Shared Work · Since 2012
Christian placemaking for cities built for thriving.
As the world urbanizes, the WEA Sustainability Center has pioneered how evangelical Christians biblically understand and practically engage with cities — working alongside UN-Habitat and a global coalition of partners to make cities places of thriving for all.
Why cities
Why are cities a primary concern of the WEA Sustainability Center?
An excerpt from the section entitled "God Loves People, Places, and Cities" from the 2018 statement entitled The Gospel and the Future of Cities: A Call to Action best explains in a few sentences the reasons why.
Because God created and loves in-placed people, God is concerned about the places where people live their lives — which today are modern forms of farms, villages, towns, and cities situated within, and dependent upon, the larger gift of creation.
The character and quality of these places — which people are responsible for designing and building — have a direct impact on the wellbeing of human families, individuals, and communities. Furthermore, the design of human settlements also affects the integrity and health of the earth's ecosystems, which humans and all other creatures are dependent on for life.
Christians need to be concerned about the design of cities, towns, and villages. Indeed, it is a legitimate, abiding, and imperative concern for Christians because in God's created order people and places are inextricably tied together. Furthermore, because God is concerned that people dwell in places that are fit for human flourishing, so too should Christians be concerned with the suitability of cities for human flourishing and care of creation.
— From "God Loves People, Places, and Cities," The Gospel and the Future of Cities: A Call to Action, 2018
Read the full statement below to fully understand why the WEA Sustainability Center has become a pioneer and a leader for how Christians biblically understand and holistically engage with cities. The WEA is leading the emergent field of Christian placemaking — that is, actively working on making the cities, towns, and neighborhoods where people live places of thriving for all.
What kind of cities will we create?
The next several decades will produce one of the largest periods of city-building in human history. The question isn't simply whether our cities will grow — they will. The more important question is what kind of cities we will create. Will they separate people from natural systems, or help reconnect them? Can cities become places where people and nature flourish together? Nature-based Solutions offer one important part of that possibility.
Founded in 2012
The Center pioneered this new perspective on cities in the evangelical community starting in 2012 when Dr. Chris Elisara founded the WEA Creation Care Task Force, which later became the WEA Sustainability Center in 2019. Since 2012, several milestones have occurred in the Center's city and Christian placemaking work — some of which are described below.
Cities + Creation
The future is urban.
Cities are where more and more of humanity will live, work, create, worship, raise families, and experience the challenges of a changing climate. That makes cities one of the most important places for creating a flourishing future for people — and for the rest of creation.
Around the world, Creation-based Solutions are reshaping how fast-growing cities plan for flooding, heat, biodiversity and human wellbeing. Explore the data, the big idea, and real cities putting it into practice — from Wuhan's greenway to Quito's rain gardens.
Milestones
A decade of Christian engagement with UN-Habitat.
The Gospel and the Future of Cities Summit
WEA, Urban Shalom Society, and partners convened evangelical leaders ahead of Habitat III — the UN's once-every-20-years global conference on urban development.
The Gospel and the Future of Cities: A Call to Action
Released at UN-Habitat's 9th World Urban Forum, the statement calls the whole church to deeper understanding, love, and care for cities — endorsed by Lausanne Movement, Micah Global, A Rocha International, Tearfund, and others.
A seat at UN-Habitat's SDG Cities Initiative
Dr. Chris Elisara led an official side event — "Mobilizing and Equipping Multi-Faith Organizations to be Key Implementation Partners for SDG11" — opening the door for faith communities in UN-Habitat's flagship programme.
Faith for Cities
The next step in faith-based inclusion within UN-Habitat's SDG Cities Initiative — continuing to catalyze the Christian community's role in shaping thriving cities worldwide.
The Cities Collaborative
A new collaboration platform formed between the WEA and the Lausanne Movement, connecting leaders and catalyzing action for urban shalom — building on the legacy of the Urban Shalom Society.
The milestones, in full
The story behind each milestone.
The Gospel and the Future of Cities: A Call to Action
There are times in history when it is imperative that God's people come together to pray, seek discernment, and act. Such a time was the gathering of evangelical Christians convened by the WEA, Urban Shalom Society, and other partners for the Gospel and the Future of Cities Summit on October 15 – 16, 2016 in Quito, Ecuador. The purpose of the summit was for Christian leaders and organizations concerned about cities to engage with Habitat III, the global conference hosted every 20 years by UN-Habitat immediately following the summit in Quito. Habitat III was the culmination of a three year process of dialogue between experts, civil society, and UN member states about the best practices for urban development. The outcome of Habitat III was an inter-governmental agreement entitled The New Urban Agenda, which is the global road map for urban development for the next twenty years. The outcome of the summit was a statement entitled The Gospel and the Future of Cities: A Call to Action.
