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WHDL - 00014543

Can Anything Good Come out of San Bernardino?: Creating an Urban Ecclesiology from one of America’s “Worst Cities”

Steven Erick Martinez

William Broadhurst Library at Nazarene Theological Seminary

Resource Types

Academic (Thesis, Dissertation, Etc.)

Resource Languages

English

Institutional Repository

Description / Abstract

Ecclesiology is the theological understanding of the Church as a present reality and the Church’s mission in the world. The majority of the global population has shifted toward urban centers. Simultaneously, contemporary ecclesiology models are based upon outdated cultural understandings and geared to equip ministry for rural and suburban communities. What is needed is an Urban Ecclesiology that is rooted in a local congregational community that can be modeled and modified for broad application to push the Church forward in engaging the urban reality.

Therefore, this project will seek to develop the foundations of an Urban Ecclesiology that will help form and inform churches in the hearts of our cities to pursue the specific vision of what God is calling them to do in their current location. At the same time, the project will remain faithful to the Church of the Nazarene and the Church Universal's theological foundations. This study will demonstrate that an Urban Ecclesiology will be identifiable by reflecting three key factors: 1. Biblical in its creation, 2. Immigrant in its adaptability, and 3. Liberating in its application.