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Christ for the Cities

'Christ for the Cities' has a vision for the cities of the Latin world. They have worked out key principles and have successfully implemented them in some of the 8 cities of Columbia with Medellin being their first concerted target. Some work has already begun in Venezuela, Mexico, Costa Rica and Peru.

The Key to the Cities

An open letter from J. Paul Landry, president of Latin American Mission, suggests reasons for the success in Medellin. He cites 'unity among the pastors' as the key and says, "No single denomination or movement can reach every sector of society in a whole city. But as all pastors and members of all churches unite for this purpose, they can do it.' Another factor he mentions is the Christ-like character of the pastors. He relates the following story...

 

"I was impressed by some of the stories I heard. Pedro, a pastor who is also a 'Christ for the City' team member, was recently held up by a gunman who told him, "I need your watch". Pedro replied calmly, "There's something else you need," and he opened his Bible and began to share the Gospel . Finally, after walking several blocks talking together, the robber said, "But I still need your watch!" Pedro gave him his watch.... and his telephone number, in case he wanted to talk some more. Now, after several conversations, the robber is arranging for Pedro to tell the same things to his "group". Group of thieves, that is.

Pedro is typical of so many Medellin pastors I've met. The violence for which their city is famous doesn't deter them from their God-given call to win folks to Christ, disciple new believers ... and be examples to their people of the kind of Christians they should be. They radiate a genuine love for the city."

The following article from Latin American Mission magazine encapsulates the vision of Christ for the Cities and outlines key principles, then takes a quick look at their work in Medellin.

Christ for the City

Through the Christ for the City program, we are attempting to mobilize the evangelical church to effectively evangelize the major cities of Latin America. Our vision is that ten percent of the people in every world-class city in the Latin world has a meaningful relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ and be united in the joyous task of preaching grace and doing justice in the power of the Holy Spirit.

The key principles of Christ for the City are:

To Further The Church. We are helping build a strong national church that is culturally relevant, combining effective evangelism with discipleship training and church planting.

To Empower Nationals. North American missionaries work alongside, and often under, national leaders in this massive effort. Only as national believers are trained and encouraged to do the job, will their cities be evangelized.

To Encourage Unity Among Evangelicals. The Holy Spirit does remarkable things when churches and denominations pray and work together. We will not launch the Christ for the City program in a city unless the majority of the churches are participating.

To Effectively Engage in Spiritual Warfare. Prayer is the backbone of the Christ for the City movement. Our battle is not with people, but with powers and principalities.

Where We Are Today

We began the Christ for the City movement in Medellin, Colombia; Caracas, Venezuela; Mexico City, Mexico; and Miami, Florida. We have not imposed a rigid program on these cities, but have adapted the approach to fit the needs of each urban centre.

Take Medellin for example. In our initial survey of the city in 1987, we discovered that this city of 2.5 million people had only 100 evangelical churches with 6,500 baptized believers. Only 50 of Medellin's 225 neighborhoods had an evangelical church in them.

Today 95 percent of the city's pastors are participating in Christ for the City and meet monthly to pray together. Once-dying churches have found new life, and many new churches have been planted. The total evangelical population had grown to more than 18,000 by the end of 1990. All this in a city wracked by violence, drug trafficking and fear.

What God has been doing in Medellin has not gone unnoticed in the rest of the country. In July 1991, representatives from 21 church associations in other Colombian cities met in Medellin, and asked us to launch Christ for the City in their cities. We have already begun in several other cities in Colombia as well as in Lima, Peru. New movements will be launched as personnel and funds are available.

 © Viv Grigg and the Encarnação Alliance Training Commission
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Last updated: 05/15/09.

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