Urban & Inner-City Mission

Reaching the City with Christ

The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod’s Urban & Inner-City Mission boosts revitalization efforts in city ministries while sharing the Gospel across cultures, and UICM provides resources to help churches provide a spiritual home for people searching for hope and healing.

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Urban & Inner-City Mission offers training to equip leaders in Witness, Mercy and Life Together for community engagement that leads to Christ becoming known in neighborhoods. UICM strives to assist congregations with their efforts to transform the chaos, death and decay that often plagues their cities into communities characterized by peace, life and renewal.

UICM is focused on assisting congregations with engaging their communities to bring about renewal. This engagement occurs through an intentional focus on Witness, Mercy and Life Together.

The resulting renewal stems from a revitalized congregation that has successfully identified who it is, what it believes and what defines it. These factors serve to unite a congregation and enable its members to witness to the hope we all have in Christ.

Priorities
- Creating local and regional urban-ministry partnerships
- Facilitating strategic Lutheran ministry training opportunities that embrace viable community engagement, cultural, generational and ethnic diversity
- Modeling merciful and compassionate care that informs intentional local Gospel outreach
- Nurturing mission and ministry conferences and webinars
- Making Christ known in our cities
Request Information

Please contact our office to receive information on connecting to ministries that address:
- Affordable aging services
- Advocacy
- Community re-entry
- Housing, transitional housing and blight improvement
- Asset-based community planning
- Social enterprise
- Programming for at-risk youth
- Pregnancy resources
- Urban education
- Substance abuse recovery
- Providing for basic needs
These services and programs are empowering, and they will truly be transformative for communities and individuals.

Serving in Ferguson

Rev. Micah Glenn is serving in his first call as executive director of the Lutheran Hope Center in his hometown of Ferguson, Mo. Micah and his wife, Deaconess Dorothy Glenn, extend Christ’s love as LCMS domestic missionaries.

‘Bringing God’s Word to Ferguson’

‘Living Homeless’

Rev. Steve Schave narrates his experience of living among a group of inner-city homeless people in the Over-the-Rhine neighborhood in Cincinnati. He was joined by Rev. John Suguitan of Prince of Peace Lutheran Church.

‘My Night of Living Homeless’

Resources & Services

Grants

The LCMS Office of National Mission accepts grant applications for community projects.

Download application form

Gospel Seeds

Gospel Seeds helps enable neighbors to break the cycles of poverty and struggle.

Learn about Gospel Seeds

Lutheran Housing Support

LHS restores and revitalizes neighborhoods tied to LCMS congregations.

White Paper

Community Development and Caring for the Marginalized

City Case Studies

Presentations

The LCMS shares presentations from an Urban & Inner-City Mission conference. Topics include “Toxic Charity,” “Poverty Cure” and “Building Sustainable Community Alliances.”

Read presentations

Rev. Dr. Steve Schave, Director

Contact Ministry

My Blog

Facebook Page

Join us: Support National Mission today!

Ministry Overview

Urban & Inner-City Mission advances revitalization in city ministries, most of which are multi-ethnic or reach out across cultures with mercy and witness to the Gospel.

Download information sheet

Recent Articles & Stories

Urban and Inner-City Mission – Reporter

Headlines only

Because you care, we share Christ’s love with our neighbors
Thursday, April 26, 2018 4:03:29 PM

‘Mission Field: USA’ new online tool ‘first of its kind’ in LCMS
Friday, January 19, 2018 8:17:24 AM

This feed has 40 articles on 20 pages << < 1 2 3 4 5 > >>

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‘We Believe in the Resurrection’

LCMS Urban and Inner-City Mission presents a documentary that recounts the nearly five-year journey of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Madisonville, Ohio, which persevered amid inner-city strife and socio-economic challenges.

Watch documentary (8:23)

Why do we need city ministry?

Hear what Rev. Steve Schave says about the importance of LCMS Urban & Inner-City Mission, which works to boost revitalization efforts in city ministries that reach out across cultures with the Gospel.

Watch video introduction (2:19)

Join us on the journey