Who We Are
We are movement of regular Christians prayerfully moving in among the unreached, urban poor.
Move In
We chose to move in and live in a specific community.
In the middle of marginalized community
We live in the middle of marginalized, "unreached" communities in the city.
Together
We form a team to pray together for our neighborhood.
The verse John 1:14 says this: “The Word became flesh and dwelled among us” (NIV). But God choosing to dwell with his people is not a new or rare concept in Scripture. He walked with us in the garden; He “pitched his tent” with us in the Israelite camp; He grew up as a carpenter’s son in our village; and then He came to eat and drink with us, sinners.
MoveIn began in January 2009 when God gave MoveIn founder and director Nigel Paul two words: “move in”. These words are found in The Message paraphrase of John 1:14 “The Word became flesh and blood and moved into the neighbourhood.” It was a message for this generation to imitate Christ and literally move in to the neighborhood, specifically among the unreached urban poor.
After Nigel put the vision online, he began meeting one-on-one with many people interested in moving in. May 2009 saw the first MoveIn conference with more than 700 in attendance. Teams formed quickly after that and have been increasing in number since.
In 2015, a young man from Canada felt called to try MoveIn in the Philippines for one year. That plan quickly expanded and became a vision to see MoveIn take root in the heart of the Philippines and to see Filipino Christians praying, forming teams, and moving in to the Muslim slums in the Philippines’ cities.
After much networking, many trials, a few teams beginning to form only to break apart, MoveIn is finally starting to take off in 2022.
Vision & Mission
Our Five Distinctives
PRAYER
Prayer is our primary commitment. Each team prays together weekly in the community for the community.
PRESENCE
We move right into the community and are present in the lives of our neighbors. We desire more of God’s presence among us and in our communities.
THE UNREACHED, URBAN POOR
We only move into high-density city communities among people who are poor and are unreached.
TEAMS OF REGULAR PEOPLE
We are regular people, not professional ministers. We have jobs or are students. We are accountable to regular Churches and move in as teams made up of two or more individuals, couples or families.
MAKING DISCIPLES
We help others follow Jesus and know the love of God.
Core Values
CHRIST HIMSELF
It’s all about Christ (Colossians 1:15-20), who is triune (2 Corinthians 13:14) with the Father (Romans 11:36) and Spirit (John 15-17).
BROKENNESS
We desire to be poor in spirit (Matt. 5:3). Many of our values flow from this desire for brokenness: desperate dependence on God, teachability, flexibility, vulnerability, and humility. We ask: How can we love our neighbor as ourselves? (Mark 12:30-31)
TENTMAKING
All Christians have a role in God’s great plan (Matt. 28). Some are called to rely on the wider Body of Christ for their material needs; most are called to work for income. Our focus is to empower this majority whose work--like the apostle Paul’s tentmaking--is part of their calling (Acts 20:33-35).
RELATIONSHIPS
We are relationship-oriented, not emphasizing programs.
We guard our time for relationships with individuals and families (John 4). We believe that communities are transformed relationally (Acts 2:47).
TEACHING & OBEYING GOD’S WORD
God speaks to us and to those who do not yet know him through his Word (Heb. 4:12). The Bible is our authority and primary tool for discipleship (2 Tim. 3:16-17)
THE WIDER BODY OF CHRIST
We need the wider Body of Christ. We are part of countless churches and are indebted to them; we depend on partnership; we seek out mentors. (1 Cor. 12:12-30)
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What do most Movein Teams look like?Teams are made up of members of all ages, with most MoveIners in their 20’s and 30’s. They work regular jobs or go to school. Teams have roughly 2 to 10 people.
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Do I have to apply to join MoveIn?No, there are no papers to sign or forms to fill out. We are a relational network of people connected by the same vision. To join MoveIn, simply move into the neighborhood and pray weekly with your team.
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What is the time commitment?We move in for indefinite periods of time. We don’t encourage short-term but rather long-term involvement in our communities, in part so we are not drifting in and out of peoples’ lives. Our prayer is that people who move in will see it as a lifestyle choice for the rest of their lives.
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My studies and career moves are important to me. Does this fit with the MoveIn lifestyle?We’re happy to have many young working professionals and sharp students in our movement. You can both work or study as well as live in the community.
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Can you help me find teammates and a place to live?We are doing our best to connect people with a similar vision. As soon as we hear of someone else wanting to move into your city or community, we will let you know. Finding a place to live can be a difficult process. We will pray for you and help if we can, but you may need to find a place to live on your own.
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What about moving in with kids? Isn’t that irresponsible? What about safety and education?It sounds scary for kids to grow up in urban poor communities. Dozens of families all over the world, however, have found this to be a big blessing for their family as a whole, including their kids. We’d be happy to connect you with one of these families to hear firsthand about what it’s like!
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What does the MoveIn Vision Team do?We help form new teams, network teams together, and provide guidance to existing teams.