City church Q&A with Jason Dukes

The Upstream Collective recently had the opportunity to talk with Jason Dukes about the concept of the city church. Below the co-leader of the Reproducing Churches Network, author and pastor shares about how to define “city church” and why church planters should take note of this idea.

The Upstream Collective (UC): In your own words, what is “city church?”
Jason Dukes (JD): Every local expression of church in a city giving themselves away together to cultivate the Gospel throughout their city so they might see “on earth as it is in heaven” there.

UC: Why city church?
JD: Because the New Testament does not describe the church in terms of entity, but rather in terms of evidence. In America, we have defined church more by our doctrinal distinctiveness than we have by our common Savior and His commands to love. Because Jesus prayed for the unity of His followers. Because it is highly questionable for someone to go into a city and care nothing about what other followers of Jesus are already doing there before that someone arrived. Because based on what Jesus prays (John 17:18-23) and commands (John 13:34-35), our love for one another shows we know Him and live His ways. Because based on the ways every epistle writer describes the church, our unity around the Gospel is what compels us to see “the Kingdom is here” in our own cities rather than the fiefdoms to which we tend to give our energy.

UC: How can the city church impact a church planter in the United States?
JD: In three basic ways, although certainly more exist: One, he will not plant a church; rather, he will plant the Gospel and let God blossom His church in his family, on their street, in the marketplace, in the local community and around the world. Two, he will not cast a vision to grow a 501c3. Rather, he will cast a vision for “on earth as it is in heaven” in his city, which goes far beyond gathering people to hear him teach, and requires the security to actually equip a people who plant the Gospel in their spheres of influence, as well. Three, he will not be satisfied with simply starting one new local expression of the church; rather, he will make it imperative in the starting of a new expression to get to know the other people cultivating the Gospel in his city and see how they can together plant the Gospel, as well as start new expressions of the church throughout their city and around the world.

UC: How is the city church important/valuable in fulfilling the Great Commission?
JD: I am not trying to sound like a simpleton here, but if I take the prayer Jesus prays in John 17 seriously, then one cannot fulfill the Great Commission without thinking in terms of “city church.” Jesus prays in John 17:18-23 that His followers and those who would believe from their witness would be one with the Father, as Jesus was. He prays they would be consecrated for the work of God, which He actually defines in John 6:29, “that you believe in him whom he has sent.” In John 17, Jesus prays that when His followers are consecrated in unity for the work of God, “the world may know that you sent me.” If I understand what Jesus is saying here correctly, and if I believe that fulfilling the Great Commission is synonymous with the “work of God,” then I can only conclude the Great Commission cannot be fulfilled without the unity of Jesus’ followers around the work of God. Therefore I would suggest, without thinking and living in terms of “city church,” the Great Commission couldn’t be fulfilled in our city or around the world.