How does God see the city? What does Scripture have to say about urban ministry? These are the questions Ray Bakke has systematically addressed, beginning with Genesis and continuing through to Revelation. Here is a biblical theology that will constantly surprise and challenge as you get a glimpse of how big God's view of the city really is.

It's a world in motion. The explosion of growth to urban centers and all the complexities it brings is not to be seen as a problem for churches, but as a gift? an opportunity to work with God within the city to see His purposes worked out. Street Signs is a guide for church missions leaders and community ministry leaders seeking to bring spiritual and practical transformation to the city.

Metrospiritual: The Geography of Church Planting is about church planting in the city. There is an outpouring of new expressions of church being started throughout metro areas across North America. Where are these new churches being started? Maybe a more subterranean question is, "Why"? Why are churches being started where they are and why is there is a bias towards one part of the city and an overall neglect of other parts? Metrospiritual explores these questions and more as it builds off of re…

For too long church planting literature and training has been primarily focused on starting churches in low-density parts of our cities predicated upon auto-based commuting patterns. However, the reality of the global city is that millions upon millions of people worldwide do not live that kind of lifestyle. Rather, life revolves around getting from Point A to Point B via on foot, bicycle, or public transportation. What would church planting then look like with those common transportation realit…

No. 3 in the 2002 Academy of Parish Clergy Top Ten Books of the Year! The city presents serious challenges that cry out for answers: poverty, racism, human exploitation and government corruption. How can the church move ahead in the midst of these demands with the gospel of hope? Here, in one comprehensive volume, Harvie Conn and Manuel Ortiz, two noted scholars and proven practitioners of urban ministry, address the vital work of the church in the city. Their dual goal: to understand the city a…

Islam, gentrification, AIDS, and multiculturalism: Where do we face these realities? A few years ago, it was in the city. But today, many city dwellers are moving to the suburbs, either by choice or because of circumstances beyond their control. And this shift is changing both the urban and suburban landscape. With this shift in mind, editors John Fuder and Noel Castellanos have gathered together a team of experts to help you minister effectively in both the urban and suburban context. Divide…

Street Signs is an engaging missiological inquiry into the cultural and theological meaning of the city. Through the lens of Seattle's Rainier Valley, one of the most ethnically and socioeonomically diverse communities in the US, this work constructs an urban, missional, and contextual theology that is shaped by the local realities of urban neighborhoods but relevant to cities everywhere. Focused on the themes of incarnation, confrontation, and imagination, Street Signs explores the contours of …

A comprehensive introduction to the particular challenges and opportunities of congregational ministry in urban settings. Urban ministry has long been a part of seminary curricula, but a basic and definitive understanding of what students should know as they prepare for congregational ministry in the city has remained elusive. Too often it is assumed that the theological resources developed for ministry in other settings are adequate for urban ministry, but these resources fail to account for…

How can we re-discover the Heavenly City here and now? This is a wide-ranging exploration of the practical applications of spirituality in an urban environment. In an increasingly urban society, we are losing touch with our roots. There is a hunger to engage with the spiritual implications of this, and to enrich our appreciation of the spiritual potential of urban spaces. "Discovering the Spirit in the City" brings together established authors with new voices to explore ways in which the concret…