FOUNDATIONS
For as long as I can remember, my passion has been to see God's name made great! However, the journey to getting there is not always so straight forward. As a former church planter, I somehow slipped into the role of 'pastor' and began to experience the tension of trying to look after the local 'sheep' inside the four walls, yet really wanting to put my energies into reaching out to the yet-to-be sheep outside the gated church property.
My interest in community development was peeked while living in a small English town, when I got involved in a local regeneration project. The stakeholders around the planning table hadn't really given any thought to inviting the faith community to participate ... until I challenged their selection criteria. By getting involved It meant that the local churches had a decision making voice at the table, but moreover gave credibility to what we could offer the community as churches. For example, at that time the churches took the lead in planning our town's turn-of-millennium day celebrations.
What began as a regeneration project led by a community partnership evolved into a full fledged development trust. It was an amazing experience to be involved with the town's regeneration, as it enabled me: to connect with the county's social services as a volunteer in the custody suite of the local constabulary, become a governor of a local school and involved with the Education Action Zone, and provide leadership in the development of a municipal government's mediation service.
It was in community development that I found my niche; and it became my full time work when returning to Canada. Best of all, I have found endless opportunities to bring the Kingdom of God into my work of poverty reduction within my city's undeserved tower neighbourhood communities. Sadly, my experience has been that few churches are committed to bridging the gap that exists between them and their local community. Their engagement is often limited to "come and see", instead of being incarnational with a passion to "go and be".
So I've started this blog to equip followers of Jesus and the local church to really love on their local community and those who live there. Through this blog I'll be exploring the 'tools of the trade' regarding community development, as seen through a Christian lens. My hope is that this will be a community of practice, where we can partner with each other and the Holy Spirit to see that new creation come forth, both in us ... and in our neighbourhoods.
I'd love to hear your stories about what you are doing in your community to bring in the Kingdom of God. So please post your stories of success or struggles or other comments through the contact form provided below.