50
Strategic Cities
2027–2029
3-Year Plan
$55M
Investment
A three-year plan to strengthen the Church in 50 strategic cities, equipping local leaders to plant gospel-centered churches that reach more people and renew their cities.
In many global cities, Christians are less than 2% of the population. People are building careers, raising families, facing suffering, and searching for meaning without the hope of the gospel or support of a church community.
+1.7 Billion
more people will live in cities by 2050
~7 in 10
people worldwide will live in cities by 2050
~90%
of urban growth will occur in Africa and Asia
People need a church that can reach them.
Our response is healthy new churches, city by city.
A church-planting engine brings a city’s churches and local leaders together around a shared strategy to keep recruiting, training, coaching, and funding new church planters, so healthy churches keep multiplying.
Churches and leaders from across the city align around one strategy.
Planters receive training, coaching, tools, and startup funding to launch healthy churches.
New leaders and new churches go on to plant more churches.
City to City equips local leaders to plant gospel-centered churches, work together across their city, and build the capacity for church planting to continue.
In each city, we work alongside local churches and leaders who are already there. Together, we assess the city's needs, develop a shared strategy, and build a church-planting engine to put that strategy into action.
“A vigorous and continuous approach to church planting is the only way to guarantee an increase in the number of believers and is one of the best ways to renew the whole body of Christ.”
Recruit and select: identify qualified church planters with local partners.
Train: two-year Incubators and two-week Intensives in gospel-centered theology, preaching, and practical ministry.
Coach: ongoing mentoring and support as planters lead and grow their churches.
Fund: short-term startup funding for essential launch costs, in partnership with local leaders.
Strategize: help local churches build a shared citywide strategy, combining proven methods with local insight.
Connect: bring churches and leaders together across denominational and organizational lines.
Healthy churches that reach more people, leaders developing leaders, churches planting churches, and citywide networks that keep the work going. Over time, a critical mass of outwardly engaged churches can build momentum toward the renewal of the whole city.
Each church is:
Gospel-centered: keeping the gospel central to its teaching and life
Biblical and contextual: rooted in Scripture while speaking to local culture
Evangelistic and hospitable: welcoming skeptics and helping people encounter Jesus
Devoted to its city: caring for its neighbors, including the poor
Developing disciples and leaders: helping people mature in faith and equipping them to lead
Multiplying: sending leaders to plant new churches
After noticing a lack of Christ-centered discipleship across Accra, Daniel Ofori-Appiah felt called to plant a church. Through mentorship and City to City Africa's Church Planting Intensive in 2025, he experienced a mindset shift. Today, Daniel pastors Rock City Church, discipling 25 weekly attendees and celebrating 13 baptisms this year.
“Ministry is what I do, not who I am; I no longer seek validation through ministry success.”
After completing the Gauteng Alliance Church Planting Residency and receiving a micro-grant, John Mangwiro returned to Mbombela to plant a gospel-centered church. What began as a small home gathering grew into four active communities across the city, with a core team of nearly 40 leaders preparing for the official launch.
When Pastor Melvin Howse unexpectedly inherited his father’s struggling church without formal training, he joined the Chicago Partnership's Church Leadership Cohort. The training and network provided encouragement, key ministry partnerships, and essential funding to repair their building. Today, Melvin and two of his leaders are actively revitalizing their church's legacy on the South Side of Chicago.
100 cities. 10,000 churches. 10 years.
Building the capacity for church planting to continue.
We start with 50 cities in 2027–2029. Later phases will expand to additional cities while sustaining and strengthening the work already underway.
City to City is already working in all 50 cities. Twenty cities already have full church-planting engines today.
Phase One will strengthen them and build the other thirty.
We invest in cities where strategic influence, ministry opportunity, and local leadership are aligned.
New churches reach people that established churches aren’t. They raise up new kinds of leaders and bring fresh vision and energy to the churches around them.
“A vigorous and continuous approach to church planting is the only way to guarantee an increase in the number of believers and is one of the best ways to renew the whole body of Christ.”
But no single church, organization, or network can reach a city alone.
667
Churches planted, replanted, or revitalized in FY26
19,471
Leaders trained in FY26
909
Leaders coached in FY26
39
Training languages this past year
One year of support builds and runs a city's church-planting engine, paying for local leadership, training and coaching for church planters, and seed funding for new churches. Costs vary by city and stage of development.
On average, one engine trains and coaches 200 leaders and plants or revitalizes 5–25 churches in a year. Newer engines start smaller and grow.
2027
Launch & Strengthen
2028
Expand & Deepen
2029
Scale & Sustain
| Investment Area | 2027 | 2027-2029 | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Training Programs | $4.8M | $17.6M | 32% |
| Leadership Development & Coaching | $2.6M | $9.5M | 17% |
| Regional Strategic Services | $1.5M | $5.5M | 10% |
| Content, Tools & Translation | $2.4M | $8.8M | 16% |
| Church-Planting Seed Funding | $0.7M | $2.6M | 5% |
| Global Support & Infrastructure | $3.0M | $11.0M | 20% |
| Total | $15.0M | $55.0M | 100% |
Local leaders shape the strategy and implementation for their city. Each engine works from an approved plan, budget, and measurable goals, and reports on progress regularly, so you can see what your investment produced.
Churches planted or revitalized worldwide
Choose how you want your investment to support Phase One.
1
Choose one of three funds, each focused on a different type of city:
Unreached Cities Fund
Support church planting in cities where the Church is less than 2% and millions need a church that can reach them.
Reviving Cities Fund
Invest in cities where the Church is growing and opportunities for real renewal are emerging.
Influential Cities Fund
Strengthen church planting in cities whose culture, institutions, and ideas shape lives far beyond their borders.
2
Invest in church planting across one of City to City's eight global regions.
3
Provide flexible support that lets City to City direct resources to the greatest needs and opportunities across all regions and cities in Phase One.
Illustrative examples of how gifts of different sizes are used, however you direct yours.
Ongoing, in-person coaching as a planter launches a new church.
Startup funding to help establish a new congregation.
A two-week intensive that prepares pastors to plant churches in their cities.
One year of City to City's flagship training for a cohort of church planters.
About one year of support for an entire city engine.
*Giving levels are illustrative. Investments are deployed according to the needs and approved plan of each city or region.
Help equip local leaders and strengthen healthy churches so more people can hear the gospel.
We would welcome a conversation about how your investment can help reach more people with the gospel, whether it’s a 2027 gift or a multi-year commitment to Phase One.
