Finding Hunger for Wholeness in Your Urban Village
Engaging Urban Affinities - Part 5
By S. Crawley
Photo by Jed Villejo on Unsplash
In this series of articles, we are looking at how to engage an affinity or urban village that we sense God calling us to.
So much in effective urban mission involves listening and discerning.
Listening to what God is doing in us and where He is calling us to. Observing the social networks and leadership He has placed and/or permitted in the community He has called us to.
In this article, I'm going to zoom in on seeking out the hunger that He is stirring up within the affinity.
How can we be confident there is hunger for God's Kingdom?
There are people who are hungry for the Kingdom that Jesus announced (Mark 1:14-15).
Romans 8:22-23 says that all of creation is groaning as in childbirth. There is a sense of being in pain and that things are not as they should be. People are looking for wholeness and completion. Similarly, Ecclesiastes 3:11 tells us that God has placed eternity in peoples’ hearts. There is something beyond our physical circumstances that our hearts desire.
In Acts 17:26-27 we are told that God has deliberately placed people in their communities and places so that they might reach for Him, and when Jesus sent His disciples out (Luke 10:1-12), He told them to expect to find openness in some places and disinterest and rejection in others.
In Mt 28:19 Jesus extends the sending of His disciples to all peoples, for all time until the end of the Age, and in Acts 1:8 to all places - the ends of the earth.
There are many other passages that affirm the same message, but those above encourage us that our Father is already working. Our job is to find what He is doing, and looking for hunger in the communities.
Hunger for the Kingdom is more common than we might think.
Think about it - where God's authority and love are completely trusted and respected, things just work!
Authority is used fairly and to bless. Relationships are harmonious and loving. Provision is sufficient for everybody. People are physically and emotionally safe. They can thrive.
Everyone wants that! Of course, very few people will use the words "the Kingdom of God" to describe the change they want to see, but often at the core is a desire for some aspect of God's character and/or Kingdom.
What does hunger look like?
It can help to think of Kingdom hunger in two ways:
1) a general hunger for wholeness, and
2) explicitly spiritual hunger
Next time we will look at spiritual hunger. Right now, let’s take a look at the general hunger for wholeness.
Hunger for wholeness takes many shapes and forms. These will be largely unique to the urban village or the context. Matthew 5:1-11 gives an excellent overview of some of the ways it gets expressed.
EVERY affinity group carries its own brokenness and a God-given desire for wholeness. However, as we “listen” to an urban village, the goal is not to uncover needs so that WE can be the solution. We want to uncover what GOD is already doing, so that we can serve Him!
A key thing we need to look for is how people respond to that hunger.
Three Ways People Respond to Hunger for Wholeness
Some people just shut down the hunger. They are aware and dissatisfied with what they see, but they are able to block it out. Maybe they don't want the discomfort or inconvenience. Maybe they get stuck - unsure how to respond, they choose to look the other way.
A second group is stuck. They are confronted with their hunger every day. They have no way to ignore it, but neither can they solve it. There is desire and motivation to see change happen, but they can’t see any path forward.
I think of parents in a slum in one of the cities where we serve. They live hand to mouth. To have food for dinner tonight means finding work today. And that means leaving their preschool children at home by themselves. There's simply no alternative for them.
A third group leans in to the hunger. They accept the challenge. They take responsibility for making a difference. They wrestle. They respond by taking action and doing what they can. Often these people are hungry to solve the problems they see AND in need of support themselves.
Here I think of a lady we knew in another city. She saw the poverty and lack of nutrition on the one hand, and, on the other hand, the wastage from supermarkets and restaurants. She connected the dots and helped to match the food surplus with hungry households to meet this need in her community. She couldn’t do it solo, and this forced her to seek out help herself. This is Kingdom hunger.
I think of the middle-aged couple in a wealthy neighbourhood with many early retirees. Their kids are grown up and they are asking questions about their life’s purpose, with no clear answers. This couple have designed a process to help their community process these questions, whilst simultaneously catalysing community and connection. They are serving a hunger for the Kingdom.
Other examples include a couple in another city providing high quality education to children of government officials. A team in another city creating community amongst young adults through sport. A mum in another city building a support group for parents with special needs children at her son's secondary school.
Each of these people carried a hunger for wholeness and leant into it, becoming part of the solution for their urban village. These are the people we want to get alongside and serve.
Questions to Ask
As God leads us towards an urban village, we need to look and listen for the points of connection between the Kingdom of God and the hunger and desires of the people.
What is God doing amongst this group? How is He stirring hunger for His Kingdom?
Answers to these questions give us clues to where God is already at work, fuel for prayer, and ideas about how we, as sons and daughters of the King, can potentially serve and bless the community.
For Reflection
1. A Scripture - Matthew 5:1-11
- What does this passage tell us about types of hunger that the Kingdom of God moves towards and satisfies?
2. A thoughtful question
- What hunger do you see as you think about the urban village(s) God has placed you in?
3. A possible application
- Who else in the village can you ask to check your discernment and get a broader perspective?
Discipling the Urban Harvest provides practical insights and encouragement to walk with God in multiplying discipleship in an increasingly urban world - growing as children of the Father, serving the communities He has called us to, and discipling those hungry to know Him.