The City Mission movement started in Glasgow in January 1826 when David Nasmith founded the Glasgow City Mission (Scotland).Encyclopædia Britannica - article on London City Mission It was an interdenominational agency working alongside churches and other Christian agencies to provide for the spiritual and material welfare of those in need.
Agencies in the movement are variously called "City" or "Gospel" or "Rescue" Missions.
History Nasmith visited the United States and Canada in 1830, setting up 31 missions supported by various benevolent institutions. He founded missions in France, as well as the London City Mission, the London Female Mission, the Dublin Christian Mission, and a number of other ministries.Penny Cyclopedia of the Society for the Diffussion of Useful Knowledge, 1859
The first World Conference of City Missions was sponsored by the Sydney City Mission (now Mission Australia) and held in Sydney, Australia, in 1988.
Subsequent conferences were held in: Birmingham, England, 1991 – this formed the City Mission World Association (CMWA) Washington, DC, US, 1994 Helsinki, Finland, 1997 Glasgow, Scotland, 2000 Sydney, Australia, 2003 Kansas City, Missouri, US, 2006
National bodies Australia – Mission Australia (formed 1996, after city missions had been created across the country since 1852) US – Association of Gospel Rescue Missions (founded 1913) UK and Ireland – City Mission Movement UK (formerly British Association of City Missions)City Mission Movement UK
References Website of City Mission World Association, as of 2012, see link below.
External links
Association of Gospel Rescue Missions (US) Mission Australia includes links to the missions in Australian states.