Auckland will be home to two million people by the early 2030s, according to projections made by Statistics NZ.
The new report says the city, which is the country's fastest growing region, will account for three-fifths of the country's population growth between 2013 and 2043.
The rise will lift the current 34 out of 100 people in New Zealand living in Auckland to 40 out of 100 by 2043. Supply & demand affects increasing property values which also affect ministries, churches and missionaries
More than 200 ethnic groups are recorded as living here and Auckland is considered more diverse than London or Sydney, with 40 per cent of its population made up of different ethnicities. NZ Herald
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| Auckland is a busy urban center, NZ's largest city and extremely ethnically diverse. |
PAUL’S CHURCH PLANTING STRATEGIES IN THE BOOK OF ACTS
Urban Evangelism and Church Planting
Paul focused intentionally on urban church planting. His strategy to make disciples began with evangelizing the cities and planting local churches in them. In each of Paul’s missionary journeys, he crossed the Mediterranean world, going from city to city with his message and establishing churches. For Paul, the city was the natural place to preach the gospel and plant churches. He recognized it as the flashpoint from which the gospel would spread out to surrounding areas. Referring to Paul’s three missionary journeys, John Stott wrote, “In each case the missionary journeys included the capital cities in their itinerary—Thessalonica being Macedonia’s capital, and Corinth being Achaia’s, and Ephesus being Asia’s.”
Paul considered the cities as the most strategic places and among his highest priorities for his church events. Paul’s strategies included preaching the gospel in the cities, and from there the gospel could spread to the rural areas surrounding each metropolitan center. As a result, the entire regions and provinces ultimately heard the gospel. Roger S. Greenway stated, “Paul proved himself as an effective urban strategist in evangelizing the towns and cities.” He established his goal to evangelize the cities and towns at every available opportunity. He realized that the cities are the strongholds of social evils, and that, planting churches vibrating in proclaiming the gospel and making disciples, is the only power to combat them.
Allen wrote, “It is not enough for the church to be established in a place where many are coming and going unless the people who come and go not only learn the Gospel, but also learn it in such a way that they can propagate it. When he had occupied two or three centers he had really and effectually occupied the province.” When one looks at those places, each city or metropolitan center is situated on a major Roman road or is located near a major seaport. These represented former great trading centers which attracted many immigrants from all over the known world. Paul beheld the urban centers as evangelistic strategy for reaching the surrounding territories.
To reach out to a person in the name of Jesus Christ in a city is to simultaneously reach out to the rural population. Again, Allen observed, “The centers in which St. Paul established his churches were all centers of Greek civilization. Nearly all the places in which St. Paul established churches were centers of Jewish influence. St. Paul established his churches at places which were centers of the world’s commerce.”
