Free Methodist World Missions
Targets Global Cities

What do Bombay, India; Sao Paulo, Brazil; and Los Angeles have in common? They are global cities, "megacities" with populations of more than 3 million. They are very culturally diverse, have an obvious contrast between their rich and poor, and their social underclasses are often as significant as their mainstream societies. Today's global cities have significant connections to other international population centers — most often in the form of trade and economic ties, communications, transportation and ethnic diversity. In fact, Bombay may have more in common (in a social context) with Los Angeles than it does with other smaller cities in India itself.

How has the Free Methodist Church responded to these international global cities? "Haphazardly," according to Dan Sheffield, FM World Missions' new Urban Ministry Facilitator. "The greater Bombay area has 34 churches, all planted within the last 20 years. But that didn't have much to do with North American missionaries; it was an Indian FMC initiative. On the other hand," he adds, "the 29 churches we have in Sao Paulo had a lot to do with missionary initiative a few decades ago. But not a lot of new work is going on in Brazil's other large urban centers today."

In the two-thirds world, where the vast majority of the earth's urban population lives, urban planning has been largely overwhelmed by the rapid growth of its cities. Nairobi pastor and FM Bishop Elie Buconyori points out that over 1 million people in that city (more than 25 percent of its population) live in shanties, slums and "informal settlements."

"In some ways, today's global cities can be pretty scary places," says Sheffield. "But if we look through the cracks, we see people in need of a God who restores and breaks down barriers between people. We also understand that the church will go against much that the city stands for, if it truly becomes God's 'called-out' people. The church in the city should be a family, rather than a gathering of strangers."

The Need for a Strategic Approach
Recognizing the proliferation of global cities and the obvious positives inherent in making a spiritual impact, World Missions Director Art Brown wrote in the fall of 2000, Urbanization presents one of the greatest challenges of 21st-century missions. There was a time when we could think of evangelism in the classic terms: E-1 Evangelism -- the mission to our Jerusalem (people like us); E-2 Evangelism -- the mission to our Samaria (people something like us); E-3 Evangelism -- the mission to the ends of the earth (people with different language and culture). Today the growth of the megacities superimposes Jerusalem and Judea on Samaria, and the ends of the earth have come to Jerusalem.

As the Missions Executive Leadership Team has strategized for the future, we've realized that Free Methodists must address the challenge of the cities, especially those of the two-thirds world. We've traditionally been a rural and small-town church. Many Free Methodists worldwide still feel most comfortable doing evangelism in small towns or rural areas. Yet the vast majority of our people have been urbanized. Like Paul, we must turn our attention toward the cities.

Global Cities Consultation, May 2001
The first step in the new focus was a May 2001 gathering in Hong Kong of Free Methodist international leaders who minister in major urban centers. The Global Cities Consultation was organized by Free Methodist World Missions in connection with the FM World Conference and drew together ministry leaders from megacities worldwide, including Mexico City, Sao Paulo, New York City, Nairobi, Johannesburg, Bombay, Manila, Taipei and Hong Kong. The purpose of the gathering was to present ministry case studies from each of these cities and to discuss together how the Free Methodist Church can be more effective in responding to the needs of these urban environments.

Emerging from the consultation was the need for an ongoing Global Cities Network and a coordinating Global Cities Task Force. The network will serve as a communications and prayer connection supported by an Internet-based listserv. The task force will function as an advisory body to the Urban Ministry Facilitator (Sheffield) and act as a coordinating body for new global city church planting initiatives as well as facilitating the development of practical urban ministry training for both lay and pastoral leaders.

Each consultation participant was encouraged to identify one potential church planter in his or her conference as well as one possible global city for a strategic advance — to be accomplished before May 2002.

Philip Capp (Yakima, WA), retired mission educator, addressed the consultation, suggesting the need for the development of "shalom communities" where holistic transformation begins to take place. He quoted from Jeremiah 29, in which God instructs the Israelites who are captives in Babylon (one of the largest cities in the ancient world) to "seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper" (Jeremiah 29:7). In Capp's view this means that we are not only proclaiming Christ, but also choosing to be part of the healing and well-being of the communities or areas in which we live, through the power of the Spirit.

Global Cities Consultation attendees also heard numerous accounts of how Free Methodist churches are intervening against urban dehumanization in the name of Christ, "unto the least of these." Included are holiday outings for high-stress professionals, primary schools for slum children, homes for AIDS-orphaned children, places of safety for abused women, drop-in centers for lonely seniors, rental housing projects for low-income families, day-care centers for children of working parents and medical clinics providing free primary health care.

A Visit to Brazil, August-September 2001
One of the attendees of the Global Cities Consultation was the superintendent of the Brazilian-Nikkei Conference, Jose Ildo Mello, who extended an invitation to Sheffield. Could he come to Sao Paulo and speak at their annual pastors retreat? The new Urban Ministries Facilitator was excited to receive such a request.

