God Dwells with His People
If you were to slice the timeline of my life story right down the middle at the age of 23 (go ahead, do the maths!) you would see an even split between my suburban adolescence and my urban adulthood. At the age of 20, when I discerned that God was calling me to urban mission, it was as if a neon sign flickered on: an arrow pointing my way to life in the city. Not because it was bigger or faster or more exciting; nor because the food choices were more diverse or the coffee shop options more preferable. But simply because that’s where the people are.
Never mind my mystical neon sign, the science of cities tells us this is true. The world’s population is rapidly moving to cities, so much so that studies predict that 3 billion of us will be city-dwellers by 2050. A United Nations projection suggests that global population growth between now and 2030 will be seen exclusively in urban areas, mostly in Africa and Asia.
So if we want as many people as possible to hear the good news about Jesus, cities are a great place to set up shop. After all, that’s where the people are. Gospel movements—such as those to which Novo is committed—stand the greatest chance of success when our approach begins with people. And to find more people who might be open to the gospel, look no further than your nearest city.
The truth of Scripture also points, like that neon sign, to this reality. Psalm 48 is a love poem to the City of God—in this case, Jerusalem—so let’s look closely at what it has to say about why cities matter.
Great is the Lord, and most worthy of praise,
in the city of our God, his holy mountain.
Beautiful in its loftiness,
the joy of the whole earth,
like the heights of Zaphon is Mount Zion,
the city of the Great King. (v.1-2)God is in the City
God is in her citadels;
he has shown himself to be her fortress. (v. 3)As we have heard,
so we have seen
in the city of the Lord Almighty,
in the city of our God:
God makes her secure forever. (v. 8)
When I started ministry with InnerCHANGE—a branch of Novo focused on urban disciple making among people marginalised by poverty—I naively thought I was bringing God to the city. (Okay, I was young and keen!) To my surprise, God was already there. In fact, God had been at work for a very long time. I’ve since lived and served in San Francisco and London for over two decades. In both cities, God was already at work: preparing people, softening the ground, raising up leaders, growing the Church. When Novo cultivates gospel movements with a people-first mentality, one of the first things we do is ask, “Where is God already at work?”
God’s People Worship in the City
Within your temple, O God,
we meditate on your unfailing love.
Like your name, O God,
your praise reaches to the ends of the earth;
your right hand is filled with righteousness. (v. 9 & 10 )
Psalm 48 extols the marvels of the City of God as a strong fortress and refuge. But at its heart, it’s about the people within the walls, not the walls of the city itself. In the temple, God’s faithfulness and covenant love to his people are remembered.
Similarly, Novo workers make disciples by gathering people together to remember and reflect on God’s Word. Even for those who may have never attended church or read the Bible, there is a living spark to our discussions and discoveries as we open these sacred pages together and ask the Spirit to speak. A people-first approach means choosing to live where the people are and proclaim, in word and deed, the good news about Jesus. We can’t do this by merely living alongside; we must open the Word of truth with people so that Jesus can be revealed.
Good News Flows to the Villages
Mount Zion rejoices,
the villages of Judah are glad
because of your judgments. (v. 11)
Cities aren’t the only places where people come to trust and follow Jesus. Psalm 48 tells us that even the villages are made glad. When God is known in the city’s heart, the good news ripples out to the surrounding suburbs and villages. With people as the priority, natural connections of relationship become carriers of the good news, channels of grace and mercy.
We’ve seen the truth of this multiplying effect as our work with refugees in one city has carried us to new developments in their home countries thousands of miles away, often because of friendship and family bonds. When disciples make disciples, they multiply to new peoples and places. Jesus spoke of this when he commissioned his disciples to be his witnesses first in the city of Jerusalem, and then to the surrounding area: “and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8).
When people are pursued with the unfailing love of Christ, the city rejoices, and even the villages are made glad.
The Next Generation is Reached
Walk about Zion, go around her,
count her towers,
consider well her ramparts,
view her citadels,
that you may tell of them
to the next generation. (v. 12 & 13)
The truth of the gospel isn’t just for today. It’s for future generations to come. I live in London, a city that is both old in history and yet always under construction. Ask any Londoner: the endless number of construction cranes are a fixed part of the skyline. Cities remind us of what was, what is, and what is to come. Walk around the city as it is, the Psalmist writes, so that you can tell your children and their children about it. Cities come and go. Buildings rise and fall. But people bear the eternal image of their Creator God.
Novo UK works for the good of the city because we care about the eternal nature of what cities contain. God is here and at work. People, created to know and enjoy God, are in need of redemption and rescue. The good news of the gospel rings out from the city centre to the surrounding villages, and to the ends of the earth.
For this God is our God for ever and ever;
he will be our guide even to the end. (v. 14)
