Keller on an essential component of planting lasting churches in cities:

When you try to reach a city, he said, you’ll encounter four kinds of people. “Commuters” are just in the city to get something done—get a degree or a credential, earn a first million, and move away. “Survivors” are stuck in the city for economic reasons. “Tourists” love the energy and excitement of the city but have no real investment in its life. “Natives” are deeply invested, but they likely take it a bit for granted or take some pride in having survived it.

To reach a city though, you need a fifth kind of person: lovers. A leader who wants to reach a city needs to pray that God would make lovers of the other four—people who will be the core of a community that is committed to plant a church, serve the poor, or fulfill whatever purpose God has for them. Lovers will care about the streets, they’ll care about public safety, they’ll care about schools, they’ll care about the plausibility of the church’s witness, and—as he mentioned time and again over the course of his ministry—they’ll stay. The city won’t be a step on a ladder to something else; it’ll be a place to dig roots and devote a life to.

– Mike Cosper, CT.