Seventh-day Adventist mission in the world’s cities cannot rely on a single model or approach, Manuel Arteaga told members of the General Conference Executive Committee on October 11, calling on church leaders to listen more closely to the communities they hope to reach.

Arteaga, director of the Center for Urban Mission (CFUM) at the General Conference, presented his report on the third day of Annual Council, highlighting lessons from urban mission projects around the world and outlining new initiatives designed to connect, inspire and equip urban missionaries and church planters.

“There’s no such thing as ‘the city,’” Arteaga said. “We have cities, and they’re diverse and they’re different, and each one of them has a different context.” Urban mission, he added, requires the church “to learn how to speak to each and every one of these contexts.”

Drawing on the experience of Pentecost, Arteaga said the early church did not expect people to first learn its language. Instead, through the Holy Spirit, the church learned to speak theirs.

That principle, he said, shapes the work of CFUM, one of six Global Mission Centers supporting the church in sharing the gospel across different cultural and religious contexts. Rather than exporting one urban mission model around the world, the center works with divisions to develop approaches suited to individual cities.

“There is one gospel that we proclaim. We know that we have one mission as a church,” Arteaga said. But reaching diverse cities, he added, requires the church to speak in “many urban accents.”

Listening to cities

During the past year, CFUM leaders visited several regions to listen, learn and develop mission approaches alongside local leaders. Those conversations centered on a key question: “What are our cities saying?”

Arteaga said effective urban church planting must go beyond simply establishing churches in cities or for cities. Congregations, he said, should be “doing life with the city,” understanding their communities and building bridges with the people who live there.

The center also worked with church leaders to develop contextualized mission initiatives for priority cities and produced Urban Life in the Word, a new Bible study resource designed to explore biblical prophecy through an urban perspective.

The resource is part of a broader series of Bible studies developed collaboratively by the six Global Mission Centers for reaching people from different religious and cultural backgrounds. The studies include materials designed for Jewish, Buddhist, Hindu, urban and secular audiences.

Plans call for the studies to be made available online through Adventist World Radio’s Global Bible School and in video format, along with online training to help members and mission workers use them. Divisions will also be able to localize the materials for their own cultural and mission contexts, working with the Global Mission Centers.

“We don’t have the answer,” Arteaga said of CFUM’s role. “We are here to make sure that we come alongside you to discern faithful answers together,” including asking what the Holy Spirit is already doing in cities around the world.

Mission taking different forms

Arteaga illustrated that approach with experiences from recent visits to Japan, and cities in Taiwan, where he saw mission taking different forms according to the opportunities within each community.

In Tokyo, Adventists are using hospitality, house churches and urban centers of influence to connect with people in one of the world’s highly secular cities.

One house church began during the COVID-19 pandemic after a woman facing a cancer diagnosis began worshiping at home with her children. One Sabbath, a neighborhood boy knocked on the door and asked if he could join. He returned with friends, and the group continued to grow. Arteaga said about 20 young adults now regularly gather for worship in her home.

In Taiwan, Arteaga met a businessman whose encounter with Jesus changed the way he used his time and resources. An apartment purchased with money his mother had saved for retirement became a place of worship in his community. To connect with neighbors, he began playing the ukulele and writing songs based on their stories.

“What we see in him is someone who is faithfully using his time and his talents to reach people for Jesus Christ,” he said.

Another experience came from a Korean pastor serving in Taiwan who initially tried to reach students at a nearby university but encountered restrictions on proselytizing. Interest in Korean culture eventually provided another way to connect.

Students approached the pastor to learn Korean, and those relationships developed into a language club. Arteaga said the ministry has since expanded, creating opportunities to connect with students and share the gospel.

Finding the next urban missionaries

The experiences led Arteaga to turn his attention to people who may already have ideas for reaching their cities but need encouragement and support to move forward.

“How many more potential missionaries?” he asked. “How many more young adults are staying awake at night, imagining this church plant that they believe?”

Arteaga outlined plans for a new global initiative centered on what he called “Dreamers,” designed to connect people with a vision for urban mission. Plans include a video series featuring missionaries, urban centers of influence, church plants and house churches from across the world, allowing their experiences to be shared in one place.

“A space where ‘Dreamers’ inspire ‘Dreamers’ to do mission,” Arteaga said. “A space where realized mission awakens new mission. A space where someone’s mission breakthrough becomes someone else’s mission beginning.”

The center also plans to launch the Dreamers Academy, an online space where those interested in starting an urban mission initiative can learn the steps involved and receive coaching. A Dreamers Playbook and stories featuring church planters, urban center of influence pioneers, house church leaders and other urban missionaries are also planned.

Arteaga closed his report by returning to the idea that reaching cities requires the church to understand and speak to their different contexts.

“The city may not speak our language, but the Holy Spirit teaches us to speak theirs,” he said. “One name. One gospel. One voice. And we will do so in many urban accents.”

Manuel Artega presents a report on the Center for Urban Mission.

The proposed Dreamers Hub will connect urban missionaries and church planters around the world, creating a space where experiences and ideas can inspire new mission initiatives. [Photo: George Nelson/AME (CC BY 4.0)]

Photo: George Nelson/AME (CC BY 4.0)

Manuel Arteaga explains how the Center for Urban Mission works with divisions to develop mission approaches suited to their cities.

Photo: George Nelson/AME (CC BY 4.0)

The Dreamers Academy, an upcoming online initiative of the Center for Urban Mission, will provide training and coaching for individuals seeking to develop urban mission projects. [Photo: George Nelson/AME (CC BY 4.0)]

Photo: George Nelson/AME (CC BY 4.0)

“One name, one gospel, one mission, many accents” summarizes the Center for Urban Mission’s emphasis on sharing the same gospel through approaches shaped by different urban contexts. [Photo: George Nelson/AME (CC BY 4.0)]

Photo: George Nelson/AME (CC BY 4.0)

Lisa M. Beardsley-Hardy (right), education director of the General Conference, presents Luis Rivera, president of the Puerto Rican Union, with a set of Bible studies developed by the six Global Mission Centers to help Adventists connect with people from different religious, cultural and urban backgrounds. The materials will be localized for use in different contexts. [Photo: Tor Tjeransen/AME (CC BY 4.0)]

Photo: Tor Tjeransen/AME (CC BY 4.0)