Evangelism as Life-affirming Activity in the City Darrell Jackson Revd Dr Darrell Jackson is senior lecturer in Missiology at Morling College, affiliated with the Australian College of Theology and the University of Divinity, and is an ordained British Baptist minister. Abstract In this article I will reflect on my role as a theological educator as I seek to engage students with the missiological context and challenge of the city, particularly Sydney, Australia. The article assumes that life-affirming evangelism in the city requires adoption of the posture of a resident stranger in the city; an appreciation for the biblical narratives of creation, fall, redemption, restoration, and the contribution these make to an understanding of God’s life- affirming mission in the city; an openness to the likelihood of multiple and diverse responses to the city; and a commitment to developing life-affirming practices that are potentially evangelistic. Finally, I reflect on urban and suburban aspiration and consider how this is best engaged by the practice and witness of life-affirming evangelism. “When the Stranger says: ‘What is the meaning of this city? Do you huddle together because you love each other?’ What will you answer? ‘We all dwell together to make money from each other.’ or ‘This is a community.’?” (T.S. Eliot, Choruses from the Rock, 1934) As a theological educator and missiologist teaching an undergraduate unit on urban mission in an evangelical seminary, I encourage students to assume, or at least con- sider, the posture of the stranger in Eliot’s poem. One could immediately retort that in the city we are all strangers to some extent. In fact, it is probably more accurate to suggest that we exist in a state of constant equilibrium along various points of a continuum stretching from stranger to friend. Nevertheless, I believe that assuming the posture of the stranger is a helpful exercise because it creates a space within which it is possible to explore several of the key issues that are central to any discussion of life-affirming evangelism in the city. 62 Copyright VC (2016) World Council of Churches