What About the Poor?

2008-05-22

I was reading a book called emergingchurch.intro by Michael Moynagh. Set aside the issue of the emerging church movement... I would like to center on one very good point the book makes. In the epilogue, there was a concern that the church has become of little affect among the poorest of people in the West (let alone elsewhere in the world). The church has mostly retreated from the cities and went into the suburbs, and less and less believers are salt and light in our cities, reaching the poorest people in the cities in a culturally relevant way. I am simplifying all that was said in the section, but if this is true, what has happened since the first century, where one of the main demographics the gospel was preached to was the poor? There were tax collectors, and there were occasionally well-off people such as Philemon, but these were not the main type of people (see also James 2:5ff; 5:1ff). Jesus himself chose to be born to a poor family. What are your views? Does anyone have experience in outreach in the cities? Do you believe this assessment is true? I get the feeling it is, but I do not know first hand. Send me your experiences.