Reaching the Cities to Reach the Nation

During the last National Leaders Team (NLT) Forum in Pattaya, Thailand, the song “God of this City” by Chris Tomlin resonated deeply with me. Interestingly, his band wrote this powerful anthem after witnessing the challenging conditions at Pattaya during a mission trip. The song boldly declares that God is the God of the city, its people, and the entire nation. The song is an inspiring reminder to the Philippine team as we take a fresh look at the scope of our national movement– the whole country, its major cities included.

Importance of Reaching Key Cities

The Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization emphasizes the immense importance and role cities play for the future of humanity and global missions. These urban centers are home to four significant groups of people: the next generation, unreached migrants, culture shapers, and the impoverished. By focusing our efforts on key cities in the Philippines, namely, Metro Manila, Baguio, Legazpi, Metro Cebu, Iloilo, Tacloban, Metro Davao, Cagayan de Oro, and Zamboanga, we can aim to effectively make a transformative impact on these target demographics.

Harmonizing Strategies

As we direct our efforts to these priority cities, our strategy involves reaching out to specific segments within the population. We aim to engage top universities, leaders across various sectors, alumni networks, and the next generation of leaders, and forge key partnerships with churches. Identifying missional gaps and working to bridge them also play a crucial role in our approach towards reaching these major cities.

Being cognizant of the diverse strategies Cru has applied to reach these cities, it is of utmost importance to keep this reminder in mind: that these differentiated ministry activities should be harmonized with the end in view of creating a collective impact to effect transformation in the area. We envision launching one to two collaborative activities in each city that will help reinforce all strategies currently at play. Overall, we desire to see a 50% increase in the number of our engaged disciples who are integrated into missional communities in these key cities.

Call for Collective Impact

As we unite in our efforts to reach key cities in the Philippines, we stand together, declaring that greater things have yet to come. We firmly believe that there is still much work to be done in these places. By utilizing our time, talents, and resources wisely, we can aim to bring about a meaningful and lasting impact that will transform lives of those people we seek to reach. Let us embrace the call for collective impact and step forward with faith, knowing that God is the God of these cities and the people in them.