The City Mission movement started in Glasgow in January 1826 when David Nasmith founded the Glasgow City Mission (Scotland).
[1] 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.
Nasmith visited the United States and Canada in 1830, setting up 31 missions supported by various benevolent institutions.
[2] The first World Conference of City Missions was sponsored by the Sydney City Mission (now Mission Australia) and held in Sydney, Australia in 1988.