Summary: This book provides a comprehensive look at the basic principles, underlying problems, helpful research data, workable models, successful programs, and innovative practices in urban religious education. (An urban church is defined in this book as one located in a city in which at least 50,000 persons live within the city limits.)

Spirit of the Book: The spirit of this practical book is inventiveness and innovativeness in using vision, theory, research data, and experience in an urban setting to fashion workable ways of making religion relevant and exciting to all sorts of urban dwellers. This book is permeated with a love and respect for persons living in the cities, and of the endless possibilities to bring them to religion by savvy urban religious educators.

What this Book Gives You: If you are involved in any way in urban religious education, this is the book for you. It gives you virtually everything you need to know about working successfully in urban religious education ministry. It gives you a very helpful blend of vision, theory, concrete models, and street-wise practices which are necessary for successful religious education in the city.

Distinctiveness: Why this Book is Special: The obvious distinctiveness of this book is that it is the only major volume on religious education in an urban setting. But this book is also special in that the chapter authors are a unique and wonderful combination of successful practitioners in urban religious education, persons in charge of preparing religious educators for work in the city, and scholars specializing in urban religious education.

Major Features: Some major features of this very helpful book include: (1) treatment of all age levels; (2) comprehensive coverage of virtually all dimensions of effective religious education in an urban setting; (3) emphasis on empowering urban religious educator to develop their own ways of religious education rather than having to depend on models developed by others (and which often do not work in a particular city environment)

Chapters
1. Introduction: Breaking Through to a New Urban Church Ministry
2. From Setting to Theory: Principles of Urban Church Education
3. Christian Religious Education and the Inner City
4. Glimpses of the Kingdom in the Urban Church
5. Christian Literacy, the Core Curriculum, and the Urban Church
6. Spiritual Formation in Urban Church Education
7. A History of Religious Education in the Black Church
8. Learning to Face Diversify in Urban Churches
9. Discipleship for All God's People in the Urban Church
10. Doing Your Own Urban Church Research
11. Models for Urban Youth Ministry; Goals, Styles, and Contexts
12. Urban Church Growth through Adult Religious Education
13. Biblical Storytelling in the City
14. Two Proven Weekday Alternatives in Urban Religious Education
15. Two Camping Models for the Urban Church: In the City and Out of It
16. Other Models for Urban Church Education (Briefly Noted)

Contributors: The distinguished contributors to this volume include: Letty Russell, William Rogers, Colleen Birchett, Tom Boomershine, Capitola Newbern, Chris Michael, Kay Kupper Berg, C. Renee Rust, Robert Jones, Lawrence Falk, Bill Gambrell, Richard Stackpole, Terry Heck, Ron Robotham, Nelly Metz, and Donald Rogers. Really an all-star cast.

Praise for this Book: Much praise for this useful book:

A review in PRINCETON SEMINARY BULLETIN states: "This book triumphs in its aims. Models are shared. Here is a book to be turned to over and over again."

A review in RELIGIOUS EDUCATION calls this "a thoughtful book. It is an excellent choice for persons involved in urban church education."

D. CAMPBELL WYCKOFF, Princeton Theological Seminary (emeritus) and editor of RENEWING THE SUNDAY SCHOOL AND THE CCD says that this is "a downright practical book. A wide range of models is presented, some tired and true, some excitingly innovative."

GERALD AUSTIN, nationally known urban church expert and president of the Center for Urban Mission writes: "This is one of the finest pieces of work I have read in the field of urban church education. If you are like me, desiring to effectively impact the urban context, you will find this book a valuable tool., I heartily recommend it."

Price and Such:
231 pages List Price: $21.95 ISBN 0-89135-070-5

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