Gospel Ecosystem

I love Toronto. I'm part of a church in the city, and I'm also part of some networks of people who also have a heart for the city. I've posted before about longing for a gospel movement within Toronto, and I'm seeing some encouraging signs - but I hope for more.

That's why I was interested to listen to this podcast interview of Tim Keller. Tim connects some of the pieces in describing what it will take to see a gospel movement or ecosystem within cities. This is bigger than a church or churches growing; it's when churches are growing faster than the population growth, leading to a growing influence on the culture of the city.

Tim mentions six factors he's observed that are in place in a gospel movement, in which the church is growing faster than the population growth and is influencing the culture:

• reproducing churches
• a leadership pipeline through campus work
• faith-work initiatives
• justice and peace initiatives
• educational institutions
• leaders in each of these areas working together

The whole interview is worth hearing, but if you want the gospel ecosystem part, start listening around 16:46.