Foundations for Christian Mission, Mentor's Guide, MG04

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F O U N D A T I O N S F O R C H R I S T I A N M I S S I O N

4. World Urbanization Prospects (United Nations) “It is projected that just after the turn of the millennium, in a few years, for the first time in history urban dwellers will outnumber those in traditional rural areas . . . By 2006, half of the world population are expected to be urban dwellers. The urban population is growing three times faster than its rural counterpart. By 2030, three of every five persons will be living in urban areas.”

5. This has now become a reality: there are more urban dwellers than any other dweller in the earth.

D. Cities are the centers of service and dominance.

1. They are the centers of government, education, health-care, information, entertainment, trade, commerce, business, industry, jurisprudence and the courts, the military, and religion.

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2. Impossible to think reasonably of modern civilization without referring to the great cities of the world—Washington, New York, Seoul, Cairo, Brasilia, Istanbul, Moscow, Stockholm, London, Paris, Buenos Aires, Amsterdam, Los Angeles, and so on. Cities are significant because of their strategic import.

a. Cultural cities (leading the world in fashion, trends, and ideas) e.g., Paris, Oxford, Boston, San Francisco

b. Political and Administrative cities (centers of worldwide decision making bodies, or which contain governments and their bureaucracies) e.g., Washington, Moscow, New Delhi