Our Story:

Our story begins in the city. Several of us were working for the shalom of our cities, inviting people to partner and collaborate as the Church of the City, disturbed by the injustices in our communities and encouraged by the signs of hope. God connected the lives of four of us (Brad, Ryan, Evan and Mary) in 2004. We were each talking about the city and were were all asking similiar questions about what could be different. We didn't know much about community transformation but we knew that God had more for our cities. It was a blessing to know that we weren't alone in this work. We committed to walk together. Kingdom Causes in Long Beach was established so we just came under that umbrella and extended the cities covered to include all of us: Bellflower, Torrance and Alhambra in addition to Long Beach. We all became Kingdom Causes cities. Initially (and still!) our hearts were for all of the entire LA Region but we realized we had to start very locally and go deep. We committed to our cities as bridge-builders/catalysts for the Kingdom of God and for the good of the city. We walked together in support of God's calling for us and our cities. God was moving...were there others out there like us?

Turns out there were other people in Southern California who were also being moved by the Lord to gather together around a common passion for loving their neighbors through missional living in under-resourced neighborhoods. A table of friends (Crissy/Costa Mesa, Tommy/Fullerton, Rick/Pomona, Ryan/Bellflower and Anna/Riverside) facilitated/coached by Eleazar Partners (Terri) were meeting consistently for encouragement, prayer and shared learning in working for the good of neighborhoods utilizing asset-based community development tools.  Their story was similar to the Kingdom Causes table...they were grateful to be partnered with those like them who loved their communities and knew the strength of partnership and collaboration. God works in the unity of His people. 

We grew in our conviction that "all of us were better than any of us." God began to integrate these two groups till eventually we officially merged and became Kingdom Causes, a group of catalytic leaders working for the good of our cities utilizing ABCD, church partnerships & city leader collaborations and prayer. 

God continued to grow our hearts and vision; we share God's heart for cities. We soon realized that we had become a regional association of cities and our name needed to reflect more of who we were. So in 2011 we became City Net: a growing number of cities flourishing because together its' residents are building a better community for everyone.  A regional team (City Net) was formed to engage, educate and empower Christian catalytic leaders and collaborative movements in cities and neighborhoods for holistic transformation.

Our new name/logo represents our role as bridge builders among catalytic leaders and collaborative movements in cities throughout Southern California. The net is a web of connectivity, care and concern. Local congregations and other related ministries, organizations, leaders and neighbors are the knots. Our role at City Net is to connect and strengthen the relationships between the knots so that through collaboration and leadership development, community transformation deepens. As an association of cities and catalytic partners, City Net has created a support network that allows city-level mobilization and partnership to develop and flourish. Our network of cities provides opportunities for shared learning, greater leverage and overall care and support. Some of the cities continue to identity themselves as Kingdom Causes cities and are now their own 501c3.

At City Net, we operate as the regional association for these partnered cities in the Southern California area. At the City Net table we share vision, resources, lives and passion for our cities. We dream together for our cities. We believe that together we are better. God continues to show us the value of partnership and team and what it means to find our peace when we are seeking the peace of our communities (Jeremiah 29:7). What is your part of God's story in the city?