Eight Urban Ministry Strategies

What does it take to have an effective transformative urban ministry? Depending on

who you talk to you will find different answers. The starting point is to understand the vision
God has for the city. Isaiah 61:1-11 describes the transformation that is to take place in the
city. The transformative image painted by God through the prophet Isaiah is called shalom.
Shalom is the Hebrew word translated peace. Shalom is more than simply the absence of
violence. Shalom is the reversal of human alienation from God, from creation, and from one
another. In addition, because shalom is the end of poverty, injustice, and exclusion, to seek
the shalom of the city is to work to reverse the effects of sin and the Fall on the city and to
proclaim the news of One who comes in peace. i

A holistic approach and strategic planning are needed to successfully reach lost people
and restore the shalom of God in our cities. There are at least eight principles for effective
urban ministry that are required for transformation in the city to occur. This does not mean
that a single urban ministry has to offer each of these in a programmatic sense. It does mean;
however, that partnerships must be formed in order for these eight principles to be
implemented. These principles provide a strategy that is not optional. Some urban ministries
are struggling to have a transformative impact in the community because they lack one or
several of these vital components. The eight urban ministry strategies are:

1. Faith-Based
2. Church Planting
3. Outreach
4. Community Development
5. Leadership Development
6. Collaboration
7. Funding
8. Servant Care

Eight Strategies for Urban Ministry

Jim Harbin, Cynthia Turner, and Dorn Muscar

Faith-Based

An urban ministry, whether housed in a church or a nonprofit, must be faith based. The
sin and brokenness of the city is ultimately a spiritual problem and cannot be solved by simply
serving compassionately. Jesus showed compassion by healing the sick, opening the eyes of the
blind, curing leprosy, and even raising the dead. Yet, Jesus healed the brokenness in the city by
forgiving the sins of the outcast, the marginalized, and tax collectors. In Luke 4:18, Jesus clearly
stated His mission, The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good

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news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight
for the blind, to release the oppressed.

This must be a core part of the mission of an urban ministry. Some leaders in urban
ministry are reluctant to raise spiritual issues as part of their programs or ministries. Resources
are spent on doing good things in the community without an intentional evangelistic
component. Consequently, these ministries have negligible impact on the growth of the
kingdom of God. Recently, Jim Harbin discussed evangelism with church planting coaches in
Nashville. The conclusion drawn from these discussion was many Christians and especially
postmodern individuals, view intentionally following Jesus model of seeking and saving lost
people as manipulative (Luke 19:10). The fact is that every person needs a relationship with
God in the context of His glorious kingdom. Urban ministries misfire when they do not
intentionally help people become reconciled with God through Jesus Christ. The core problem
in the city is of a spiritual nature and is not solved by simply providing food, clothes, and
shelter.

Finally, to be faith-based implies that the program or ministries are filtered through
Scripture. It is important for the ministry staff to spend time getting on the same page
biblically. The ministry staff should take time for theological reflection to understand the
spiritual implications of their ministry activities.

Why, from a theological perspective, do we offer a summer camp? What is the

theological goal of a particular ministry activity? What are our spiritual goals? How will lives be
transformed? How will we measure the spiritual outcome of our ministry activities?

Church Planting

Planting churches is a powerful evangelistic tool. In 1 Corinthians 3:16, Paul writes, I

planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. One important advantage to
planting new churches is that they are able to reach people that will not be reached by existing
churches. This is true for the people in the city who live in poverty, like the homeless. The
homeless and the poor tend not to feel comfortable attending existing churches that have not
yet learned how to welcome people outside of their socio-economic circle.

One of the fatal flaws of church planting today is sending well-meaning, but unprepared,
church plant teams into the field. Memphis Urban Ministry has partnered with Kairos Church
Planting to avoid this dilemma (www.kairoschurchplanting.org). According to Kairos Executive
Director Dr. Stan Granberg, you never plant alone. Kairos has engineered a Strategy Lab that
is designed to help church planters put together a strategic ministry plan for planting a new
church. In January of 2009, Dorn Muscar, Outreach Minister, and Jim Harbin, Executive
Director, of Memphis Urban Ministry were trained at Kairos Strategy Lab to enhance the church
planting arm of the ministry.

