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The Secret of Urban Mission?

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Anthony Adams, of Radstock member church Urban Life, shares "the secret" of urban mission:

I was recently at a meeting celebrating the ministry of a couple who had served in urban outreach for nearly 25 years and were about to move on to serve in new ways. Someone made the comment that people often ask about the secret of urban mission. The answer given was brilliant in its simplicity: doing the same thing week in, week out...for a really long time!

In our search for the novel and clever, this simple answer is actually surprising to many. The reality is that while we will have new ideas to try, the staple of mission in an unchurched community is the stuff of daily life. It’s about being a good neighbour, a good customer, a good friend. It’s about serving people in ways that meet their needs. It’s about being honest about faith, sharing the good news, and sharing life as we share food, celebrations and hospitality. It’s about listening to people, supporting in crises, and building real, deep trust. It is about loving people like Jesus did. And yes, doing this for years and years.

Of course, this applies to more than urban ministry. The long-term view is called for whenever we are in situations where people know very little of Jesus Christ and have an aversion to traditional institutions of church.

So yes, we make plans in Urban Life. But very often our plan is...more of the same. Keep being involved with life in the community. Keep seeking to love and bless people in all manner of ways. Keep praying for people. Keep bringing love and truth to bear on local and cultural issues. Will you pray for us?

  • We'd like to connect with nationalities present locally, so we’d welcome those with appropriate language abilities - mainly Slavic and South Asian languages.
  • We’d like to see others join us who are outward-looking and generous in their friendships.
  • We welcome those who want to help Asylum seekers, teach some English, visit and befriend, help the poor.
  • We welcome others to pray for us and to come and pray with us.

It may not be glamourous, but living out our lives as Christ-followers in this corner of his world is a great calling.

Tags: uk, urban mission

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