There I was. Praying alongside 3,000 leaders who had come from cities around the world—Beijing, Sidney, Cape Town, London—now gathered together in one place, the Javits Center in New York City. Each morning of the conference, we lifted prayers to the Lord asking for inspiration and guidance as we addressed the urgent need to transform our cities. It was Movement Day, Global Cities 2016.

We came from distant places, but we were speaking the same language: the language of the Word of God. All of us knew that the mission has not changed in these 2,000 years, that we are still called to preach that “God has raised this very Jesus from death, and we are all witnesses to this fact” (Acts 2:32, GNT). What has changed, however, is the territory. Cities and their residents have been changing rapidly, and radically. These new challenges were emphasized in the evening tracks at Movement Day.

From apologetics to social activism, from homelessness to Hollywood, a wide scope of topics was covered in a discussion of mission strategy. Ultimately, to talk about the city is to talk about a complex group of people with different fears and joys, values and backgrounds, who live in close proximity to each other. Urban growth is exorbitant. Experts say that 70 percent of the world population will be urban by 2050. This is the challenge before us.

One highlight for me was a workshop presented by Cru ministries—“The Changing Face of Evangelism and the Well-being of the City.” They coined the term CoJourners, which they explained as “not a method or a program, but a way of thinking.” It rests in the conviction that every person, by the very fact of being created by God, is already on a spiritual journey—whether they know it or not. The Cojourners paradigm creates a space and equips Christians for conversational evangelism, a spiritual dialogue that makes explicit our neighbor’s journey and redirects him or her to Christ. Cru suggests four specific roles we might play as we come alongside others on their spiritual journey.

I believe these four roles could apply to a Scripture engagement ministry as well as evangelism.

1. Explorer

You can come to another person’s journey as an explorer. In order to discover insights into their spiritual life we can use two approaches: questioning and listening. A proper question could give us an insight into a person’s journey and an opportunity to redirect it. They start from somewhere on their journey; we can ask where they’re coming from.

2. Guide

You can enter as a guide. Once a friend—or a stranger—has opened up about their stories, we can show them how we have come to Christ. As we apply this process to Scripture engagement, we easily see how leaders can guide people in the reading-and-learning process by sharing their own experiences.

3. Builder

You could also be a builder. You’re building roads and bridges, designing ways to overcome obstacles and help people get where they need to go. The obstacles are cultural, intellectual, social, and spiritual. In evangelism, you use tools of prayer and gentle persuasion. Bible engagement leadership would require creative communication. How can you pave a way into the knowledge of the Lord and his Word?

4. Mentor

Finally, you could be a mentor. This person’s role is to encourage and inspire others to continue on their journey. For this, we use the instruments of relational connection and life concepts that we have learned on our own journeys. This is not a matter of instruction as much as coaching. In Bible engagement leadership, it means helping others find ways to keep hearing the voice of God in Scripture, by sharing what has helped us.

We journey alongside others in our communities, others who may have gone astray, who may be hungering for God’s Word, whether they know it or not. We also serve people in our churches who are on a journey toward greater intimacy with God. Our ministries will be more effective if we journey with them—exploring, guiding, building, and mentoring—keeping in step with the Spirit.