by Darrin Patrick & Jonathan McIntosh | Pastors at The Journey | St. Louis, MO

Doing ministry in the new global cities is not an easy task. Sure, rural and suburban areas present their own unique challenges, but often it's the city leader who feels alone in the most influential centers of our world. You are called to stay: to reach non-traditional people and to connect with the new artistic and economic elite, most of whom care nothing for the church. You are faced with corruption in the local political system; you see decay around you every day. In the middle of this, you are called to actually make a dent for good in the larger social fabric... certainly no easy feat.

What does it mean to love your city? What does it mean to "reach" your city in truly transformational ways? If you're a minority leader, how do you navigate between the two worlds of your local tribe and the larger evangelical culture that you often feel torn between? How do you find resources - the leaders and money - to do what needs to be done? How can you plant a new church in an area where a church a day either dies because of its refusal to adapt or sells out in the name of relevancy? How do you preach truth in a culture that is increasingly resistant to it? How can you work for Shalom in a place rife with racial and socioeconomic division?

We're gathered some of the best teachers and leaders in these areas, men we consider to be good friends and mentors. Dr. Bryan Chapell, Matt Carter, Randy Nabors, Eric Mason, and Daniel Montgomery will show you what it looks like to preach the Gospel, lead change, work for justice, cultivate the arts and build missional churches all in an urban context. We've worked hard to make sure this is not a traditional conference experience where you leave with a book full of notes that you'll never look at again. With three breakout tracks geared towards church planting, the arts, and mercy ministries, the days will be filled with interactive discussion with other urban leaders with the evenings open for concerts and other immersion experiences.

If you are a city leader, pastor or church planter, join us on October 20th-22nd and make this investment in your own leadership and the other leaders on your team. After all, you've been called to offer hope. To repair the brokenness. To plant churches. To engage culture. To lead... in the church, for the city.

For more info, visit: LeadfortheCity.com