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 Kairos also has created a Discovery Lab in which potential church planters and their
teams are assessed for their ability to plant a successful church. Jim Harbin has been trained at
the Kairos Discovery Lab and also served as an Interviewer of potential church planters.
Recently, Jim Harbin completed the coaches training at a Kairos Strategy Lab in Nashville.
Memphis Urban Ministry has concluded that training of this type is a requirement in order to
plant missional churches. Missional churches are self-sustaining, self-propagating, and self-
governing.

Today, successful and vibrant churches can be planted with appropriate support and
training. With this approach, many of the mistakes made by church plants in the past would be
eliminated.

Outreach

Poverty is a major problem in most cities. The urban ministry principle of outreach
addresses reaching out into the community to connect with people by addressing their felt
needs. In most cases, outreach ultimately means providing services or ministry to the poor.
There is a synergistic relationship between outreach and a church. It is hard to connect
someone to a church who is struggling with the daily concern of having their basic necessities
met. The rhetorical question asked by James the brother of Jesus sheds light on this, Suppose
a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you
well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?
(James 2:15-16 NIV)

The writer of I John connects our effort and concern to address the needs of others to
the presence of the love of God within us. I John 3:16-18 16This is how we know what love is: Jesus
Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. 17If anyone has
material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in
him? 18Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. If we are doing
nothing about the needs of those around us, can the love of God be in our urban ministry?

Addressing poverty is extremely complex because there are so many interrelated issues.
There are sixteen areas of life that must be considered when helping people living in poverty.
The sixteen areas of life are: spiritual needs, addiction, crime, employment, education,
financial, healthcare, housing, identification, immigration, legal issues, possessions, recreation,
relationships, security, and transportation. Each individual must be assessed to determine
what assistance they need in the crucial areas of life.

The importance of meeting spiritual needs has been discussed. Drug and other
addictions are prevalent in the urban context. Those living in the inner city experience crime as
a regular part of their daily lives. The unemployment rate in the inner city is above the national
average due to the lack of education, marketable skills and adequate jobs. The lack of
employment produces a dependence on the government and others for financial

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resources. Inadequate finances in impoverished communities have created a bartering system
within the inner city culture. EBT cards and other resources are used like currency and
exchanged for cash, shoes, and other items.

Memphis also has one of the highest infant mortality rates in the country. This is a sign
of a problem of healthcare. Urban renewal has resulted in moving individuals far away from
neighborhood clinics and other readily assessable health care options. Both access to
healthcare and education regarding how to care for ones heath is crucial in the urban
environment.

Due to urban renewal in the city, projects are being torn down and are being replaced
by single family homes, more upscale conventional apartments and mixed-income
communities. These are attractive to young professionals, which has caused a migration back
to the city. The poor who were concentrated in inner city projects are being displaced from the
inner city throughout the city. This is creating complex housing issues for individuals served by
urban ministries. In some cases, an entire apartment complex is torn down and urban churches
have faced the displacement and scattering of significant chunks of their membership into far
away parts of the city. Bob Lupton, the president of FCS suggested at a North American
Christian Convention lecture that urban ministries need to offer Gentrification with justice.
Basically, use urban renewal as a way to provide affordable housing for the people we serve.

In addition to problem with housing, something simple as having identification can be

troublesome. The homeless in particular have a problem obtaining and keeping identification.
The homeless often carry their possessions in a bag and these items are often lost or stolen.
Without identification you cannot enter many shelters, receive service and certainly lot find a
good job.

For the Hispanic population, even Hispanic ministers, immigration is a crucial issue.
Many Hispanic urban churches have members who are facing deportation. This creates legal
issues for them and requests for legal assistance from the urban ministry or church. Often
other legal issues such as custody, unpaid traffic tickets, DUI, lack of adequate legal counsel,
etc. are faced by individuals living in the city.

