography/ethnography to understanding anti-urban sentiment to relocation & engagement to community development to training of leaders. Not only is it a tour de force of Urban Ministry, but he provides so much documentation and sources that I will be referencing this book for years to come. I highly recommend this for anyone considering or engaged in urban ministry.
December 14, 2017
I really loved this book for a variety of reasons. Conn & Ortiz give you the historicity, the biblical foundation, the statistical information and speak in a way that is also about the real world. It is heavy and for some I think they see it as more as academic, but I found it a good middle ground between academic and real life. For myself, it was a really beneficial and informational book. I highly recommend for people doing ministry in particular within an urban environment or for someone who wants to understand where the Bible stands on the city and how the church has played that out. I really loved it.
November 17, 2021
Some of this remains super urgent, some of it is out of date. If we lived generally into the vision here, though, we would see powerful transformation.
July 18, 2013
So much juiciness and gospeliciousness in this volume. It is too much to take in at once, but it should be read and then consulted as a resource for urban ministry and church planting.
January 4, 2010
this is an amazing book combining sociological, cultural, and theological dimensions re: cities
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November 27, 2020Urban Ministry
Urban Ministry is a big bruiser of a book, weighing in at a whopping 527 pages, although I did not read works cited or the index, so 469. It was completed by Manuel Ortiz after the death of the indefatigatible researcher Harvie Conn, 20 years ago this month. It deals with the history of the city, biblical perspective on the city, interpreting and defining the city, methodologies for studying a particular city, christian community development, and developing leaders for urban ministry. The impetus for the book seems to come from this observation on page 14: “All across the world urbanization is proceeding apace, not waiting for us to decide whether the city is a legitimate place for mission.”
The history of the city takes place in four stages:
During the time of urban empire cities were used by Greece and Rome to grow and stabilize their empires.
Quite some time after Rome fell, feudal and commercial cities were established. They were built around marketplaces, and protected by fortress and church.
Factories and railroads were features of industrial cities. London was one of the first of these.
The global explosion occurred when urbanization took off in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Economic opportunity drove waves of migration from rural areas to cities.
In part two the authors argue that cities were always part of God’s intention. They were one of the means through which Adam and Eve would subdue the earth. The city was to provide prosperity, power, security and peace for its inhabitants. The fall does not remove this mandate, so Jeremiah tells the Jews in exile that urban refugees should be public benefactors who seek the welfare of the city by praying for peace and doing good works.
In part three the authors define the city: “The city is a large dense and relatively heterogeneous center of integrative social power, capable of preserving, changing and interpreting human culture both for and against God’s divine purposes.” Currently the city is characterized by the replacement of sacral meaning with moral individualism as the source of social cohesion. Religious fervor is often directed toward empirical realities: sports, dance, music, drugs, therapy, politics, or sex. God’s intention is for the cities to maintain institutions and spin off systems that stabilize, maintain and communicate a healthy worldview. Cities are characterized by an openness to change that can revitalize urban churches. In the US, in 1993, over half of the 40 largest Protestant congregations were found in large central cities, as were more than half of the 40 fastest growing Protestant churches.
In part four we learn how the social sciences, demography and ethnography can improve the effectiveness of our urban ministry. The authors suggest that demography can help us determine to what extent shalom has arrived, ascertain systemic and individual needs, and etermine causes of church growth or decline. If we understand systemic influences we can see the necessity and value of preventive work in addition to crisis intervention.
Christian community development, the theme of part five, is essential because “the task of the church is preach the kingdom of Christ in a way that effectively reverses the fall and brings wholeness and peace to individuals and community” (page 347). The three elements of this kind of community transformation are ownership, vulnerability, and community organizing. The process must be respected as well as the objectives because development requires indigenization, justification, justice, and biblical obedience.