His presentations in Brazil focused on Nineveh (picturing God's heart for cities), an overview of megacities worldwide and the Jewish community in Babylon (focusing on principles of holistic community transformation and the church's role). He also delivered a message about God's activity in the world and the importance of listening and discerning where God is present and then joining Him in His purposes — rather than drawing Him into our plans.

Sheffield accompanied Mello to several FM churches in Sao Paulo, including Mello's own church (Aeroporto), located in a middle-class neighborhood. Aeroporto draws members from across the city and is embarking on a phased expansion project that includes plans for a 600-seat sanctuary. The Jardim Rey church is another well-established congregation and has significant social outreach to the favelas (slum areas) that surround its neighborhood. Sheffield and Mello toured one of the largest of these favelas. A third stop on the tour was the Miriandopolis church in the heart of Sao Paulo, the oldest FM church in the city. Its 60-year-old building is large, beautiful and in an upper-middle-class area of the city. And its pastor is very concerned about addressing the changing social dynamics in his community.

The Brazilian church represents a significant movement into the peripheral areas of the country's large cities, and some 30 Brazilian missionaries labor in Brazil and neighboring countries with a vision for planting. But they have thus far largely ignored the large cities except for Sao Paulo. Sheffield believes their focus is changing and that he and the World Missions effort will assist them in whatever manner is appropriate for reaching the lost in South America's global cities.

According to Sheffield, the Brazilian FMC is in a period of encouraging growth and development. "Morale seems high," he reports, "from the general atmosphere of communal meetings and personal conversations. However, there was a noted hesitation about their ability to be effective in global cities aside from Sao Paulo. And even though Sao Paulo as a whole urban agglomeration is overwhelming, when broken down into smaller communities within the larger whole, possibilities for ministry seem more manageable." He is encouraged to believe they will prayerfully take up the challenges.

The Next Steps
In September Sheffield participated in another gathering, in Toronto, Canada — a megacity of 4.5 million — where he was invited to join a handful of FM pastors as they examined their responses to the city and to pray with them as they asked, "Is the Lord saying we should respond to this city collectively?"

In addition, other global cities have indicated an interest in hearing more from the Urban Ministry Facilitator, including Budapest, Hungary; Manila, Philippines; and Hyderabad, India.

Beyond the developments cited so far, one of the most exciting prospects for the Free Methodist Church's outreach to global cities is the formation of multinational partnerships. Seattle's Rainier Avenue Church has provided a model for this strategy, aiding a Thai national who was a part of the Rainier Avenue congregation and has returned to Bangkok to plant a church. Bangkok is an unreached, overwhelmingly challenging megacity of 8.5 million with a population that is 50 percent Chinese — a city without a single Free Methodist church until January 2001. Rainier Avenue is taking primary financial responsibility for the Bangkok plant and partnering in the effort by sending VISA teams and other assistance as needed.

"That's the kind of model we're looking for in order to establish FM churches in global cities," says Sheffield. "Bangkok is part of the national and international scene. And because of its large Chinese population, Chinese Free Methodists could join with Rainier Avenue in the planting effort, forming a multinational partnership.

"We're following up on these types of connections," he adds. "Should our task force be assisting in Rainier Avenue's efforts? And should we be moving, for example, into Rio de Janeiro, Brazil — one of the largest cities in Latin America, and one without a single FM church? The Brazilian FMC has limited resources (financial and personnel) to initiate new work in Rio. Is there a church we can find in North America that would be willing to partner in the establishment of the FMC in Rio? Is there another 'Rainier Avenue' out there?"

Whatever it takes, Sheffield and the Global Cities Network and Task Force of the Free Methodist Church will be looking hard at global cities and seeking creative ways to enter, establish and minister.

 

 
Dan Sheffield Appointed Urban Ministry Facilitator

In June 2001, the Office of World Missions announced the appointment of Dan Sheffield to the newly created position of Urban Ministry Facilitator, reporting directly to Art Brown, general director of World Missions.

Sheffield's appointment underscores the denomination's emphasis on addressing the challenges facing today's cities worldwide, where the vast majority of Free Methodists reside. Working from his home-based office in Canada, Sheffield will research, train and develop resources for the enablement, development and advancement of strategic objectives, particularly related to urban outreach and holistic ministry.

Sheffield will organize international, regional and national urban ministry consultations and training opportunities in liaison with Brown and the area directors. He will provide research and development resources for area directors and national leaders regarding ministry in existing or new urban outreaches. And he will provide a consulting service and training workshops and resources, as well as developing a Web site specifically targeted to providing resources and networking opportunities for Free Methodists involved in international urban ministry.

With his wife, Kathy, and children, Jamila and Jared, Sheffield most recently served as a missionary in South Africa, returning in 1999 for home assignment ministry. He graduated May 8, 2001, with a master's degree in religious education from McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.