Building urban ministry since 1974

WHY WE TRAIN LEADERS

Since 1974 I poured my life into Armitage Baptist Church, Chicago.  Through God’s blessing on this single congregation we were able to start and assist other churches in the Chicago area.  We also saw multiple men called to either plant churches in urban centers or serve urban churches in the U.S. and abroad.  It has been remarkable to see the multiplication of fruit through a single local church.

God is now leading me to leverage half a century of urban ministry experience, the study of urbanology, as well as my passion to serve the marginalized, disempowered and forgotten, by discipling, training the next generation of urban ministry workers and helping pastors/churches everywhere be effective in an urbanized world.

Early in my ministry I realized the great need in urban centers was pastoral leadership, confident in navigating city life challenges.

One of the ways I saw God use my role as pastor was speaking across the country at seminaries, Bible colleges, and conferences, for the cause of urban missions.  The Lord used those efforts to call a number of men to give themselves to urban ministry.  I will continue to sound that call, expecting God to call additional laborers to the urban vineyard.

A second way I envision God using me in this season is Leadership Development.  When I arrived at ABC in 1974 I realized one of the greatest needs on the urban mission field was spiritual leadership.  According to The Center for the Study of Global Christianity, only 5% of the world’s church leaders are trained for ministry. I am providing discipleship, coaching, mentoring and consulting, along with webinars and workshops aimed at developing leaders who are sufficient in the urban context.

Also, I am available to come alongside existing churches or faith-based non-profits to help with systemic analysis and strategy aimed at organic health, longevity and effectiveness.  Economist Richard Freeman of Harvard University believes than, in most inner cities, church programs “leverage 10 times their own weight in solving social problems for the poor.”  We seek to maximize missional impact by developing synergistic networks and building productive long-term relationships with donor partners.

Education is huge, both to those serving in urban environments and those who do not see themselves as “city people.” What many believers and Christian leaders do not yet understand is that we are all living in an urbanized world.  The principles dramatically demonstrated in the pages of the New Testament and the lessons learned in the intense, contemporary environment of urban centers will benefit all Christian leaders and the believers they serve regardless of where they live.

Because we live in an urbanized world, there is a tremendous need for content produced from an urban perspective - written, recorded, print, audio, video, written, visual, artistic and academic - to support the efforts described above.  Also, I want to work to inspire and marshal visual and performing arts to introduce, interpret, undergird, explain and celebrate what God is doing and wants to do in an urbanized context.

Charles Lyons
Founder, City Hope International