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Our nation used to look at violence, poverty, and gentrification and assign those problems to urban centers. Today, these issues concern the suburbs, too. The Christian community is responding to this reality. Churches and parachurch ministries are actively working to transform lives and restore communities throughout the city and suburbs. In A Heart for the Community: New Models for Urban and Suburban Ministry, you will be challenged by a collection of voices seeking community renewal. These individuals are involved in creative church planting initiatives, and they are serving the growing Hispanic and Muslim populations. Additional endeavors include serving racially changing communities, economic development strategies, and more. As anyone who has been in ministry for any length of time can attest, tackling some of the most challenging issues of our times is no mere academic exercise. The voices within these pages write from experience and offer workable, vibrant models of ministry that make a difference.
Jesus is still the answer for urban ministries, for ministries to the downtrodden, poor, and distressed in our cities. A Heart for the City is a rich compendium of valuable information on city ministries written by people who are currently ministering in the city, including pastors, Christian school administrators, and directors of homeless missions. It includes many illustrations and case studies that will prove valuable to any who work in the city or who want to understand how to more effectively help in the city. There are 29 chapters, divided into the following seven parts: - Context and History - Biblical and Philosophical Foundations - Education and Training - Local Church Models - Ethnic Communities - Disenfranchised Subcultures - Children and Youth A Heart For the City is a unique treasure of encouragement for those serving in or those with a heart for the inner city. You will surely be blessed!
If your church relocated, would your neighbors notice? Would there be an outcry for you to stay? Whether you are a church planter, pastor, community activist, missionary, college ministry leader, or simply a Christ-follower looking to impact your community, this resource is for you. Neighborhood Mapping by Dr. John Fuder is an engaging, practical tool available to assist workers in the field to better understand the communities they are involved with. It awakens the neighborhood explorer with effective methodology for "exegeting" their neighborhood, offering surveys and samples to lead them in that process. Dr. Fuder calls believers to shift the focus from inside the church building to those who live in the community. He offers here an easy-to-use resource for those who care about ministry to “the least of these.”
Informed by key passages in the Bible, the Chicago Neighborhood Prayer Guide is a resource to aid believers in seeking the welfare of the city through prayer. Listing the 77 communities (comprised of 221 micro-neighborhoods) that make up the city of Chicago, this prayer guide provides information about the history, demographics, and needs of the neighborhoods which make up each community, and gives suggestions for how to specifically pray, praise, and give thanks.
A “certainly weird . . . strangely wonderful . . . [and] often irresistible” search to find the real Garden of Eden (The New York Times Book Review). Where, precisely, was God’s Paradise? St. Augustine had a theory. So did medieval monks, John Calvin and Christopher Columbus. But when Darwin’s theory of evolution changed our understanding of human origins, shouldn’t the desire to put a literal Eden on the map have faded away? Not so fast. This “gloriously researched, pluckily written historical and anecdotal assay of humankind’s age-old quixotic quest for the exact location of the Biblical garden” (Elle) explores an obsession that has consumed scientists and theologians alike...
In this revised and updated edition of a modern classic, Bryant Myers shows how Christian mission can contribute to dismantling poverty and social evil. Myers demonstrates what is possible when we cease to treat the spiritual and physical domains of life as separate and unrelated.
Islam, gentrification, AIDS, and multiculturalism: Where do we face these realities? A few years ago, it was in the city. But today, many city dwellers are moving to the suburbs, either by choice or because of circumstances beyond their control. And this shift is changing both the urban and suburban landscape. With this shift in mind, editors John Fuder and Noel Castellanos have gathered together a team of experts to help you minister effectively in both the urban and suburban context. Divided into four sections--Critical Issues, Church-Planting Models, Ministering to Suburban Needs, and Para-Church Ministries--A Heart for the Community is a rich resource designed to help you do ministry today.
The entire material world can be divided between the Natural Environment and the Built Environment. Over the past forty years, the Natural Environment has received more attention of the two, but that is beginning to change. With a renewed interest in "place" within various academic disciplines and the practical issues of rising fuel costs and scarcity of land, the Built Environment has emerged as a coherent and engaging subject for academic and popular consideration. While there is a growing body of work on the Built Environment, very little approaches it from a distinctly Christian perspective. This major new work represents a comprehensive and grounded approach. Employing tools from the field of theology and culture, it demonstrates how looking at the Built Environment through a theological lens provides a unique perspective on questions of beauty, justice, and human flourishing.
This college-level introduction to the study of missions and missiology provides an overview to the field of study, and explains the interdisciplinary nature of missions studies, illustrating why it is essential for missionaries to be educated in a broad range of disciplines.