In Cambridge alone, nearly 1 in 3 people are from another country. Home to Harvard and MIT, Cambridge is like no other place on earth. It’s an academic and political hotbed. To say Cambridge is influential is an understatement. Eight U.S. presidents have graduated from Harvard alone, and MIT boasts 81 Nobel laureates.

Boston is the Jericho of the United States, and the Lord says that when I cause the walls of intellectualism to come tumbling down, then I shall pour out my Spirit upon this whole land. (Derek Prince, 1972)

Why Reach Cities?

1) The city is where culture is shaped. It’s not that people in the city are more important than people in suburban or rural areas. It has to do with culture. Like it or not, the city is influencing you, your family and your children. Cities are cultural centers where politics, art, entertainment, music, business, sports, thought and literature are shaped. With TV and the internet, it no longer takes 5 or 10 years for the trends of the city to spread to suburban and rural areas. It happens in nearly real time!

According to Dr. Tim Keller, former pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in NYC, “Protestant (evangelical) Christians are the least urban religious group and thus have the least impact culturally.”

2) The nations of the world are found in the city. Jesus told us to “go into all the world and make disciples of all nations” (see Matt. 28:18-20). Though I am a firm believer in the value of world missions, one no longer needs to travel halfway around the world to engage the nations.

In Cambridge alone, nearly 1 in 3 people are from another country. And how many leaders have been educated at one of the schools in or around Cambridge and Boston? Eight Presidents of the United States for starters, not to mention countless other influential leaders throughout the United States and the world!

Cities offer us an opportunity to influence the nations without having to fly to another nation.

3) The city is becoming increasingly populated. More and more people are moving to urban centers. As it stands, 50% of the population now live in cities, and according to the UN, nearly 70% of the world population will live in cities by 2050!

Reaching Cities Requires Partnership

Who will reach 4.4 million people in Greater Boston? Or the 22+ million in greater New York City? Or 37+ million in Tokyo, Japan? Evangelicals have typically not had a strong witness in cities. According to Tim Keller, “The single most effective way for Christians to ‘reach’ the US would be for 25% of them to move to two or three of the largest cities and stay there for three generations.”Though that is slowly changing, we are not there yet.

We’ve responded to that call, and urban churches need the support of both individuals and churches outside the city, in order to reach the city.

If we want to reach the culture, we must reach the city! 

FAQ’s

Who Should We Send?

We need your best! We are looking for small teams of 5-9 people, especially those with evangelistic and prophetic gifts who aren’t afraid to be bold, share their faith, and try new things.

How Long Will the Trip Last?

Trips generally last from 4-7 days. The best trips so far have started Thursday and ended on Sunday.

What Will We Be Doing?

We have a three-fold philosophy concerning urban missions as it relates to our church:

1. Simple – we don’t do large scale event-based evangelism. We have not found it to be that effective in our context nor do we have the people and infrastructure to support it. Instead, we focus on sharing the simple gospel with individuals. As the apostle, Paul said, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” (Romans 1:16 ESV).
2. Supernatural – We regularly engage people in praying for healing, sharing prophetic words, words of wisdom, words of knowledge and releasing supernatural gifts wherever we go in order to preach the gospel with power. “My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, ⁵ so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.” (1 Corinthians 2:4-5 NIV)
3. Service – we have regular partnerships with different organizations (Christian and non-Christian) and churches in our city to serve them. “Even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:28 ESV)

Here’s one example of a miracle God did on the street last summer…