God’s mission and heart for the city includes the transformation of the least of these. This transformation will happen in a way that the last become first. One way of looking at the last becoming first is a strategy of intentional indigenous urban leadership development. For this cause I say to the church, “Welcome Home.” Welcome to the place that has been abandoned, welcome to the place that we fled, welcome home. This home needs the church to return because of “flight.” In the 1960’s and 1970’s, White flight occurred as some banks and realty companies worked in tandem to convince White families that Black and Brown families moving into their neighborhood would not only lower the value of their homes, but was also a threat to their very lives. Years later, White flight was followed by the flight of families of other ethnic and racial backgrounds who saw moving to the suburbs as a journey to a better life. During these years a number of churches moved out of the inner city to the suburbs, and by the 1980’s and 1990’s many churches were being planted in this affluent mission field.
Many evangelical and mainline churches left buildings behind that less-resourced urban churches would begin to rent and eventually purchase. As all of this took place, many urban communities became infiltrated with poor housing, dissatisfactory public education, gang activity, the loss of businesses, and broken families. I am not blaming the various forms of flight alone for the challenges faced in under-resourced urban communities today, but we shouldn’t deny the possibility that these systemic changes were a contributing factor.
Beyond the flight, there is a larger issue: sometimes the places we flee are the very places that God has consistently shown a heart and mission for. I am in no way here to judge. I wrestle regularly with a passion for the context of my upbringing as well as God’s agenda for the city. The Bible speaks of the city often. The Bible presents the idolatry of the city, the blessing of the city, battles for the city, striving for peace in the city, the rebuilding of the city, and even the promise of an eternal city. Today, cities and urbanization in this nation and beyond provide the greatest opportunity to fulfill the great commission. We live in an ever-increasing multi-ethnic, multicultural, and metropolitan mission field. There is an opportunity for the church to return home for greater advancement of the Kingdom of God.
I realize that there are many churches that never left the city, but in too many cases they are under-resourced and not equipped to deal with the tremendous crises outside the church walls. There is a need for a greater commitment to urban church planting and urban church revitalization. In the same way that we experienced the impact of churches leaving urban America, we need a new great awakening that shows the fruit of a great return to the most under-resourced pockets of our cities. This urban church planting and revitalization movement must include the evangelism, discipleship, and empowerment of the poor, oppressed, and marginalized. I do not write this to judge or blame the church. I write this as a loving invitation for the church in some tangible way to return to the city, to return home – to partner in transforming communities together through urban church planting.
