 Cities of Slums
Drought and famine drive people to the cities. So does a desire for better education and medical care. These, and many other factors that lead to rapid urbanization, are causing developing-world populations to transfer at alarming rates to ‘mega-cities’ in search of food and opportunity.
Unable to sustain the large influx of people, these cities cast off these migrants into slum areas encircling and punctuating the metropolises.
It is in these areas that all the major precursors of the orphan and abandonment problem fester: severe poverty, HIV/AIDS, all manner of other diseases, drugs, prostitution, slavery and more. This is where the problem most exists. This is where the problem should be primarily tackled.
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 Cities of the Least Reached
When you also consider that most of these cities have Evangelical Christian populations of 5% or less, they become even more strategic. As children are rescued and transformed, they bear witness to their communities. They go amongst their neighbors as missionaries of the Gospel. In addition, as the communities themselves see a church taking care of their children, they are more attracted to it.
The old adage proclaims, “As go the cities, so go the villages” and its variation, “As the city goes, so goes the nation.” As the villagers travel into the cities for supplies and commerce, they return with the gospel they were exposed to while there.
As people migrate to the cities to find work, they find the gospel instead. Urban and rural areas are reached. Nations are reached. Because of this, we are very careful in our choice of city involvements and have chosen to give a high priority to ‘strategic cities’ for the Gospel. |
