I could not help but notice in recent years that national and state politics have been ruled by the cities. The fact is that in Pennsylvania, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh determine statewide elections. There is influence in the cities of our nation. So, where is the gospel’s presence in the cities? There has been a movement out of the urban centers of the sound, evangelical, bible church for the past 30 years. Church growth gurus told us that we needed land, parking, and “safe” surroundings to grow our churches. The net result is that we turned the population in the cities over to the liberal or ethnic church with untrained pastors and social gospel proponents. Shame on us! We cannot and should not criticize those living in the cities for voting for a particular philosophy or policies when we have left them and stopped having an influence on their thinking. Problems like abortions, welfare, pornography, crime, and drugs are intense in the city. The answer is the gospel, not more police. No more government programs. No more social work. We need churches where God’s people grow in the truth of God’s Word and learn how to live out the gospel. Again, this is just another indicator of how important it is to influence the cities. The fact is that all foreseeable elections can only be won by going through the cities. This past election has awakened the city to the reality that they outnumber everyone else. Look at all of the large churches that surround Lancaster County and the small amount of money that they give back to the city for ministry. Something has got to change, and I say it is the church aggressively attempting to reach the cities. If you look at Paul’s missionary strategy, he first went into the cities. He set up a spiritual beachhead and then moved outward. The cities offered the Apostle a greater number of people, a cross section of familia and ethnic groups, transient commerce that could take the gospel with them when they were finished with their business, and it was easy to build on the present “religious” community already operating in the cities. I believe evangelicals need to do the same. The fact is that most of the “young evangelicals” have found their way into the cities. The art community is resident in cities. Food establishments are in the cities. Businesses and entertainment make the city their home. The only main institution that continues to flee the city is churches. What say you?