One of the great challenges of urban ministry is the versatile and dynamic nature of a global city. On the one hand global cities are becoming more and more like each other in sharing a very broadly defined global culture, but on the other hand as these global cities grow they each become more diverse and multifaceted, in and of themselves, than they were before. As people move from rural areas to cities they each bring a little bit of their background to the melting pot of the city and add it into the mix. So as the city grows the number of different cultures in one geographical location grows, as do all the various components that make up any one given culture. Here’s a list, off the top of my head on some of the biggest challenges this creates for urban ministry:

1. Economic Inequality

Building authentic gospel-centered community in the city is difficult when people are so comfortable in their own ghetto-like communities. Often these communities are built on economics and so when all of a sudden the gospel gets people in the room from different economic communities it starts to get interesting. A thorough biblical theology of wealth and possessions is necessary for urban ministry. 

2. Racial/Ethnic Division

If it’s not economics that makes for interesting community then try racial and ethnic division. It takes a long, careful process to walk through all the mistrust, misunderstanding and other issues that occur when people of different racial and ethnic backgrounds come together. A robust, gospel-centered theology of race and ethnicity is a prerequisite for urban ministry. 

3. Multiple Languages

Given that much of Christian ministry is centered upon the proclamation of the gospel this creates a unique challenge in that many sitting in urban congregations today will have the language in which the sermon is preached as their second or third language and not the language they speak at home. This will have far reaching implications for preaching and the development of curriculum.

4. Diverse Tastes in Music and Arts

Whilst I’m very much pro heterogeneous church models that aim to reflect the throne room of Revelation where all nations are gathered together worshipping God I’m also well aware that congregations, or services, will essentially develop their own styles and cultures. Conducting a corporate worship gathering that values heterogeneous ministry whilst at the same time finding a well contextualized ‘style’ for that meeting will be a great challenge. 

5. Different Idols

People with different worldviews all converging in one place will mean a number of diverse and different idols being manifest which need correction. In some ways it was easier ministering in a wealthy western suburb where people’s idols revolved around the material, hedonism and family. The city daily brings me into contact with idols I’d never even thought of before. This makes communicating Christ, as the supreme object of worship, rather tricky at times. And if we’re not careful in our study and interaction with our people we can easily end up expending large amounts of energy confronting gods that have little or no hold over our congregations.

Urban ministry really requires multifaceted mission to deal with the multifaceted city.