Reaching the Urban Harvest
Today, half of the world's population is urbanized. In the United States, nearly 80 percent of our population resides in the large urban centers of our nation, a number increasing every day.
Patrick Johnstone and Jason Mandryk, authors of Operation World, state the following: "In the midst of affluence many cities have a rotten core. Unemployment, poverty, drug abuse, crime and despair are widespread. Most Christians and churches have migrated to the more comfortable suburbs, leaving areas with little Christian presence. In many cases, inner cities have become the home of immigrant ethnic minorities who need to be reached with the love of Christ." After noting other challenges for urban evangelization, the authors conclude that a combination of effective methods and a concerted effort by the body of Christ "could decisively change the spiritual climate of a city."
This reflects a city that is in desperate need for methods of empowerment that restore dignity, self-worth, and independence to people, methods that increase the individual's capacity to pursue his/her destiny and live a productive life in the context of faith.
These are the methods that Urban Harvest Ministries has employed for more than twelve years in the South Bronx. UHM does not seek to employ short-term methods that place a "band-aid" on persistent problems, but seeks to engage in long-term solutions one person and one family at a time:
- equipping the church to empower the urban poor through holistic and sustainable methods,
- empowering emerging leaders,
- imparting principles and methods to reach the urban unchurched,
- building networks for long-term growth and initiative,
- supporting the process with materials, curriculum, resources, and on-going training and support.
One church is not going to reach an entire city. But if each church reaches its immediate neighborhood, entire communities and cities can be transformed. This is the vision of Urban Harvest Ministries - community transformation through an empowered church and empowered people!
Success
We have seen the effects first hand at The Harvest Center in the South Bronx.
We have been based in the South Bronx for more than twelve years. This is the poorest community per capita in the US, with over 50% of households having an annual income of $11,400 or less. 25 percent of expectant mothers are HIV Positive. More than three out of four students drop out of high school. It is the highest ranking community in the nation for poverty and single-parented homes.
But God has brought powerful change. Playgrounds, streets corners and parks formerly controlled by drug dealers have been returned to the people. Drug dealers once controlling the streets are working jobs, raising their children, and learning to be responsible fathers. Housing conditions have improved. Employment has increased. More than 95% of the students involved in programs at The Harvest Center have graduated high school on time and proceeded to college. This is a major accomplishment in a community where more than 75% of students drop out of high school.
A new sense of hope has come to this community, and it has come because God has raised up people from this community. Now they not only walk in freedom, peace and joy on the road to their destinies, but they are leading efforts to bring change in this community. They are now a significant part of the hope for the future. They are now a part of real change. They are living with dignity and integrity, equipped as godly leaders effecting change in their own community.
Through the empowerment of leaders, the implementation of strategic methods of outreach, the networking of churches and businesses in the suburbs and inner city, and the equipping of people for effective, relevant, life changing action among the urban poor, real change can come.
