The Here’s Life Inner City strategy recognizes the immense complexity of the causes, symptoms and solutions to inner-city poverty. It does not seek to impose a comprehensive plan upon inner-city communities.

       Rather, the plan is one that is built from the bottom up. It starts with a historically stable institution within the inner city, the church, and ends as a movement — a movement sensitive to the needs of its community, empowered by the Holy Spirit, and energized by a unified Body of Christ.

       Into the fabric of all that we do are woven five basic operating principles. These principles, distilled from hundreds of hours of interviews with inner-city leaders, cannot be violated if we are to be successful in our mission:

1. Effective urban ministry is empowering, not paternalistic — offering resources to existing ministries to help them fulfill their potential of ministering to the people of the inner city.
2. Effective urban ministry is wholistic in scope — the ministry needs to be committed to addressing the needs of the whole person — body, soul, and spirit.
3. Effective urban ministry emphasizes relationships as a foundation for programs — investment in long-term relationships, not short-term programs, ultimately leads to lasting change.
4. Effective urban ministry addresses the root causes of problems, not just their symptoms — biblical issues of poverty, injustice, greed, and power must be addressed.
5. Effective urban ministry affirms cultural diversity — resources and training must be delivered in a culturally relevant context.