Simple, Small, and Subtle
Simple, Small, and Subtle Free Methodist Bishop Matt Thomas described the ideal urban ministry as simple, small, and subtle at the Free Methodist Urban Fellowship conference this past week. He pointed out that this is in total oppostion to our approach to urban ministry where everything is big, complex, and loud. His words reasonated within my spirit this week. His extensive experiences with cities across the world revealed that the ministries that were simple in structure (did a few things well), small in size (a few people ministering to a few people), and subtle (begining relational and not programatically). These approaches have a radical, but not reckless approach towards ministering to those in city. Instead of going to a place and trying to raise funds for a church plant, the focus is on reaching people and developing communities around a relatively simple set of core processes. This is the message of books such as "Simple church" by Thom Ranier, or "Deliber...