This is the first in a series of posts from different perspectives on the role of religious communities in cities. Evangelicals are coming back to the city, both figuratively and literally. Some have even moved out of the suburbs and into areas of the city where they would not have imagined themselves living just a few years ago. They have come to the city, and people have noticed. All this with "no strings attached," [as the organizer Kevin] Palau emphasizes, meaning the service comes without the proselytizing that is often associated with Christian missionary outreach.
Another signal of the shift toward cities among evangelicals is Movement Day. Beginning in , this has become an annual "gathering of leaders to catalyze gospel movements in their cities. Season of Service and Movement Day are just a couple among numerous examples that signal a shift, at least among a segment of evangelical Christianity, away from the kind of engagement with society epitomized by the Christian Right and similar movements toward the end of last century through the past decade.
The evangelicals are coming. Are cities ready? In Part II of this series, we will talk about some of the responses to this trend and the divergent views about what it may mean for cities. Andrew Sharp. As USA Today columnist Tom Krattenmaker reported , churches were: fanning out across the Portland area to feed and clothe the homeless, provide free medical and dental services, fix up local public schools, and support their low-income students with supplies, mentoring and other resources.
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