Finally, in part six we learn that urban leaders who come from outside the culture need the same kind of cross-cultural training we provide to foreign missionaries. Indigenous leaders also need mentoring. They must recognize their inadequacies, accept their teacher, and be capable of trust. Their curriculum must be theocentric, sensitive to learner and context, flexible, and dynamic.
The authors make some valid points and provide useful information for workers in the city.
Urban Ministry is a big bruiser of a book, weighing in at a whopping 527 pages, although I did not read works cited or the index, so 469. It was completed by Manuel Ortiz after the death of the indefatigatible researcher Harvie Conn, 20 years ago this month. It deals with the history of the city, biblical perspective on the city, interpreting and defining the city, methodologies for studying a particular city, christian community development, and developing leaders for urban ministry. The impetus for the book seems to come from this observation on page 14: “All across the world urbanization is proceeding apace, not waiting for us to decide whether the city is a legitimate place for mission.”
The history of the city takes place in four stages:
During the time of urban empire cities were used by Greece and Rome to grow and stabilize their empires.
Quite some time after Rome fell, feudal and commercial cities were established. They were built around marketplaces, and protected by fortress and church.
Factories and railroads were features of industrial cities. London was one of the first of these.
The global explosion occurred when urbanization took off in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Economic opportunity drove waves of migration from rural areas to cities.
In part two the authors argue that cities were always part of God’s intention. They were one of the means through which Adam and Eve would subdue the earth. The city was to provide prosperity, power, security and peace for its inhabitants. The fall does not remove this mandate, so Jeremiah tells the Jews in exile that urban refugees should be public benefactors who seek the welfare of the city by praying for peace and doing good works.
In part three the authors define the city: “The city is a large dense and relatively heterogeneous center of integrative social power, capable of preserving, changing and interpreting human culture both for and against God’s divine purposes.” Currently the city is characterized by the replacement of sacral meaning with moral individualism as the source of social cohesion. Religious fervor is often directed toward empirical realities: sports, dance, music, drugs, therapy, politics, or sex. God’s intention is for the cities to maintain institutions and spin off systems that stabilize, maintain and communicate a healthy worldview. Cities are characterized by an openness to change that can revitalize urban churches. In the US, in 1993, over half of the 40 largest Protestant congregations were found in large central cities, as were more than half of the 40 fastest growing Protestant churches.
In part four we learn how the social sciences, demography and ethnography can improve the effectiveness of our urban ministry. The authors suggest that demography can help us determine to what extent shalom has arrived, ascertain systemic and individual needs, and etermine causes of church growth or decline. If we understand systemic influences we can see the necessity and value of preventive work in addition to crisis intervention.
Christian community development, the theme of part five, is essential because “the task of the church is preach the kingdom of Christ in a way that effectively reverses the fall and brings wholeness and peace to individuals and community” (page 347). The three elements of this kind of community transformation are ownership, vulnerability, and community organizing. The process must be respected as well as the objectives because development requires indigenization, justification, justice, and biblical obedience.
Finally, in part six we learn that urban leaders who come from outside the culture need the same kind of cross-cultural training we provide to foreign missionaries. Indigenous leaders also need mentoring. They must recognize their inadequacies, accept their teacher, and be capable of trust. Their curriculum must be theocentric, sensitive to learner and context, flexible, and dynamic.
The authors make some valid points and provide useful information for workers in the city.
April 10, 2012
Harvie Conn and Manuel Ortiz explain both the history of the city and its evolution through time, as well as the Church’s role in the city throughout history. After laying this historical foundation, they go on to address the issues that are found in the city today and offer effective, Biblically based strategies for addressing the city’s needs.
Although it was at times difficult to keep up with, it turned out to be informative in understanding the dynamics of the city and how to interact with it in helpful ways. I intended to hold on to this book and use it for all it is worth.
Although it was at times difficult to keep up with, it turned out to be informative in understanding the dynamics of the city and how to interact with it in helpful ways. I intended to hold on to this book and use it for all it is worth.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews