Many of our neighbors in the inner city, in my mind, are sort of like an unreached people group. At least in our neighborhood it’s like that. They’ve had no contact with the gospel. Maybe their grandma took them to church a time or two. They don’t own a Bible.
When we are talking about reaching our neighbors in the city with the gospel, there are a few things we need to keep in mind.
Do we not worship nature in an ungodly way? Do we not worship power and the grasp for power? Do we not worship things like the arts and drink and money?
People that we are trying to reach live for these things, they serve them, they think these idols are going to make them happy, they think they can’t live without them. We all live in cities like that.
The Bible tells us that Paul’s spirit was provoked within him as he entered Athens (Acts 17:16-34) and saw these idols, he was tormented. The people were putting all their trust, hope and devotion into the idols they created, and they were lost—without hope and without God. So Paul grieves.
Paul was in a prominent location, in the city, where lots of people would have been gathered (Acts 17:17-21). He is just going in with the gospel. He was willing to have those tough conversations with the critical audience for the purpose of sharing the gospel, and I think we should be willing to do the same.
And we know that when we give that message, not everyone is going to believe. Some taunted, they mocked. They had no concept of the afterlife. So for those who mock us for our faith, we share. But those mockers are to be pitied and prayed for.
Whether we're talking to people who consider themselves "spiritual but not religious" or to someone from a different faith background, or the intellectually curious or people of some political or social influence, we need to boldly enter those spaces for the purpose of proclaiming Christ.
That’s what Paul was doing everywhere he went. He makes a distinction between the true God and their idols. He says that God doesn’t live in temples made by man. He doesn’t need anything. He’s not depending on creation for happiness or anything else. He is the giver and sustainer of all things, even life and death itself. He is not a far-off God.
Once we have understood God and His sovereignty, understood our response as His humanity, understood Christ’s work on our behalf and what He calls us to do—then there is a response. He calls every man everywhere to repent. That’s the message, brothers and sisters, that we take to our neighbors and to our cities.
We need to understand God and His sovereignty, our responsibility as His humanity, Christ's work on our behalf, and the response He calls us make.
Some of them are going to mock. Some are going to be curious. Some are going to trust and believe. Everyone is going to respond and be held accountable for their response. We are called to be faithful in proclaiming the message, and God will be faithful to save those whom he has appointed for salvation. We need to trust the Lord in 4 ways:
Look at the wonderful opportunity the Lord has placed before us to interact with people whose homes and hearts have been closed to the gospel. And the opportunity to help them turn their eyes away from idols and toward Jesus.
The question is: Will we love our neighbors enough to connect our lives to theirs, to share the gospel with them, to grieve over sin, to have tough conversations, to proclaim Christ and then to trust Him for the results?
Kristie Anyabwile is a pastor's wife and the mother of three. She disciples women, and she speaks and writes about marriage, motherhood and ministry. She joyfully supports her husband of 24 years, Thabiti, as he pastors Anacostia River Church in Washington, D.C.
This article is based on her talk “Spreading the Gospel in the City” at Creating Options Together 2016, a training event for Cru’s inner-city ministry. You can hear her whole message and enjoy further media content from the Creating Options Together Conference.
Learn more about Cru's inner city ministry.
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