Brian Steadman and Chris Hildebrandt from Resurrection Brooklyn Presbyterian Church EPC in Brooklyn, NY joined Dave Robinson along with Richard Kidd of Mid-Atlantic Presbytery and EPC Stated Clerk Jeff Jeremiah.
Photo (left to right): Dave Robinson, Jeff Jeremiah, Brian Steadman, Chris Hildebrandt
Movement Day (movementday.com) brought together kingdom leaders, church planters and mission agencies on October 10, 2013 in New York City. Representing the EPC at this event was Dave Robinson of Cru, Brian Steadman and Chris Hildebrandt of Resurrection-Brooklyn, NY, Richard Kidd of Regent University-Virginia Beach, VA and Stated Clerk Jeff Jeremiah.
Dave, serves on the design team and leads the Strategic Partnership Alliance with Movement Day for Cru (formally Campus Crusade for Christ International). Following is a summary of his report:
More than 1,200 leaders gathered from over 300 cities in the US to consider how we can catalyze leadership teams in America’s largest cities to serve their cities more effectively by advancing high-level, city-changing collaborative partnerships toward the Gospel transformation and well-being of our cities. Headline speakers for the event were Tim Keller (EPC’s 2014 General Assembly Workshop speaker) and Ray Bakke.
Movement Day’s Mission is to Cultivate Gospel Movements in Cities by:
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Facilitating unity and collaboration amongst Christian leaders to address today’s urban issues;
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Fostering an environment where City Networks are strengthened;
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Inspiring and challenging Catalytic Leaders to maximize their leadership potential. In our day what it means to take the Gospel to the ends of the earth is being reexamined due to the incredible migration of peoples worldwide from rural settings to cities.
Dave noted that:
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Every year, 70 million people around the globe move from rural areas & villages to urban areas. That’s equivalent to the population of Manhattan on the move every 6 weeks!
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Globally in developed areas 74% of the population lives in urban area. (Why Cities Matter, page 23).
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UN Population Division’s study on World Population suggests that by the year 2050, 68.7% of global population will be urban; 86.2% (in more developed regions)
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China is pushing ahead with a sweeping plan to move 250 million rural residents into newly constructed towns & cities over the next dozen years.
Dave concluded, “Cities are both the present and the future missionary challenge & expanding the definition of ‘the ends of the earth.’”