The quality of life for some is low and their possessions are often inadequate to meet
their basic needs. Children often need coats, hats, and gloves in the winter and tennis shoes in
the summer. Without summer day camps and power hours, many children would not have
access to a positive recreational outlet in their own neighborhood.

Relationships are complex and sometimes require careful research to understand the
family structure of individuals being served. The urban environment can also be a dangerous
place. One who lives in the inner city will inevitably be exposed to the evil sights and sounds of
the city, which include gunshots, drug deals, and prostitution. Security of city dwellers
becomes a paramount issue.

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 The last of the sixteen areas of life that needs to be addressed is transportation. Many
residents of the inner city do not have cars. In addition there are few well-paying jobs in the
inner city. This requires utilizing the city transportation system. Depending on the city, this can
be a nightmare. A gentlemen we helped find employment gets to the bus station at 6 am and
takes a 2 hour ride to get to work. He has to take the same 2 hour ride home. He does not get
home until 7 pm. This means he has spent 4 hours getting to and from work, but you know he
is thankful for the job! Imagine an unemployed mom with 3 to 6 children trying to get to a
grocery store 3 or 4 miles away to purchase groceries and bring them home on a bus.

Leadership Development

Urban ministries cannot be sustained or reproduced if leaders are not developed. This
is true of churches and nonprofit ministries. In churches this process is called discipleship. An
urban ministry must develop indigenous leaders from within the community. This is a goal that
should be achieved. In order to fulfill this principle, some urban ministries and urban churches
have put indigenous leaders in position before they are ready. This pitfall in indigenous
leadership development has devastated some ministries by having individuals lead who are not
adequately trained and spiritually ready.

II Timothy 2:2 gives us great insight into effective leadership development. It reads,
And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men
2

who will also be qualified to teach others. We must be looking for the reliable men and women in
our urban context that are willing to be developed into godly leaders. Many urban ministry
practitioners say that these individuals are already leading in their neighborhoods and merely need
to be recognized and discipled.

In addition, urban ministry staff, volunteers, partner church leaders, community

participants need to be trained. This training should be both in-house training and training
provided by experts in pertinent fields. Since the 1990s when many urban ministries started,
much has been learned about the best practices in urban ministries.

A method of developing leaders that can carry on the ministry is to have an

apprenticeship and internship program. An urban ministry can develop a formal apprenticeship
with a local university where a student gets credit for serving in the field through an urban
ministry. Memphis Urban Ministry has such an apprenticeship arrangement through Harding
Graduate School of Religion. The apprenticeship is a two year program in which the graduate
student receives two years of field training. An internship can be modeled in a similar way.
However, internships are usually for much shorter periods of time and are not usually
connected to a university. This is a valuable way an urban ministry or urban church can
contribute to the development of urban workers in the kingdom of God.

Hosting Mission Teams including college, youth, and childrens groups is another way to
develop leaders. The key is to be intentional about leadership development. It

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requires an investment of time in order to orient the mission teams properly. Memphis Urban
Ministry, for instance, offers a Poverty Plunge that immerses a mission team into poverty for a
week end. They get to experience the sights, smells, sounds, and activities that the poor
experience in a controlled environment. This program is based on a program in Waco, TX. ii

Community Development

Christian Community Development responds to the needs our cities face in a holistic
way. Community Development is the process by which local capacities are identified and
mobilized to transform the community into what God intends it to be.

Jeremiah 39:7 is informative for the community development task. It states seek the
peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it,
because if it prospers, you too will prosper." The idea is that we should pursue the well-being
of our cities. The well being of people is tied to the well being the city in which they live. If a
city is overcome with violence, unemployment, and poor education then that city is going to
struggle to experience the shalom of God. However, the people of God should be addressing
these issues, which we call community development, to bring the peace that God desires for
every city.

According to Bob Lupton, our focus should not be on charity, which he calls betterment,
but, on development. Betterment does for others; development enables others to do for
themselves.iii This means, of course, that urban churches and ministries are concerned about
what is happening in the community and how the church or ministry can help people create
solutions to the problems in their community.

