The Urban Ministry Podcast

Caring for Your Soul in the City: Nick Nye and Charles Shannon

What you do for God beyond your home will never typically be greater than what you practice with God within your home. Whether you’re single or married, with children or without, your family has a profound impact on your ministry. That’s why one of the qualifications that Paul gave for pastors was “to manage his own household well.” So how can you as a pastor or a church planter care for your family well? I have with me today two urban pastors to discuss this topic. If you want to lead your family well as a pastor, you won’t want to miss this episode of the Urban Ministry Podcast.

What I Wish Someone Had Told Me About Urban Ministry: Charles Shannon

Ministry is filled with surprises—but the types of surprises you face in ministry will be different, depending on your context. Paul urged Timothy against “myths and endless genealogies” in Ephesus—but the warning he gave to Titus in Crete was against “empty talkers and deceivers.” This week, our goal is to help you to pay attention to the unique challenges of the context where God has placed you. On today’s episode, I’ll be talking with Charles Shannon about the challenges he’s faced in his first year as an urban church planter. If you’re considering planting a church, pastoring a church, or participating in a church in an urban context, this episode is for you.

How the Inner City Became the Way It Is: Kevin Jones

The inner city is defined by poverty—literally. The inner city has been defined as a region in a metropolitan area in which 20 percent or more of households live in poverty and where the median household income is 50 percent or less than that of the region as a whole. But how did the inner city become the inner city? In this episode, we’ll discuss this issue with Dr. Kevin Jones, chair of the school of education at Kentucky State University. If you want to understand the inner city, you don’t want to miss this episode.

Why Does Urban Ministry Matter? Lilly H. Park

According to the book of Hebrews, “we do not have a lasting city here; we seek the city that is to come.” And yet, between now and the time when God reveals that lasting city that is to come, we are called to proclaim the gospel in every place, and that includes urban contexts. Today, Dr. Lilly Park talks with Dr. Timothy Paul Jones, director of the Dehoney Center for Urban Ministry Training, about why an urban ministry podcast is needed and why urban ministry matters.

Partnering with Existing Churches in Urban Contexts: Jamaal Williams

“‘Teacher,’ said John, ‘we saw someone driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop, because he was not one of us.’ ‘Don’t stop him!’ Jesus replied.” These words from Mark chapter 9 remind us that, whenever we arrive in a particular place to proclaim the gospel, there very well may be others who were there long before we arrived. And so, when planting a church in an urban context, how should we engage the congregations that are already there? That’s the topic that we’ll be exploring today on the Urban Ministry Podcast. Our guest is Jamaal Williams, lead pastor of Sojourn Community Church Midtown.