cities

“Faith presses us toward the people we fear, hate, or do not want to be around because that is where God wants to be.” – Dr Willie Jennings

The first time I heard this, I cried. I was on my living room floor sifting through my thoughts on identity and what that means for the teens and children in my family today, and it all just clicked. The places within us of deepest discomfort are exactly where God wants to be.

Acts 1:8 is a call out of comfort.

It’s a call to ask yourself: Am I curious? What are these people asking? Do I even want to know, let alone care?

How would our lens change if we viewed them as friends we haven’t met yet?

We established in Article 1 that mission starts with you.

So, have you checked if your heart is ready and in the Spirit?

I travel a lot to the South Pacific Islands for work. When I travel, I dress in the local clothing, for example Puletasi’s when I’m in Samoa, dresses that go below my knees and cover my arms in Fiji and Papua New Guinea, and sometimes a woven bag to accessorise.

When I work in the office in Sydney, I wear jeans, sneakers, dress pants, etc. While I am more comfortable in my jeans and sneakers, I understand that when I go to someone else’s homeland or even house (such as my best friend’s family home for Eid), I respect it and dress how they would feel comfortable. I am not changing who I am, I am contextualising more than just my words to fit the culture I have been invited into.

While this practice builds respect and trust, it is also more productive. People are more attentive and receptive to what you have to say when they feel respected and valued.

We must value other beliefs and traditions if we want to share the gospel. It is important to them, so it is important to you.

I discovered the reality of our opportunity in the cities on a recent trip. I was staying in Sydney overnight, near the airport, and I went up to the rooftop just to have a look and ended up praying, observing and listening for close to an hour.

I heard minimal construction, some cars, mostly people and birds.

I felt peace, awe, wonder, beauty…

I saw planes lining up beautifully with Town Hall, with a fairy floss sunset backdrop, as they came to land.

I marvelled at the architecture of old and new buildings.

I looked through windows into apartments and kitchens and realised how many people I could see within my 360view.

Office buildings, commercial buildings, restaurants, hotels, etc. What would it take to the reach the people inside these?

The church next to me had steeples facing every direction across the city. What would it look like if Jesus’ love radiated out from each of those crosses over the city? If Acts 1:8 was being lived out.

From my hotel window I could see the stained glass of the church, and on the other side was a Middle Eastern restaurant playing Arabic music. The church was now an architecture firm, outside looked intact but inside was fitted as an office and I could see people having meetings in their business suits at 6pm.

I wondered, could we have rented the church, so it didn’t end up an architecture firm?

There are cafés in this area and heavy foot traffic, both day and night. Young people were everywhere, one almost took me out as she was on her phone, how do we get them to look up?

This was such a prime location, and it already had a church, it just wasn’t a church anymore. Is there anywhere like that near you?

In Prague, the most secular country in the world, there is a ministry called SafePoint. In an article written about it by Jonathan Contero, the Associate Director of the Center for Secular and Post-Christian Mission for the Seventh-day Adventist Church, he says “SafePoint is a relevant answer to what young adults in Prague are asking, in their language: community, intimacy, connection with God.”

Are we creating spaces that offer a relevant answer?

The team at SafePoint listened to what that community was asking and provided for their deepest need.

Therefore, my suggested next steps include:

1. Moving from event-driven ministry to relational presence
2. Using existing infrastructure
3. Connecting the body of Christ (What are other spiritual communities doing in your area? How can you join them?)
4. Reimagining small groups/life groups
5. Reaching workplaces, apartment buildings, coffee shops
6. Recovering awe and wonder in the cities

God is already in the city… Why aren’t you?