Feeding More With 5 Loaves and 2 Fishes: Urban Villages Can Help Your Team Focus
By S. Crawley
Photo by Kate Remmer on Unsplash
Recently I sat in a room with ministry leaders from several different cities across Asia.
Despite our diversity—different cultures, languages, political contexts, personality types—we were all asking similar questions and facing similar challenges.
The harvest fields are vast.
6 million. 8 million. 25 million.
The labourers very few.
11%. 5%. 0.3%.
The task 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?
As we journey together, we’re discovering a framework that's helping us approach our cities in ways that are intentional and strategic, and still depend entirely on God’s leading and working. We call it the “urban village”, and it's proving useful across a range of very different Asian cities.
The Problem with Our Assumptions
The historical origins of most of our frameworks for church and community were settings with relatively low population density and stable relationships. This was true even in early cities.
But there have been big changes in recent decades, and cities today present us with two key dynamics that change everything:
Population Density: We’re continually surrounded by thousands and thousands of potential relationships. Unlike rural settings where relationship options are limited, urban dwellers can choose from countless communities, clubs, interest groups, and social networks.
Relationship Fluidity: When relationships become challenging, urban people can shift easily to other options. Don't like this church? There's another one down the road. Frustrated with this group? Easy to find a new one. This isn't necessarily an issue of commitment—it's an urban reality shaped by choice and mobility.
These dynamics create what we see in many urban churches: people move freely between communities, commitment levels vary widely, and building deep, stable relationships requires different approaches than what worked in previous generations.
Urban dwellers today are relationally mobile, and they are pulled in many different directions. But at the heart of this freedom, there is still a God-shaped longing for community and connection.
Understanding Urban Villages
Cities are massive and complex, but they're not chaotic. If you look closely, you'll see thousands of smaller communities—what we call urban villages—that operate within the larger urban system.
An urban village is a group of people who are connected with each other, often due to shared needs, interests, or causes. Think of a sporting club, the teachers at a specific school, the regulars at your local cafe or bar, or the parents connected through a particular childcare center. These aren't random gatherings—they're real communities with their own culture, relationships, and dynamics.
When we look at these urban villages, we see three broad groups of people:
The Core
Every village has people who are at the heart of the community. They've been part of the furniture for years, maybe decades. Some are behind-the-scenes contributors, others are conversation leaders. They might almost have a pastoral role—when a new person shows up, they put their arm around them and explain how things work. When someone doesn't show up for a week or two, they're making the phone call: "Hey, are you okay?"
They're functioning as the leaders in that community. They're caring for people as they know how, steering the community in directions they believe are good. Yes, there may be dysfunction mixed in, but ‘The Core’ has a genuine sense of influence and responsibility.
The Connected
They're regular participants in the village, and people trust them, but they're not the primary culture drivers or decision-makers. They identify themselves as part of the village, and there is a clear sense of belonging, but they're not at the centre.
The Casual
These folks are present but not deeply connected. They might be just passing through, but they could be considering putting down roots, or they may disappear as soon as things get uncomfortable. They participate but are not committed and don't have significant influence.
This is one way of describing the shape of human activity in the city, and it seems to hold fairly true across many different cultural contexts.
One way to visualise an urban village…
What about God?
There’s a lot that can be said about God’s activity in the city, but here is one nugget that has been especially significant for us.
In Acts 17:26-27, Paul explains that God, "appointed the times and places that men should live so that they might reach out to him." The urban village where someone participates isn't accidental. We can trust that God has placed people in specific communities for specific purposes.
When Paul preached in Athens, he didn't ignore the existing cultural and religious context. He built on what was already there, using the altar to the "unknown God" as a bridge to what God wanted to do next. He recognized that God had been preparing the ground, creating awareness and hunger that the gospel could connect with.
This same principle applies to urban villages. God is already at work in the local school communities, the workplace teams, and the sporting clubs. The opportunity for us is to recognise how God might want to work through these communities and sow discipleship into them.
How These Insights Increase Our Capacity on the Ground
Understanding God's sovereignty and the social dynamics in an urban village raises several important questions that help us think strategically about where to invest our limited time and energy.
Which village are we called to serve?
We may sense God calling us to reach a particular affinity group—say, people who connect around football— but in a city, this may still be too broad to engage meaningfully.
People who love football might be found in clubs (playing), pubs (watching), or after-school training (supporting kids). Each represents a different village with different dynamics, different needs and different opportunities. Getting clarity on the village(s) we’re called to serve will help us engage them better.
How can we serve spiritual hunger where God is stirring it?
Instead of asking people to leave their existing communities to join our programs, we ask how discipleship might happen within their natural communities.
What would it look like for the kingdom to come to this football club rather than asking members to leave their community space to join activities that are centred around a church building?
Which members of the urban village are we called to serve?
If we want to see transformation in a particular village, connecting with ‘The Core’ will have a different impact than connecting with ‘The Casual’. Both groups matter to God, but we need to be faithful to the assignment.
When Jesus sent His disciples to the villages He was about to visit, He very deliberately told them to ignore people they passed on the road (Lk 10:1-12). For that particular assignment, they were sent to people who were in their homes, embedded in the community.
What’s our assignment?
If the goal is to bring people into our community spaces, we should focus on serving ‘The Casual’ and invite them into our spaces. If the vision is blessing and transformation for the whole village, we need to focus on ‘The Core’ or ‘The Connected’, serving them where God has placed them.
Are my expectations realistic?
Most of us participate in multiple urban villages simultaneously.
We can't be at the core of every community we're participate in — and that's okay. Our goal should be to be alert and responsive to God’s invitations, and intentionally and faithfully steward what He is calling us to do.
We don’t need to burn ourselves out trying to live up to someone else’s ideal of a “good Christian”.
Equipping Your Team or Congregation
This framework opens up effective ways for you to help your team or congregation think about their spheres of influence:
Village Mapping: Help people identify the urban villages they're already part of. Where do they have regular, meaningful relationships? Which communities would notice if they disappeared for a few weeks?
Discerning the Assignment: Of all the villages someone participates in, which one or two might God be calling them to invest in more deeply? Where do they sense spiritual hunger? Where do they see opportunities to serve and add value?
Possibilities are always infinite with the Lord of Creation, be we are not, and thankfully, He knows it! What is the one thing or the next thing He is inviting us into?
Strategy Development: How might someone move from the edges of a village towards The Core as they sense God's leading? What would it look like to serve the felt needs of the community (and 'Rhe Core') rather than trying to persuade members of the village to join external religious activities?
Multiplication Thinking: How can we disciple people within a village in a way that it can naturally overflow into existing relationships?
The urban harvest can overwhelming, but the idea of urban villages helps us break it down in to bite-sized pieces for our teams and even cell groups.
We can depend on God’s sovereignty and activity in these villages, but are we ready to wrestle with new ways of serving and discipling people where He has placed them?
For Reflection
A Scripture: Acts 17:26-27. What does this passage tell us about God's sovereign placement of people in specific communities and urban villages?
A thoughtful question: How does reflecting on God's sovereignty over the "appointed times and places" change the way you view the urban villages you encounter daily?
A possible application: In light of the Core/Connected/Casual dynamics, what changes could you make to increase the Kingdom impact of your time and energy?
Discipling the Urban Harvest provides practical insights and encouragement to walk with God in multiplying discipleship in an increasingly urban world - growing as children of the Father, serving the communities He has called us to, and discipling those hungry to know Him.