Diverse Teams: Rediscovering an Ancient Approach to Urban Mission

The Brooklyn Bridge stretches across the East River, linking Manhattan and Brooklyn. It stands as an extraordinary testament to human ingenuity and determination. The project cost millions of dollars, resulted in the death of several construction workers, and took fourteen years to finish. Since people were understandably nervous to traverse the world’s longest suspension bridge, the publicity-hungry P. T. Barnum sent twenty-one circus elephants over the bridge to demonstrate its safety (and mar- ket his business). The new bridge connected the cities of Brooklyn and New York. It made possible the connection between various parts of New York and established a foundation for a booming city.

Today, the Bridge’s granite and limestone towers still stand strong. Its Gothic revival arches still capture the imagination. And its pathways still serve as conduits for cars, trains, and pedestrians going about their lives, probably barely aware of the marvel upon which they stand. The Brooklyn Bridge is functional and beautiful. It gets a person across the East River, but it is not just about moving from point A to point B. The journey is made more enjoyable by the experience offered by the Bridge.

This book is about building a bridge to Brooklyn. It is about learn- ing an ancient approach to urban mission, one found in the Book of Acts. It is a book about how that old model can best be used in the cities of today, so that urban churches and ministries can flourish. The book you are hold- ing in your hands is not about Brooklyn, or even about cities, per se. But it is an attempt to build a bridge from the ancient world of the early Church to modern cities, like Brooklyn.