The water we swim in shapes us in ways we rarely notice. For those of us in Western Protestant traditions, that water is often individualism — and it runs deep enough to blind us to the New Testament's relentless emphasis on unity. What does it cost the cities we serve when the movements and churches within them remain scattered and competitive? And what becomes possible when they don't?

The same Spirit, working across wildly different cities. Practitioners from East Asia to Central Asia keep reporting the same patterns — brokenness opening doors, simple obedience producing fruit, youth moving without waiting for permission.

These aren't coincidences, and they aren't models to copy. They're fingerprints. What does it mean when God's methods look this consistent across such diverse contexts?

Most disciplemakers are wrestling with two hard questions: what stops people from engaging with those far from Jesus, and what stops discipleship from taking root?

But there's a third question that most practitioners never ask — and it transforms the other two. If discipleship can't replicate without you, you may have built dependence, not disciples.

The gap between God's vision for our cities and the reality in front of us is vast — and it refuses to close no matter how much we programme, engineer, or expertise our way toward it.

Sixty urban disciple-makers across Asian cities sat with that tension together, and what emerged wasn't a better strategy. It was a return to something far simpler — and far more reproducible.

What else is left to do?

In the final article of this current series, David shares a critical step that sets up his team to keep learning and growing in effectiveness.

The joy was drying up… there was a disconnect between what David and his team were living and what they were trying to sow.

They needed to take stock and recalibrate. What did they learn?

How can we best serve across contexts and between generations?

Here are three powerful principles that are catalytic and collaborative.

As we wrestle with the complexity of cities, what insights can we gain from the early Christians? What about other significant movements throughout church history?

The idea of ‘love languages” could apply to those whom we serve.

See how we can imitate Jesus who spoke to unique groups of people and individuals about God’s kingdom in a way that they understood.  

“Why don’t people grow up?” 

As pastor of a church, David often found himself asking this question in frustration. His congregation members seemed unmotivated and apathetic.

The urban harvest can seem overwhelming.

Where do we start? How do we offer our 2 fish and 5 loaves in a way that can have a meaningful impact on the brokenness and lostness we see in our cities?

God has an army. The army is not made up of pastors, professors or theologians, but it is filled with ordinary people … like every single one of us.

David Broodryk has been on a long journey into discipleship movements and seeking to see cities impacted by and for Jesus. He recently spent time with several Asian city teams as part of the Urban Wheat Project. Over a series of blog posts I will share some key highlights and reflections from our time together.

Books like 'Bhojpuri Breakthrough’ record the successes of these leaders and others like them.

The Indian leader of this movement reported being challenged recently while he was praying… now he and his team are looking at the cities in his country with fresh eyes.

What are they noticing about the differences and similarities between rural areas and cities?

Engaging Urban Affinities - Part 9

Hunger for wholeness and spiritual hunger are signposts to where God is already working.

But once we've identified spiritual hunger, how do we actually serve it?

Engaging Urban Affinities - Part 4

In this series we're walking through a 4-step framework for engaging urban affinity groups.
This post continues “Step 2”. How do we discern how God is already at work in our urban villages? Observing and 'listening' are crucial steps before identifying how we might join Him and serve.

Cities are complex. There is so much need. So many opportunities and possibilities. You know God is calling you to engage in the urban harvest. You know the task is too big to accomplish by yourself. You know you need a team, but where do you start?

It can be tough carrying a burden for discipleship movement in cities! There can be great encouragement from learning with and from the experiences of peers. That's why peer learning is an important part of the work we are doing in cities.