History is the story of two cities in violent conflict. As the conflict draws to an end, the intensity of change and warfare increases. These cities in conflict are represented in the scripture by symbols of Jerusalem and Babylon. The finale of scripture is a great destruction of the city of man and full revelation of the city of God.

For many years my family has been involved in that conflict in cities, pioneering teams into slum areas in Asian, Latin and American cities. The outgrowth has been involvement in seeking the evangelisation and welfare of the 3500 cities around the globe of over 100,000 people each, as I have pioneered the cities network of the AD2000 movement, now the City Leaders Network.

The following is an integration from many of these cities around the globe. This is a theology of the people at the coal face, a theology that has emerged from bringing together consultations of leaders in many different cities to tell their stories. And it is practice. It is a reflection on the practical works of God in the present age.

It is presented in a desire to provide resources - materials and ideas, as many of us struggle with a new dimension of ministry different to that which we have been trained in. Its originality is in that it fills a gap that many of us face in integrating the various components of reaching whole cities. It is a summary of the collective mind of what the Lord is doing and saying to the churches of the cities in the 1990's.

There have been a number of recent books recently popularized by Peter Wagner, John Dawson, and others that have focused on the spiritual dimensions of reaching cities, with a heavy emphasis on prayer, and its effects on citywide evangelistic processes. Prayer is always the foundation. But there is more. For Jesus, prayer was for the purpose of raising up laborers (Matthew 9:36-38). Beyond praying for laborers, Jesus' focus was meeting of the needs of the oppressed people of the city.

At the other end of the spectrum, "urban missions" has become highly academic, for sociological experts in social and urban problems, centered around a grouping of seminaries on the East Coast of America. While exploring the impact of the church on transforming the city, it has largely been disconnected from evangelism, the essential driving force for the majority Pentecostal church of the "Third World".

This course seeks to encompass resources for both the spiritual centre and the practical works of rebuilding cities. My prayer is that it be usable both by those cities with several hundred churches, and give hope in cities where the church is just beginning.

Viv Grigg

Viv Grigg,

Auckland, New Zealand,

October 2004,

9th Revision