Why would a church planter choose to go into the darkest territory of the inner-city, where crime and illegal drug activity are a constant presence, where fear and hopelessness abound? Simply because our Lord, who gave us the command to “Go therefore and make disciples” did not give us room to vacate and ignore the older, poorer, more densely populated parts of our urban dwelling areas.

Many inner-city communities have been largely abandoned by the church. Church planters, for the most part, are targeting sprawling suburban communities, leaving the Roman Catholic churches and few mainline denominational churches to rough it out. Most of the churches that remain have developed an insider/outsider mentality; that is, those who are members