What is Shalom?

Jeremiah told the Jewish exiles in Babylon to “seek the peace (shalom) and prosperity of the city… Pray to the LORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.” As Christians, we too are pilgrims and exiles in this world (I Peter 1:1; 2:11); therefore, we must also seek the shalom of the city where God has placed us.

Shalom could be defined as “well-being, prosperity, health, fulfillment, completion,” with regard to one’s environment, one’s  own soul, and one’s relationships with his/her neighbor; but the Scriptures also make it abundantly clear that at the very heart of shalom is a reconciled relationship with God Himself through faith in the crucified and risen Messiah, Jesus Christ. For this reason, as we look at the shalom of our city, we put at the heart of our strategy the building of the Church of Jesus Christ, the community of shalom. Without healthy churches, we cannot develop truly healthy neighborhoods, from the perspective of biblical shalom.

As the local church gathers, prays, and seeks to serve its community, it becomes aware of all the needs in the community. As time and opportunity allow, the people of God develop a “theology,” or “world-view,” which teaches them God’s perspective in each of these areas of need. They then begin to develop strategies for ministry; then recruit, train and mobilize competent leaders; and then begin to build working models in each area of ministry.