Posted September 14, 2017 Vision

"Enter Cities" for Mission, Ng Urges at Urban Mission Conference

by Mark A. Kellner, News Editor, courtesy Adventist Review

“While Ellen G. White is emphatic about the evils of city living, she is equally emphatic about the critical need for urban missions.” G.T. Ng said in a 2013 plenary address to delegates at the movement's Urban Mission Conference. . .

Ng urged that the church needs to resolve its “love/hate” relationship with cities and with urban ministry. Many Seventh-day Adventists point to Ellen White statements about the perils of urban environments, but Ng reminded the audience of 200 leaders that White spent decades urging Adventist leadership and laity to enter urban areas in order to perform evangelistic work.

Statistics Reveal Massive Adventist Missions Challenge, Leaders Say

By Mark A. Kellner, news editor, courtesy Adventist Review

Although the Seventh-day Adventist Church has reduced its ratio to world population from 1 in 360,000 at the movement’s founding to 1 in 396 today, massive outreach challenges remain in many countries of the Middle East, East and Southeast Asia, church officials were told Sept. 29, 2013, during the movement’s Urban Mission Conference ongoing at the Silver Spring, Maryland, headquarters.

NY 13: Mission to the Cities

with Pastors Ted Wilson, Jerry Page and Gerson Santos

The NY13 initiative focused attention and effort on reaching the population of iconic New York City. It included a program called "One Year in Mission," which brought youth from fourteen regions of the world to learn how to do urban evangelism, and then sent them back to work in the major cities of their home countries.

Comprehensive Urban Evangelism

with Ted Wilson, Mark Finley, Mike Ryan, Gary Krause, and Jerry Page

The importance of "comprehensive urban evangelism" is discussed in this 2011 presentation, and divisions, conferences, unions, churches, and members are invited to pray and participate.

Ted Wilson sermon, "Mission to the Cities"

Annual Council, 2011

In his Sabbath sermon from Annual Council 2011, Pastor Ted Wilson speaks of the great need of the cities, reviews the history of God's messages on this topic through Ellen White, discusses Christ's method, and lays out a vision for Mission to the Cities.

Access sermon transcript here.

Treading Urban Ground Like Jesus

by Gary Krause, courtesy Ministry magazine

Krause says, "If you were planning to flee the city to find rural bliss, 1901 was as good a time as any." Conditions were squalid and dangerous. And that's when Adventist pioneer, Stephen Haskell moved in. This 2013 article considers Haskell's example, examines Christ's method in Adventist history, and discusses what Christ's method is—and what it is not.