This more formal book review was published on Amazon in 2015 as a courtesy to GMI Publishing workers I’d connected with at a convention. I had meant to republish it here afterward but forgot to do so as our family focused on fundraising and other preparations for moving to South Africa. Although GMI closed its doors in 2017, used copies of this book are still available from Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/Serving-God-Todays-Cities-Urbanization/dp/1941405126, and the author also has newer books available there.
Johnstone, Patrick, with Dean Merrill. Serving God in Today’s Cities: Facing the Challenges of Urbanization. Colorado Springs: GMI, 2015. Print (free review copy provided by publisher).
Johnstone offers here a good introduction to the importance, nature, and methodology of urban ministry, making his case well without delving too deeply for such an introductory work.
Johnstone wisely divided the book into two sections: a three-chapter introduction meant to focus the reader’s understanding of cities, followed by an eight-chapter manual recommending specific actions for churches, ministries, and individuals to take. Scripture verses are well chosen for emphasizing that God loves cities and the people within them, too. His conclusion ably unifies the whole.
One of the foremost strengths of the work is its balance. He balances generalizations with specific details well and provides enough citations and references without cluttering a work meant to be accessible. His chapters on suggested actions show a balance of meeting individual and immediate needs with fixing systemic and lasting problems. He addresses the need for wisdom and deliberation in offering help without creating dependencies or enabling charlatans. He discusses both international and local work and emphasizes the necessity of both. Several times, he addresses oft-cherished Bible quotations in context, clarifying that they are more than the tame little comforts some try to make them.
For me, the book was well-aimed. I have lived in a rural area my whole life but am about to move to a city of 4 million people on another continent; I often wonder if the adjustment to city life will be more difficult than that to living across an ocean. This book is a great help in directing my thinking about the changes and challenges to come.
The book offered me several surprises, including that we have only recently crossed from a majority-rural world population to a majority-urban one. I would have thought that had occurred decades earlier than the 2007 or 2008 that Johnstone’s referenced statisticians cite. Likewise, I would not have guessed that the urban population was still only 3 percent as recently as 1800, nor that the world population is expected to be 90 percent urban by the end of this century. By 2050, a few cities that receive little attention in the West will be three times the size of New York City.
This book would serve well for pastors, church leaders, members, and aid workers trying to understand new opportunities and challenges. It would also make an excellent companion to such widely read works as Steve Corbett’s When Helping Hurts for a wider study.
I highly recommend it and thank the fellow believer who recommended it to me.
Note: this review was written from a free review copy, which the publisher gave me at the 2015 convention of the Evangelical Press Association. No other consideration was given, and my thoughts about the book are independently created and given.
The Heffron Family 