Reaching the Unreachable

Harvie Conn, co-author of Urban Ministry: The Kingdom, the City and the People of God, once said that “You can’t reach what you can’t see.” You can’t minister to people that you don’t live with and communicate face to face with on a personal, daily basis. To many people, the city is hidden away and looked at as a distant problem, something that is full of one group of people- those in poverty and with no way out and who want no way out. In order to minister affectively to people in urban areas, we must first see the city as a diverse, heterogeneous place full of life and vibrancy, with all types of groups that need attention and love. Unfortunately, if you aim to reach all of those groups at once, you will be ineffective in reaching anyone at all.

Urban Ministry is seen as a staple in urban teaching tools for pastors and church planters, covering the history of the city, the challenges of urban ministry and offering examples on mobilizing leaders and churches on how to bring about change in their communities. Harvie M. Conn and Manuel Ortiz worked together and wrote numerous books on urban ministry issues throughout their careers at Westminster Theological Seminary. Known as “missiologists”, they dedicated their research and writing to mobilizing the evangelical church to reach out to cities, an area that had long been feared and left alone to it’s own demise. Divided into six sections, the book covers The City Past and Present, Biblical Perspectives, Understanding the City, Developing Urban Growth Eyes, Promoting Kingdom Eyes in the City, and Leadership and Discipleship for the Urban Church. Each section reads as its own textbook, offering numerous historical and present-day examples, insights, and motivation for urban ministry. The wisdom that Conn and Ortiz share come from real-life experiences as missionaries and church planters in cities around the world and inspire future leaders to bring about social justice in their own towns.

In a white American’s eyes, the city is either seen as a “melting pot” or a “ghetto.” Conn and Ortiz define it as "a relatively large, dense and socially heterogeneous center of integrative social power, capable of preserving, changing and interpreting human culture both for and against God's divine purpose." The way in which you view the city comes from where and how you were raised. Those who were raised with the Protestant work ethic tend to see the poor as lazy and deserving of their circumstances. They believe that those who work hard will make it in this world. Unaware of the problems of poverty and the lost mentality of the urban poor, the suburbanite knows no sympathy for those people. The ones that do enjoy the city and see it as a melting pot are usually blind to the hidden problems overtaking the inner cities. It is possible for someone to visit the city and never see the real side of poverty. Instead, they can be tricked into thinking the city is all flashy historical sites and high-end shopping and dining. Most people feel comfortable in viewing the city in that way, choosing to ignore the blight of the poor.

The church often teaches about personal success, which in turn alienates and shuns those in desperate need. Too many of today’s “megachurches” are geared towards the middle-class and will hire someone as an urban outreach minister to “take care of the rest.” At least, that’s what it feels like to “the rest.” They feel like they are on the receiving end of charity, instead of building a relationship with a caring individual who desires to help change their life. They see the church as an institution, not a collection of individuals all doing their part in renewing lives in their city. Once vibrant and holistic, inner-city churches now move out to the suburbs, following the migration of their members. Those that remain in the city see most of their congregation commuting from outside, leaving immediately after the service is over. The work of transforming the community is left to the few who still live in the neighborhood, often dependent on outside funding or government assistance, who frequently have other agendas.

The history of the church in the city is a subject that Conn and Ortiz master. The early church was seen as a “club” in which members had weekly meetings, rites and passages, rules to follow, meals together and goals to be accomplished. Those goals were reaching people outside the club and bringing them in. They write that “the cutting edge of the church in the city is its evangelism to all unreached peoples.” Throughout the New Testament, a common theme is the poor because God does not want us to forget them. But the modern day church feels that offering plates and soup-kitchen volunteering makes up for the lack of real urban ministry that they have. Many of Conn and Ortiz’s frustrations with the evangelical church stem from the fact that the church preaches from the New Testament every Sunday but yet does not utilize the Word in every day life. Urban churches must be able to reach all demographics of people and disprove that “Sunday at 11am is the most segregated hour in America.”

Paul is used as a great reference for church building and urban ministry. It was said that Paul stayed away from social and political issues, but in 1 Corinthians he speaks of the gap between the rich and poor, prostitution, slavery, homosexuality and women’s rights. He taught the church ways to reach out to the world without forgoing their own values and without having to make political decisions. This, of course, becomes impossible in today’s urban city. Churches that are mixed with different races, political views and economic classes often make it difficult for church leaders to decide on which missions to pursue effectively. Urban ministry is something that is best lead by those living in the community, but not many suburban church members are willing to move there.

Conn and Ortiz stress that the church must mobilize in urban areas to gain effectiveness and confidence from the residents in that area. Consumerism, individualism and privatization are all subjects that threaten the growth and success of the urban church. Because of the success of many suburbanites, they don’t feel the need to turn to the church in order for support. They feel that they can handle life on their own and have no need for God. The church continues to feed its own and forget about those outside their doors.

Coming from a suburban “megachurch” myself, I feel a bit conflicted about Conn and Ortiz’s views concerning the effectiveness of these churches. With a congregation of over 3,000, my church has over 75 missionary families they support all around the world and in Philadelphia as well. We have a “satellite” church in the inner-city and work with numerous organizations and people who have a place in their heart and lives for urban ministry. I was raised on youth missions trips and a liberal perspective of city cultures and people. I believe that it’s not the size or location of the church that matters, but the people running the ministries and teaching the members who determine the outcome of the church’s mission. I do agree that it is sometimes hard to “break in” to a megachurch. You can feel lost in the crowd and start to think that no one even notices that you’re a visitor. I’ve attended my church since I was 7, so I’ve never had that feeling, but I know that when I visit other churches, I determine how much I like it by how open the members are to me. Conn and Ortiz write, “In the small cell (church) one finds a stronger measure of accountability, greater flexibility and a deeper rooting in the local community and culture that is missing from the regional focus of the mega church.”

I admire Conn and Ortiz’s passion for the city, but I also realize that there are people all over the country that need attention and God’s love, urban, suburban and rural. My next door neighbor could be struggling just as much as someone in North Philly. I think that sometimes we base the severity of people’s problems with the amount of money they possess (or lack). Just because someone is financially stable does not mean that they have less problems that someone with almost no money. Yes, having money can make things less stressful, but death, suicide or drug addiction knows no financial barriers. It can happen to anyone, regardless of their economic status.

This book is an absolute staple when it comes to the background, history and insight of planning an urban ministry or starting a church. I think that it was written to be timeless and offer help along the way of your spiritual journey. It can be read entirely for thorough study or can be sampled in bits and pieces for missional examples. In my research of the authors, I have discovered that this book is used in almost every seminary, theological and urban ministry class in colleges around the country. The information is imperative to learn if you have not had the opportunity yourself to live in another country or in the inner city. Learn from the masters, live their example and take it to the streets!