Winning the World

Session 6: Mobilizing American Cities for Church Planting Movements 111

D. Poverty, disenfranchisement, and a deeply developed class polarization

1. Poverty carries deep racial and ethnic meanings in America which are not present in many societies which, on the whole, are in fact even more poor than the American urban poor.

2. They work with people who prioritize their faith; they are hungry for change, p. 57.

3. They are a source for relationship-building, p. 58.

4. They create a “sense of exhilaration over the transformation,” p. 58.

5. Poverty has increased the overall sense of alienation, isolation, and disconnection from the larger society: a cultural case in point, the underground cultures of urban America (e.g., punk, rap, emo, metal, etc.).

6. Ever increasing reality of despair, leading to out-of-control levels of violence in America’s inner city (nearly half of the number of people killed in Vietnam conflict are murdered on American streets each year!)

E. Implications and conclusions

1. The elements of America’s inner city must be factored into all discussions of church planting, growth, and mobilization, especially in applying models and approaches which have been used effectively in other places.