The SIAFU Guidebook

72 The SIAFU Network Guidebook

Objection 8: SIAFU was started by an outside group, whose members and culture are definitely not from the hood!

The Argument: “While the prospect of SIAFU is a great idea, the problem with it is that it was started by a group made up of virtually no city people, most of whom have never lived in the hood or even can begin to understand what life is like in it. SIAFU would have been a fine thing if it had been started by urban folk, but, as it is, World Impact is mainly a white, suburban, and outside-the-hood kind of organization. The Answer: The SIAFU Network was created because we believe that only urban churches and disciples of Christ will win the cities of America and the world. Since our founding more than forty years ago, World Impact (TUMI’s parent organization) has spoken prophetically regarding God’s election of the poor, the benign neglect of the evangelical church of America’s inner-city poor, and the need for evangelism, discipleship, and church planting in unreached urban poor communities. We believe that credible urban mission must demonstrate the Gospel, testifying in both the proclaimed word and concrete action. In light of this, we have emphasized living in the communities we serve, ministering to the needs of the whole person, as well as to the members of the whole urban family. We have sought this witness with a goal to see communities reached and transformed by Christ, believing that those who live in the city and are poor can be empowered to live in the freedom, wholeness, and justice of the Kingdom of God fleshed out in local churches and viable urban church planting movements. All World Impact’s vision, prayer, and efforts have concentrated on those most unfortunate, seeking to win them to Christ, equip them in the faith, and empower them through all facets of our work. From church planting to forming schools and clinics, to hosting camps, all we have