As witnesses to the enormous spiritual, social, economic, and environmental challenges posed by today's rapidly urbanizing world — where the world's population currently living in cities will grow from 50% to 70-75% within 20-30 years — the intent of the "Gospel and the Future of Cities: A Call to Action" statement is to motivate and activate the whole church to more deeply understand, love, and care for cities and their inhabitants from God's perspective, and to become better equipped and effective for urban presence, ministry, work, and witness.
The statement was released at the UN-Habitat 9th World Urban Forum (WUF9) in Kuala Lumpur in February 2018. To learn more about the background of the statement, read the WEA's press release at this link.
11th World Urban Forum: Participation in UN-Habitat's Flagship SDG Cities Initiative
The WEA-SC's ongoing engagement with UN-Habitat led to an opportunity for Christian organizations to participate in the development and implementation of UN-Habitat's SDG Cities Initiative. Dr. Chris Elisara, who leads the WEA's Thriving Cities Initiative, led an official side event at the 11th World Urban Forum (WUF11) in Katowice, Poland, June 26-30, 2022. The side event was entitled "Mobilizing and Equipping Multi-Faith Organizations to be Key Implementation Partners for SDG11 Through UN-Habitat's Flagship Programme."
The following videos provide some information about this event.
Faith for Cities: Leading the Initiative's Christian Tradition
Through the leadership of Dr. Chris Elisara, the WEA has a significant role catalyzing the Christian community's involvement in the Faith for Cities initiative. Faith for Cities is the next step in the development of faith-based inclusion in UN-Habitat's SDG Cities Initiative. Learn more about this initiative at this link.
The Formation of the WEA/Lausanne Cities Collaborative
CitiesCollab is a new collaboration platform between the World Evangelical Alliance and the Lausanne Movement. As global networks with deep roots in churches, ministries, and city-focused leaders around the world, its aim is to catalyze transformative initiatives at the national, regional, and global scale that help cities, towns, and villages become places of flourishing commensurate with the shalom of God for all.
The collaboration emerged from conversations between Dr. Chris Elisara, WEA Special Envoy for the Environment, Climate, and Cities, and Dr. Jacob Bloemberg, Lausanne Catalyst for Cities, at the WEA General Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, in October 2025 — building on the legacy of the Urban Shalom Society.
Standing together
Organizations and leaders who have endorsed the Gospel and the Future of Cities: A Call to Action statement (2018)
World Evangelical Alliance: Dr. Chris Elisara, Director WEA Creation Care Task Force.
Lausanne Movement: Dr. Ed Brown, Lausanne Catalyst for Creation Care.
Micah Global: Sheryl Haw, International Director.
Urban Shalom Society: Dr. Ash Barker, Mr. Andre Van Eymeren, Dr. Chris Elisara, Dr. Bryan McCabe, Mr. Michael Mata.
Christian Community Development Association: Noel Castellanos, President.
A Rocha International: Revd. Dave Bookless, Director of Theology.
Tearfund: Paul Cook, Head of Advocacy.
The Congress for the New Urbanism Members Christian Caucus: Leadership Committee: Mr. Mike Watkins, Ms. Sara Joy Proppe, Dr. Chris Elisara, Dr. Eric O. Jacobsen, Mr. Andrew Moore; Mr. Jay Hoekstra.
Institute for Urban Initiatives: Dr. Grace Dyrness.
School of Intercultural Studies Fuller Theological Seminary: Dr. Bryant Myers & Dr. Jude Tiersma-Watson.
Gospel and the Future of Cities Summit, October 15–16, 2016, Quito, Ecuador: Ms. Loida Carriel Espinoza, Dr. Noah Toly, Mr. Andre Van Eymeren, Ms. Juliana Morillo, Dr. Ashley Barker, Dr. Christopher Miller, Ms. KrisTina Mata, Mr. Michael Mata, Dr. Richard E. Waldrop, Mr. John Liotti, Dr. Bryan McCabe, Mr. Frank Carrascoza, Dr. Mary Nelson, Mr. Eric Swanson, Dr. Chris Elisara.
Add your voice
Join the call for cities built for thriving.
Read the full statement, or add your name as an individual or on behalf of your organization.