Why Cities?
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In 1800, only about five percent of people lived in cities. A century later this had risen to about fifteen percent. By 1975, the percentage of urban dwellers in our world had risen to forty-one percent. Estimates are that by 2050 almost 80% of the world will live in urban areas. In Asia the present growth rate will produce by the year 2000 at least fourteen cities with a population of over ten million – three of these exist already in India, namely Mumbai (Bombay), New Delhi, and Calcutta. There will be thirty-two cities with over five million citizens and more than a hundred with over a million inhabitants. In India, cities like Madras, Hyderabad, and Bangalore already have climbed over five million in population, and they are numerous more cities over or near a million in population. It is true that India is primarily a rural society; however, the cities are growing and will continue to grow. There needs to be a concerted effort and a strategy on the part of the church to penetrate these spiritual strongholds of Satan.
We live in an urban world. However, only about nine percent of evangelical Christians live in the cities of a million or more inhabitants. Urban work must be given a high priority by the churches, Christian organizations, and mission agencies. Cities provide tremendous opportunities.
First, there is simply the sheer numbers of people in the cities. Although population density produces social and environmental problems and may seem oppressive to many, the city is a huge harvest field if we are able to see with the eyes of Jesus (see Matthew 9:36). It is in the cities that the crowds are to be found. Here many are rootless and lacking in direction, crying out for the compassionate ministry of the church. A day’s walk through the streets of Bombay or Calcutta is enough to convince even the strongest pessimist that the cities are indeed a huge harvest field.
Second, there is a variety of people in the city. Most large cities are amazingly cosmopolitan. In India, almost everyone in the cities has some connection back to a rural village. These cities are made up of people from a multitude of backgrounds and ethnicity. This affords opportunities to reach people who are unreachable in their home settings.
Third, cities are where many poor and powerless people live. Biblically the poor are a priority for the church and there are grounds for expecting God to work significantly among the poor if only the church is prepared to get involved.
Fourth, the cities are places of great influence and centers of communication. Strategically, it makes sense to focus on the cities if we want to reach the world. As well as reaching into the inner cities, the church will need to look for access among the powerful in the city centers.
Whether we look into the Bible or towards our urban world ‘ we find that we cannot avoid the city and it pivotal importance in God’s mission to the nations. The Book of Acts is largely a record of urban mission and church planting. The cities were centers of information networks, the trendsetters, and the strategic places where the church needed to gain a foothold if its mission was to succeed. In New Testament times, urban mission was a top priority, why is it given such low priority and so few resources today.
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