The above words have sparked the Church through the ages to send missionaries to the ends of the earth with the glorious good news of salvation in Jesus Christ. Recently, however, the tide has turned, and the focus of missionary interest is changing in the process. Urban missions is garnering increasing interest among those desiring to make disciples of all nations. Why? It is because God in His providence is bringing the nations to the neighborhood. God has brought them from around the world to across the street. The nations are now among us. This is what I mean by MISSIONS IN REVERSE.

The pattern is obvious to those who live in New York City. One walk down the street with open eyes and ears reveals an urban population teeming with immigrants. In one zip code in NYC there are 133 different nationalities and 150 different languages. That works out to be two-thirds of the world's nations represented in one tiny area of this city. In many areas of New York City you won't hear the English language spoken. I routinely travel in sections of New York where this is the case. The New York Times recently published an article about Coney Island Avenue, a street in Brooklyn that runs from Prospect Park in the North to Coney Island and the ocean to the South. On just that one street there are five different populations – Russian, Middle Eastern, Jewish, Hispanic, and Greek – all with their attendant languages, dialects, and sub-cultures. Are you eager to make disciples of all nations? Go no further than the neighborhoods of the Big Apple.

Consider the Following Statistics:⤒🔗

The population of NYC is one-third foreign born with immigrants and their children accounting for 60% of the residents. There are more Jamaicans in NYC than any city in Jamaica, more Jews than any city in Israel, more Haitians than the capital of Haiti. There are 400,000 Russians in Brooklyn alone and Brooklyn is only one of five boroughs (or counties) that make up NYC. The picture should be clear: Bringing the gospel to New York City is missions in reverse. There is more of an opportunity to reach the nations in this city than there is on any mission field in the world. NYC is literally the R & D (Research and Development) center for world missions.

Why are cities an important mission field? In previous articles in Christian Renewal I have mentioned the cultural centrality of cities. They are the main location for cultural development which comes to expression in the arts, in scholarship, in communication, in philosophy, in commerce, etc. Also, as can be seen in the statistics quoted above, cities are hubs for global connections. In other places the gospel can go to only one people group. In cities multiple nations and languages can be reached at once. It is common for me to take literature with me in three languages (Chinese, Spanish, & English) as I go door to door in our church neighborhood.

Thankfully God has supplied us with members who also speak these languages. In fact, we have just begun translating our worship services and Sunday school classes into Spanish because some of our attendees are from nations in the Caribbean and Central America. They are thankful to hear the Gospel in their own tongue. Additionally we have two attendees from mainland China (but they can speak English).

The pattern prevalent here in this city is duplicated in cities large and small across North America. I just returned from Salem, Oregon which, along with neighboring Keizer, comprises a population of 250,000. Yet there are over 35 different nationalities represented there. The numbers are less than that of New York, but the pattern is evident. Immigrants are filling the cities of North America. This presents an unprecedented opportunity for the Christian Church and for the Gospel. It is an opportunity we should seize upon.

The need of the hour is for more churches, more Christian day schools, more workers willing to reach the multitudes.

The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His harvest field.

Wanted: Reformed Christians, willing to move to New York City.