Advancing Hope
A movement gains momentum across North America – An Instigate Article
by Tom De Vries
February 3, 2026 – In a hopeless world, where can hope be found? As economic, societal, and political forces create increased frustration and despair, how do Christ followers inject influence that changes the status quo and provides solutions to the challenges that surround us?
Homelessness, addiction, and mental health represent North America’s greatest humanitarian crisis today. With no resolution in sight for the continued double-digit growth in homelessness, Christian leaders must step up with renewed commitment to address these challenges.
Beginning in the early 1900s, Citygate Network (previously known as the International Union of Gospel Missions and the Association of Gospel Rescue Missions) united and supported fledgling missions reaching out to the downtrodden with soup, soap, and salvation. This same heart continues to beat in our 21st-century organization. Over the years, it has grown and evolved to do far more, just as its members have grown and evolved to do more than offer “three hots and a cot.”
A movement that matters
movement (noun): a group of people with a particular
set of aims or ideas; a series of organized activities
working toward an objective; an organized effort to
promote or attain an end.*
We launch into 2026 as a movement uniting more than emergency shelters and short-term “rescue.” Our
membership now represents a wide variety of life transformation ministries, including addiction recovery centers, prison outreach ministries, day centers, and human-trafficking rescue programs, to name a few. Citygate Network members continue to offer a cup of water to the thirsty and a warm bed to the weary in
Jesus’s name, but today the invitation to life transformation extends beyond treating the symptoms to addressing the root causes and bringing healing to thebroken places.
We are a movement of gospel-powered life transformation missions and ministries who:
- Are champions for the poor and marginalized, for those who are hungry, homeless, abused, and addicted.
- Boldly bring God’s message of hope and transformation to people in the most challenging and difficult places.
- Love and serve in Jesus’s name, desiring to see people rescued out of crisis to experience healing and restoration.
As Citygate Network members lean into innovative ministry that makes an impact, we believe our calling is confirmed: We exist to equip leaders and organizations with support, best practices, and a strong network that supports moving people from crisis to stability and toward lives of flourishing. Because together we can leverage our collective influence to reduce homelessness, break cycles of addiction and trauma, and strengthen communities so that more individuals experience true life transformation.
Mission momentum
momentum (noun): strength or force gained by motion or
by a series of events; the quality that keeps an event
developing or making progress after it has started;
mass in motion.*
Looking back, I clearly felt the anticipation begin to build at my first board of directors meeting as president and CEO of Citygate Network in the fall of 2023. That’s when we began exploring the concept of generating a movement rather than simply building the association. We spent the ensuing months writing a strategic plan, developing clearer ministry definition and direction, and creating guiding principles and a strategy map to implement initiatives that would get us where we believe God has called us to go. Together, we defined our strategic focus and vision.
Strategic focus: Citygate Network empowers life transformation ministries through engagement, relationships, resources, and advocacy to help people move from suffering to flourishing. Vision: to advance the influence and impact of gospel-centered ministries and organizations to alleviate poverty, eradicate homelessness, overcome addiction, reduce mental health challenges, and empower life transformation. A vision should inspire. It should paint a picture that arouses emotion and captures imagination.
Imagine … hurts being healed, the lost being found, the hungry being fed, peace overcoming brokenness, hope replacing despair, freedom conquering addiction, relationships restored, lives transformed by the love of Christ.
Imagine … Citygate Network, impacting our world.
Momentum builds gradually. When you watch a wave as it forms, it begins to swell, almost in slow motion. Once it reaches the peak and curls over, it takes shape and builds force, gaining momentum as it breaks towards the shore. Nothing can stop it then.
Over the last several years, we have begun to see the signs of our movement gaining momentum: Both Citygate Network and its members have become increasingly proactive rather than reactive; more and more legislation supports the work of life transformation; public empathy has shifted; funding has come from both new and existing sources; spiritual transformation has begun to multiply; and more people have become aware of the root causes of homelessness and ways to address them.