Key Elements of Community Development: iv

Christian Community Development, according to John Perkins, consists of

ministries to the poor that:

1. begin with felt needs of the people in the community

2. respond to those needs in a holistic way
3. are based on clear biblical principles
4. are time-tested
5. develop and utilize leaders from within the community
6. encourage relocation living among the poor
7. demand reconciliation people to God and people to people
8. empower the poor through redistribution all community members
9. sharing their skills, talents, education, and resources to help each other

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The following represents a small list of potential
Community Development projects:

Establish a Technology Resource Center and Training Course

Build a network of after-school tutoring programs
Transition food pantries into food stores
Transition clothing closets into clothing stores
Create a network of urban community gardens
Continue to build upon the success of the Christmas Toy Stores
Establish a micro-lending/community loan fund
Partner with various youth athletic programs
Put together a nutrition education program for churches
Organize community clean-up days with neighborhood associations
Host Poverty Simulations for youth groups and mission teams
Organize financial budgeting courses for urban churches and communities
Host medical/dental outreach days in targeted neighborhoods
Continue to build on the success of the School Stores
Replicate the English Language courses and offer at various locations
Establish a Scholarship Fund to assist youth in urban churches to attend college
Organize housing rehab efforts in targeted neighborhoods

Collaboration

Collaboration is a key principle for successfully impacting the community by forming

strategic partnerships. No one ministry can provide all the services needed to meet the felt
needs within a community. Through formal networking and collaboration, ministries can
effectively provide quality services to the people in their communities.

Funding

With the downturn in the economy, resources available to fund urban ministries are
down. In addition, partner churches are faced with the same problems in mainstream society.
Church members have lost jobs, contributions are down and as a result some churches have cut
staff and ministries. Churches have to pick and choose what they fund in the future with more
diligence.

Urban ministries must look to other sources of revenue for funding programs. For
example, grants are an untapped source of revenue for many ministries. Usually, a
requirement for receiving those grants is becoming a 501c(3). Some urban ministries are
operated as a ministry of a local church, and not as a separate nonprofit. There are advantages
and disadvantages to both models.

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 In addition, urban ministries can increase revenue by operating nonprofit income
generating ventures such as a child care center. A licensed child care center is able to accept
certificates that pay for individuals child care services. There is also a Federal Food Program
that provides reimbursements for meals served in a child care center to those who qualify.
Through collaboration, multiple organizations can combine efforts to apply for a grant in which
each participant provides a part of the program. The idea is to be creative and seek additional
funding resources beyond partner churches and individuals.

Servant Care

Urban ministry is intense work. It is unique in the demands placed on workers because
of the multitude of problems people face. Urban workers tend to be overworked because of
the desire to serve and being shorthanded. Some urban workers not only work long hours, but
have a hard time taking a day off. It is important for urban workers to intentionally take care of
themselves and their families. Quality down time is a must. Spending time away from the grind
of ministry on retreats and actually taking vacation is a must. Each ministry must have
someone who acts as a gatekeeper to hold urban workers accountable for self-care. Galatians
6:1 reminds us that though we are responsible for the spiritual well-being of others, we must be
careful to look out after ourselves since we too can be tempted.

Utilizing Best Practices

Utilizing best practices is a foundational principle that undergirds everything that is

done in urban ministry. Best practices is the infrastructure of each of the eight principles.
Research, training, networking, collaboration, and prayer are important steps in developing a
system that incorporates best practices.

The number and magnitude of the issues related to serving people living in poverty is
tremendous. Moving people from poverty to empowerment requires an individual life plan in
order for a program to be successful. A considerable amount of research is available that
address the best practices for implementing ministries in an urban context.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all
your ways acknowledge Him and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3.

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i
Gornik, Mark R., To Live in Peace: Biblical Faith in the Changing Inner City, p.103.
ii
Dorrell, Jimmy and Janet, Plunge 2 Poverty.
iii
Lupton, Robert D., Compassion, Justice and the Christian Life, p.38.
iv
Perkins, John, Restoring at Risk Communities, p. 26.

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