“The Great Commission in Reverse?”

There are many objections that I receive about church planting, specifically in the Twin Cities.  One objection comes from those who see the tremendous need to plant church overseas (and there is one!), and they feel that resources must be spent on other nations.  The second objection comes from those who believe that John Piper, who pastors the church Bethlehem Baptist in Minneapolis, has evangelized the entire city.  Perhaps this post will help with both of these objections.

John Piper, in a recent blog post at Desiring God, quotes the August/September Ministry Opportunities booklet from Bethlehem Baptist Church:

In 2002, the Brookings Institute named the Twin Cities one of the top 10 “Gateway Cities” for new immigrants and refugees; in 2004, Minnesota was the #3 state for the same (and #1 per capita).

According to Dr. John Mayer, director of CityVision, Minneapolis/St. Paul is now home to the largest Somali and Hmong populations in the U.S., as well as the largest Chinese student population (University of Minnesota). The Phillips neighborhood, home to Bethlehem’s Downtown Campus, is the most diverse neighborhood in the country, with more than 100 different languages.

Did you know . . .

• the light rail system sells tickets in four different languages?
• Nicollet Avenue’s “Eat Street” has 75 ethnic restaurants in a six-block area?
• Maple Grove is home to the largest Hindu temple in North America?…

“The Great Commission is now in reverse,” says Mayer. “People are coming here from all over the world.”

Globalization has brought the peoples from all over the world into U.S. cities, and the Twin Cities metro area is no exception.  A plant here would reach people all over the world within the limits of one city.  Church planting overseas AND in cities is vital to reaching all peoples with the gospel.  In addition, John Piper has described well the tremendous need for more churches in the Twin Cities.  It is hard to reach even one neighborhood with an English speaking mega-church when that neighborhood has more than 100 different languages.

May God continue to raise up more church plants in the Twin Cities, and church plants that have the ability to reach all these new peoples with the gospel.

Reach the Twin Cities, Reach the World

A friend recently sent me an article from Christianity Today called “When Your Neighborhood Changes You” that details how “three Twin Cities churches have adjusted to reach their rapidly changing community.”  Take a look at these stats that introduce the article:

Since 1990, Minneapolis and St. Paul have seen a massive influx of refugees. The Twin Cities metro area boasts the largest Hmong, Somali, and Oromo (Ethiopian) populations in the United States and the second largest Tibetan and Liberian concentrations.

The University of Minnesota is home to the largest Chinese student population in the country, and the cities were the eighth-fastest growing Hispanic area in the country during the 1990s. All this adds up to nearly half a million internationals, speaking more than 136 different languages.

In fact, one of the churches detailed in this article is near the target area for this plant.  The church boasts of 20 countries in its 350 person church, which include: “Sierra Leone. Uganda. Haiti. India. Zimbabwe. Panama. Liberia. Mexico. Nigeria. Central African Republic. Rwanda. Guinea. Great Britain. Malaysia. Ghana. Philippines. Vietnam. Laos. Japan. Marshall Islands.”

What an exciting article!  If you reach Twin Cities you do not merely reach Western European descendants from Germany, Norway, Ireland and Sweden.  Rather, if you reach the Twin Cities then you will reach the nations.  A church in the Twin Cities is a global church.

- Bryan