Missional anchors
By definition, an anchor serves to hold an object firmly. Our missional anchors serve to keep us firmly attached to our mission, moving us toward our strategic objectives:
Connection & Community
We invest in relationships that generate connection and community where people are encouraged and equipped for greater ministry.
Leadership & Learning
We develop catalytic events and learning experiences where people can engage for growth and leadership development.
Innovation & Impact
We curate and create resources and best practices for our ministries, providing a foundation through which they can help people move from suffering to flourishing.
Over the last year, we have increasingly operated from three strategic priorities born out of these missional anchors. In an effort to Cultivate Growth, we have committed to see our ministry leaders grow in fulfilling the calling that God has placed on their lives and leadership. We seek to Multiply Impact through actively developing environments of innovation, providing creative pathways of relevant and cutting-edge communication and generating partnerships that increase Kingdom impact. And we work to Build Movement Capacity by clarifying a shared vision, establishing a system of connected measurements, fostering collaboration, and providing coordinated support.
Looking back on 2025 and forward into 2026, our equipping events demonstrate how we have leaned into living out these anchors. In addition to popular annual experiences like the DC Forum, the annual conference, the CEO Summit, and district conferences, we also launched several new initiatives designed to help achieve our strategic objectives to best equip our ministries and leaders.
In April, the first Innovation & Impact Lab kicked off at Seattle’s Union Gospel Mission (Seattle, Washington) with a handful of leaders representing four different member ministries around North America. The environment intentionally fosters the development of new ideas and directions, evaluates effectiveness, and envisions new best practices for greater overall impact. A second Innovation & Impact Lab took place with leaders from seven ministries gathering at Helping Up Mission (Baltimore, Maryland) in October, and a third iteration took place in January at Atlanta Mission (Atlanta, Georgia). Our fourth lab is scheduled for April, back at Seattle’s Union Gospel Mission.
In September, we gathered a group of a dozen participants seeking to cultivate their leadership skills to kick off our pilot Leadership Collaborative. They came from ministries located across the country, from Hawaii to Pennsylvania.The ongoing leadership development experience got off to a strong start, building bonds and stretching capacities from the very first session. As members of this group continue their two-year journey together via online affinity groups and coaching, they will stretch and grow both personally and professionally.
In October, we hosted an interactive, national Conversations on a Bench event, with more than 70 member ministries participating in the 24-hour initiative, either as a fundraiser or simply to raise community awareness. The marathon event garnered media attention, sparked insightful conversation, and reinforced the fact that our members are not alone. We received numerous comments expressing appreciation for the vivid reminder that many peers and colleagues function in similar trenches all over North America.
This kind of collaborative synergy brings results and effectiveness that can only come when we engage in ministry together. By galvanizing our efforts, we increase our influence and clarify and communicate a shared vision. Taking that one step further, we have also partnered with The Salvation Army and Adult & Teen Challenge (ATC) on a collective impact initiative that focuses on our common agenda and aligned understanding of the problems we all seek to address and solve. In aggregating data, we have begun to identify, define, and communicate our combined efforts and results to help us achieve greater credibility, both in our communities and at a national level.
Member impact
result (noun): beneficial or tangible effect;
something that happens or exists
because of something else.*
The numbers we collected from analyzing the 2023/2024 annual reports of our Citygate Network members and the statistics available on our membership database might surprise you!
Those numbers represent our enormous collective impact — and they don’t even include all our members or figures from The Salvation Army or ATC facilities! Does that excite you like it does me? Have you updated your statistics in the member portal and/or begun submitting your data? When we can demonstrate quantitatively how our faith-based services and programs measure up to others in our fields, we will get their attention. No one can argue with those figures. They bring us credibility. Faith-based can be evidence-based.
With intentionality, we have leaned into five ways to help catalyze that collective impact. As a growing percentage of Citygate Network ministries begin to realize that their membership represents so much more than what they can get or save, we will continue to gain greater momentum to make a Kingdom difference.
