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“Reconciliation is at the heart of the gospel. Jesus said that the essence of Christianity could be summed up in two inseparable commandments: Love God, and love thy neighbor. (Mt 22:37-39)”
“Christian Community Development ministries harness the commitment and energy of men, women, and young people living in the community, and others who care about their community, and find creative avenues to develop jobs, schools, health centers,
home ownership opportunities, and other enterprises of long-term development.”
“Christian leadership development is possible only when there is longevity of ministry. All too often people are guilty of trying to have quick fixes in poor neighborhoods. Leadership development is of the highest priority in Christian Community Development. We must have a dynamic youth ministry that is reaching young people with the good news of Jesus Christ and then equipping them to become faithful followers of Christ, and effective community leaders. This will take at least fifteen years to accomplish, so a worker must plan to stay in the neighborhood for at least that long.”
“The philosophy of Christian Community Development believes that the people with the problem have the best solutions and opportunities to solve those problems. Christian Community Development affirms the dignity of individuals and encourages the engagement of the community to use their own resources and assets to bring about sustainable change.”
“It is practically impossible to do effective holistic ministry apart from the local church. A nurturing community of faith can best provide the thrusts of evangelism, discipleship, spiritual accountability, and relationships by which disciples grow in their walk with God.”
“It is the responsibility of the church to evangelize, disciple and nurture people in the Kingdom. Yet, from the command of Jesus, it is also the responsibility of the church to love their neighbor and their neighborhood. Churches should be seen as lovers of their community and neighborhoods. It is out of the church body that ideas and programs should emerge.”
“Christian Community Development has a holistic approach to ministry that deals with the spiritual, social, economic, political, cultural, emotional, physical, moral, judicial, educational and familial issues of each person.”
“Three principles come out of God’s welfare system in the Old Testament. First, there must be opportunity for people to get their needs met. In Deuteronomy and Leviticus, this happened to be a field with food in it. Secondly, the person who had a need must be willing to work for it. The widow, alien, orphan or poor person must go into the field and pick up the crops. This, then, involved work on the part of the poor. This is also found in 2 Thessalonians 3:10 which says, “If you don’t work, you don’t eat.” Thirdly, when these first two principles are working, a person’s dignity is affirmed. All people have inherited dignity by being created in the image of God. Oftentimes, charity demeans a person and strips him or her of dignity. The last principle of empowerment affirms a person’s
God-given dignity.”
Development starts by going to the people.
Living among them will give you a window into their world.
Learning from them will build bonds of long lasting friendship.
Love them by serving them, sharing the gospel and serving some more .
Start with what they know and go from there.
Building on what they have will be a long lasting foundation.
But of the best leaders, when their task is done the people
will remark “We have done it ourselves.”
Conclusion:
Clearly there are great needs to proclaim the good news of Christ and His Kingdom in neglected poor communities such as those found around the world. There is a lack of leadership in these communities, and it is essential that Christian leadership be developed from among the people. Within the context of these communities that face a variety of cultural and environmental factors that impact the health of these neighborhoods, Christian leadership needs to be developed. Christian Community Development I believe, represents the best approach to not only develop these future leaders, but to transform our most under resourced communities into thriving communities through the power of God, and the efforts of His people.
Excerpt from: “The Eight Components of Christian Community Development” by Dr. Wayne L. Gordon