Awakening Faith: Hope From the Global Churchਨਮੂਨਾ

Exiles in Babylon

He had seen the stage lights. He had preached to thousands and watched crowds surge forward in response. By many measures, he was “successful.” But sitting with me, his eyes told a different story.

He carried a deep longing for something more. Raised in the city, he knew firsthand the brokenness that lurks in its streets: families fractured, violence simmering, hope eroding. His heart ached for his hometown outside Greenville, South Carolina. What he longed for wasn’t just raised hands or full pews. He longed for gospel renewal that could heal neighborhoods, restore families, and change the very fabric of the city.

That longing echoed the call God gave His people in exile: “Seek the peace and prosperity of the city… pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.” (Jer. 29:7) Even in a land not their own, God called His people to be agents of blessing.

This pastor’s vision was for something more. He saw that the true measure of gospel power is not just in decisions made, but in communities transformed by transformed lives.

And that brings us to a question: how are you seeking the good of your city? Not someday, not somewhere else, but right where you live. In your workplace, your neighborhood, your school board, your street. God has placed you where you are on purpose, with a mission to bless.