When you can look to your right and to your left and see other ministries with shared vision, you begin to feel empowered. When you stack your measurements and outcomes up with so many other faith-based organizations working diligently to bring suffering individuals to flourishing, your voice feels heard and our collective voice grows stronger. When your collaborative actions make a difference in your community, your credibility surges. When you engage in constant communication to stay informed and educated, you expand your channels and opportunities. And when you can rely on supported coordination to avoid duplication of effort and make the most of the myriads of colleagues, services, and tools in this arena, you can accomplish so much more than you ever could alone.
Why wouldn’t you want to join the movement? Together we are making a difference — and gaining momentum. Mass in motion!
As we look forward into 2026, our Citygate Network staff draws energy and encouragement from the feedback we receive from our members and partners who have engaged in the organized efforts we make available. I’d like to share some of the comments we’ve received from leaders who have participated in our events and experiences in 2025 to encourage and inspire you as we enter a new year:
“What an opportunity to step back from the day-to-day operations of our programs and see the larger picture of what is happening in our country related to homelessness and connect with [others] who influence those decisions.”
“If you lead an organization that ministers to those experiencing homelessness, this is the professional development opportunity that you have been looking for. Not only will you hear from some of today’s best speakers, but you will also connect with other believers who share the same passion and experiences. … These are my people.”
“To be with 1,200+ believers all dedicated to helping the homeless, troubled, and marginalized across North America was both amazing and humbling.”
“It gave me perspective. I’m not doing this alone. I’m part of something so much bigger.”
“I worked with such a diverse group of ministry leaders, each serving their communities in unique ways. I gained a deeper understanding of how God has uniquely made and is leading me and left feeling refreshed, encouraged, and challenged.”
“Citygate connects me with my tribe. I left feeling reignited for ministry.”
“Seeing what other missions have done is inspiring — the collaboration and creativity across the network amazes me!”
“One of the most engaging and informative experiences of my career. It raised my effectiveness exponentially.”
“The opportunity and responsibility we have to be a voice for those who have no voice and to take a deep dive into the most critical issues facing our work and ministry is not to be taken lightly.”
I hope your takeaway from reading and reflecting on our Kingdom movement comes from realizing you are part of something bigger. You can do what you do with all your heart and soul, but it will not have the same impact as it will when you link arms with other colleagues and organizations that share the same passion.
“Since we are surrounded by so many examples of faith, we must get rid of everything that slows us down, especially sin that distracts us. We must run the race that lies ahead of us and never give up. We must focus on Jesus, the source and goal of our faith” (Hebrews 12:1–2, GOD’S WORD Translation).
I invite you to feel the momentum. Of course you can just enjoy the benefits, services, and resources that Citygate Network offers, but I hope and pray that your membership and engagement will become even more significant. Step into the movement as you walk and work alongside others making a Kingdom impact on the front lines of poverty, addiction, mental health, and homelessness.
Let’s do this together, for the Cause.
Tom De Vries became President/CEO of Citygate Network on August 1, 2023. Tom has served as a church planter, multi-site church lead pastor, and church multiplication movement leader. Most recently, Tom filled the president/CEO role at the Global Leadership Network (GLN), an international ministry producing training and equipping through the Global Leadership Summit. Prior to the GLN, Tom was the general secretary of the Re- formed Church in America. He holds a Doctorate in Ministry from Western Seminary, a Master of Divinity degree from Fuller Seminary, and a B.A. from Wheaton College. Tom has a track record of innovation, strategic planning, and leading high-performance teams for increasing ministry impact. Tom and his wife, Laura, have three adult children.
*SOURCES:
Cambridge University Press & Assessment 2025; dictionary.cambridge.org
Merriam-Webster, Incorporated 2025; merriam-webster.com
MooMooMath and Science; youtube.com/@MooMooMath
To read more articles like this from our bi-monthly members-only magazine Instigate visit us here to inquire about membership, or purchase a subscription.
This article originally appeared in the January/February 2026 issue of Instigate magazine. © Citygate Network, All rights reserved. Please email editor@citygatenetwork.org for additional permissions.
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