Discipleship Within the Inner City:

Final Paper  Week 6

Reading:   Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire by Jim Cymbala, produced by Zondervan Publishing.

Cymbala, Jim, Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire.  Grand Rapids, MI:  Zondervan Publishing House 1997

ISBN:  0310211883  Click Here To Order

Discipleship ministry in the inner city in our day and age will involve dealing with persons who are deeply involved in sin and corruption.  Their circumstances differ from normal church members in the ministry because the added ingredient of survival enters the picture causing the poor to delve deeper into sins and commonly into illegal practices to survive.  Training them to be Christ-like is a challenge like no other. 

The ministry leader must be deeply and passionately in love with Christ to want to share Christ’s deep love for the unlovely.  Real love does not judge.  No matter what situation you are faced with in inner city ministry, we are called to love and not judge.  Condemnation comes from the enemy but conviction unto repentance and salvation comes from the Holy Spirit.  No Christian is qualified, ever, to judge another person because we have ALL sinned.  Judgment of one person to another is complete immaturity.  Non-judgmental behavior towards the indigent and poor will express the great love God truly has for the lost and cause them to realize this and want God in their lives.

Salvation with the proper discipleship is to get people to face their sin, call it sin, be sorry for their sin, accept Christ and all salvation encompasses and then to turn away from that sin and become strong enough through the practice of loving God and biblical instruction, to no longer practice sin or to be bound by it.

The best means of discipleship is to follow the godly example of a Christian set forth in the Bible, apply yourself to communing with God daily in prayer and study of God’s word, fellowship with other Christians by attending church regularly and observing and respecting constructive criticism from other, more mature Christians.  Sin is born within us but righteousness must be learned and accepted as a way of life by practicing a holy life.  This is a day by day process that is lived and worked out by every REAL Christian.  The mature Christian learns to make the right choices in EVERY situation, loves at ALL costs and by practicing those two choices, becomes less important to himself causing him to love Christ and others more than himself.  The Bible says we must decrease but Christ must increase – John 3:30.  

With these principles in mind, welcome to...

 The Final Examination

Directions:  In writing, develop an Urban Ministry Church or Para-Church Model. The model length should be a minimum of ten (10) pages and no longer than fifteen (15) pages.  (It will be impossible to secure an A on the final with less than ten pages).  Be creative!  Use the things that you learned in the other lessons and the things God has laid on your heart.

Ingredients:  The following must be included in your model but your model is not limited to them:

 Urban Theological Justification: Why have you chosen to start a church or para-church  ministry in the urban environment and what is your scriptural support for such an      endeavor?  If you truly believe God is calling you into this type of ministry, He will never change His mind and this calling is never revoked.  Make sure of your calling and state what evidence He has given you to do this. 

 People Group: What people group have you targeted and why? (multi-racial, mono-racial,    children, teenagers, substance abusers, gothic, gang members, bikers, alcoholics, etc)

 City/Neighborhood:  What city/neighborhood have you targeted and why?

 Church/Para-Church Name:  What is the name of your church/para-church ministry and how did you arrive at this particular name?  Does your church/para-church name reflect the community that you have planted in or the group of people you are ministering to?

 Staffing:  Discuss the type of staffing you would need to make your Urban Church/Para-Church ministry a reality?  Also give a brief job description of each individual and how you will be selective in choosing volunteers.

 Budget:  Describe what your initial budget would be over the space of the first year of operation. Take into consideration the cost of salaries, medical insurance, advertisement/public relations, facility rental, and any other foreseen expenses.

 Nucleus:  What technique would you use to attract your nucleus of people around which you would build your church/para-church?

 Social Agenda:  What social problems will you address and why?  Discuss for example how you would address the following: Social Action (abortion, euthanasia, pornography, AIDS, etc…), Poverty (long lasting solutions, etc…), Fatherlessness, (it’s impact on society and possible solutions), Substance Abuse (alcohol, drugs, etc…), Gang (delinquency, home-life etc…), Racism etc… You are not limited to addressing only these needs and you may address any needs that are a part of your fictitious church/para-church ministry.

End Notes (Suggested reading for Urban Ministry):

Linthicum, Robert C. City of God, City of Satan: A Biblical Theology of the Urban Church. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House. 1991. ISBN: 0310531411.

Bakke, Ray, The Urban Christian. Downers Grove, IL: Inter Varsity Press. (ISBN 0877845239).

Bakke, Ray. A Theology as Big as the City. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press. 1997. ISBN: 0830818901