Urban Ministry Podcast

Jacob Boss is Affinity Leader for European Peoples with the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention. Prior to his current role in London, he served two years as the Vice President of Global Training for Meridian University. At Meridian, he implemented simple, reproducible tools to develop healthy churches throughout the 10/40 window. In this episode, Jacob joins Timothy to discuss the unique dynamics sharing the gospel with diverse populations in urban contexts. For more information about the International Mission Board, please go to https://www.imb.org.

Michael Crane serves as a director of Radius Global Cities Network, a think tank for urban missions research. Passionate about church planting, he helped to launch a church planting network in Southeast Asia called Gospel City Network. Michael also serves on the faculty of two graduate schools. He has authored or co-authored several books, including Sowing Seeds of Change: Cultivating Transformation in the City (Urban Loft, 2015) and City Shaped Churches: Planting Churches in the Global Era (Urban Loft, 2018). In this episode, Michael joins Timothy to discuss the importance of a sense of place in urban missions. For more information about Radius Global Cities Network, please go to https://radiusglobal.org.

Stephen Dinkins and his family moved to East Africa in 2013 to serve with the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention. Stephen now serves as the Nairobi City Team Leader in Nairobi, Kenya. In this episode, Stephen and Timothy discuss the distinct dynamics of urban church planting in sub-Saharan Africa. For more information about the International Mission Board, please go to https://www.imb.org.

Thousands of churches in urban contexts are ripe for revitalization—but church revitalization isn’t easy! James Fields has spent nearly two years working with a congregation near Churchill Downs in Louisville, seeking to revitalize a once-thriving church. He joins Timothy Paul Jones to discuss what’s worked, what hasn’t, and what he’s learned. For more information about Sojourn Church Carlisle, please go to https://sojournchurch.com/carlisle/.

Brian Davis serves as a pastor at Risen Christ Fellowship in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He completed a church planting internship at Imago Dei Church in Raleigh, North Carolina as well as a pastoral internship at Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, D.C. Brian joins Timothy to discuss the distinct dynamics of planting a church in the inner city. For more information about Risen Christ Fellowship, please go to https://rcfphilly.com.

What is the role of the pastor’s wife? Amber Williams and Karen Cheong serve faithfully as members of Sojourn Church Midtown in inner-city Louisville, Kentucky, and they join Timothy Paul Jones to discuss the role that the pastor’s wife plays in the church. For more information about Sojourn Church Midtown, please go to http://www.sojournchurch.com/midtown/.

Raymond Johnson serves as senior pastor at Christ Church West Chester in West Chester, Pennsylvania, and he’s also the author of I See Dead People: The Function of the Resurrection of the Saints in Matthew 27:51–54 (P&R). Christ Church in West Chester has experienced a profound revitalization under Raymond’s leadership. In this episode, Raymond Johnson joins Timothy to share what God has taught him about church revitalization in urban contexts. For more information about Christ Church West Chester, please go to https://www.christchurchwc.org.

Nathan Ivey is president and founder of Seed to Oaks, a non-profit organization that brings real and lasting change in communities through collaborations between local churches, businesses, and civic agencies, filling the space between the three. These initiatives are proven, strategic and straight forward to implement; designed as a sustainable means for community change that is real and measurable. For more information about Seed to Oaks, please go to https://seedtooaks.com/.

This episode was recorded prior to many of the limitations that have accompanied the spread of the coronavirus pandemic; some activities described by the guest may now be being pursued in alternative ways.

GUEST: John Barnett 

Thanksgiving! Christmas! New Year’s! When you hear those words, you probably think of family traditions and the fragrance of foods that your family enjoys. But what do refugees think about when they hear these words? Some refugees may think of traditions from their homelands that are very different from anything you might associate with these holidays. Others may see them as uniquely Western or American. Still others may never have heard of these holidays at all. So how can Christians serve refugees during the holiday season? That’s the question that we will be exploring today on the Urban Ministry Podcast. Our guest is John Barnett, executive director of Refuge. If you are interested in sharing the gospel with immigrants and refugees, you will not want to miss this episode.

GUEST: John Barnett 

More than 68 million individuals are currently displaced due to religious persecution, war, or other violence. Globally, one out of every 110 people is either seeking asylum, displaced within their own country, or a refugee. Many of these individuals seek refuge in cities throughout the United States. But how should Christians respond to refugees? How can we show compassion to them and seek justice for them? And, most importantly, how can we impact their lives with the gospel of Jesus Christ? That’s what we’ll be discussing today on the Urban Ministry Podcast. My guest is John Barnett, a social entrepreneur who has served refugees in Africa, Europe, and North America as well as working to create sustainable economies among the urban poor in Algeria, Uganda, and France. This is an episode that you won’t want to miss!