Adventist Church co-founder and prolific writer Ellen White wrote extensively about city and country living. In much of her writing, she urged Adventists to pursue country living. But she didn’t forget ministry to the cities.
She, in fact, urged Adventists to live in the city with purpose. What, then, are the best ways to live and minister with purpose in urban settings? This question served as a central point for a three-day Urban Ministries Conference in mid-March.
“We need to understand the landscape of our cities,” says Marc Woodson, who shared about Bridges to Health, a San Francisco Bay Area health initiative. Woodson, along with fellow presenters, outlined the need to identify problems, pray for communities, find solutions, and build bridges between churches, conferences and communities.
The training conference attracted 80 local and regional community service leaders, pastors and church leaders with a few national and international guests who desire to better serve the needs of their communities.
The practical keynote presentations, workshops and ministry consultations featured urban ministry experts such as Gaspar Colón, May-Ellen Colón, Katia Reinert, Keith Goodman, Gerson Santos, Will and Peggy James, and Rico Hill. The presenters shared how to assess community needs, create centers of influence, pray for communities and mobilize the church for ministry.
“Our cities in the world are in crisis and experiencing a global revolution,” says David Jamieson, a senior pastor from Aldergrove, British Columbia, Canada, in his keynote address. “There is an unprecedented desire in our cities for change. What the world needs is not a revolution but a 'servolution' to break down barriers, open hearts and love people.”
Gaspar Colón gives an overview of the opportunities and challenges of urban ministry to ministry leaders attending the first-ever Urban Ministries Conference in western Washington.
Gerson P. Santos, General Conference global missions director, discusses five urban ministry models: small groups, missional communities, church planting, leadership development and centers of influence.
Keith Goodman, a pastor from Philadelphia, shares how he pastors his parish with purpose by balancing ministry and evangelism to meet the needs of his community.
Katia Reinert, North America Division health ministries director, says every person can do a form of medical mission work by sharing a smile. She encourages leaders to pursue a comprehensive health education ministry approach that is biblically sound, in line with Adventist health principles and evidenced by science.
Will James, Paradise Valley (Calif.) senior pastor, provides a ministry consultation session for Colette Newer, Washington Conference outreach ministries associate director. Consultation sessions allowed for specific ministry coaching and advice gleaning.
Byron Dulan, Washington Conference outreach ministries director and convener, encourages church representatives to pursue Christ’s model of mingling with people, meeting their needs and inviting them to follow Jesus.
