Delighted to Share with You

August 20, 2007 Leave a comment

by Stacey Kiekintveld

It was six years ago.  My husband Joel had left a job working for a church and we were seeking out what was next.  We found a little house on the north side of town in what was considered Anchorage’s “ghetto.”  Joel ended up working for Anchorage Youth for Christ running a teen drop-in center, Parachutes, in the Dimond Mall on the south side of town.  We started attending Crosspoint Community Church also located on the south side of town and, at that time still meeting at Klatt Elementrary School.

Nearly five years ago Jeff Littlejohn came to Anchorage and held an ABCD Conference at Crosspoint.  It was there that I began to think about this idea that we should be living at the mobile home park.  After all, if it was the area of town that we were trying to “reach.” Then I suppose we should actually live there ourselves.  Four years later, after many hours of discussion on a dusty dirt road near Dawson City, we decided to make the leap.  Last spring we sold our house in Mountain View and bought a mobile home (a double wide) in Dimond Estates.

The cost of living in Anchorage is high and there is very minimal affordable housing.  Many of the city’s lower income families find themselves with few choices, one of those choices being a trailer.  Dimond Estates is one of the larger and nicer mobile home parks in a city that has a good number of them.  We estimate that anwhere from 1500-3000+ people live on Dimond Estates’ 522 lots.

There is a stigma that goes along with living in a mobile home park.  For many reasons it’s not a place that people take pride in.  Some of my dreams would be to improve the community in the park to such an extent that people would not be ashamed to say they live there; to make this mobile home park esthetically a great place to live for people who cannot afford to live anywhere else; to build community where kids have a great place to play and where people know one another; to make services available like medical or financial clinics, after school clubs, soccer leagues, garden clubs…I can just go on and on with this list.  I dream of a park that people could actually be proud of living in, which, to be honest at this point in time for myself, is a little bit humbling.

Organically, little things have already begun to happen.  One example was TV Turn Off week at school.  During that week, we had kids over after school to draw with sidewalk chalk, blow bubbles, and play Kick the Can.  Through those activities I know more of the kids’ names and a few more adults too.  Our first “plan of action” is to organize a neighborhood meeting in order to learn and discover what the people here dream and hope for living in this community.  Through this beginning, hopefully, we will begin to develop a neighborhood association.

Deep down in my heart, however, I know that if none of my dreams become a reality, God really just called me here to love the people He brings my way.  That is really what it comes down to right?  Loving people no matter what their situation is or where they live.  Brining peace and love and hope to a community where little is to be found.  Bringing heaven here on earth.

We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us. (1 Thessalonians 2:8).  SK

Filed under Developing a Community Vision, Stories Tagged with , , , , ,

ABCD AT FCRC

August 17, 2007 Leave a comment

by Harry Weidenaar

From the top of the year Seattle First Christian Reformed Church has partnered with Jeff Littlejohn and Imagine NW! to learn and practice the principles of Asset Based Community Development.

This partnership comes out of a desire of Seattle First to be relevant to its community.  We want to have influence with our neighbors without being obnoxious.  We want to serve the Kingdom of God by coming alongside our neighbors and helping them to achieve what they plan for their community.  As we build relationships, we believe opportunities to share Christ in word as well as deed will arise naturally.

To this end we have opened our church building to use by community organizations and encouraged our membership to attend their meetings.  For example, the Briarcrest Neighborhood Association had their annual party in our multi-purpose room.

Our people joined their people in eating, laughing, swapping stories, and swing dancing.

We plan on having a block party off campus in one of the neighborhoods close to church so that neighbors and church members can meet and greet informally over burgers and dogs.  We’re hoping to have a table at our annual rummage sale (always a big draw!) that gives away money!  What’s the gimmick?  We want to ask Shoreline residents 5 “magic wand” questions for a buck.  Answer the questions, you get your dough!

This is an effort to gather more information on our neighborhood, to help us serve better.

We have a basketball camp planned for middle school and junior high school kids in August.  Camp teachers include neighborhood “balers” who have signed on to work with us.

A neighborhood summit, involving a number of neighborhood associations, is planned fo later in the year.

What’s the benefit to us?  Three things, I think:

First, we believe that we are doing God’s will here.

Second, our people have enjoyed contact with our neighborhood people and have managed to help them do some things that they wanted to do.

And third, we have some new people (just a trickle now) but we hope it will become a stream and join us in our mission work and worship life at First.  HW

Filed under Developing a Community Vision, Stories Tagged with , , , , , ,

Musings from a Daily Journal

August 17, 2007 Leave a comment

by Jay Anema

[Personal Entry – Fri, March 30, 2007]

Have you ever gone to a conference motivated more by feeling you should attend rather than you were eager to attend?

What got me there in the first place was one Sunday morning at First Seattle CRC, Jeff Littlejohn presented the ABCD concept (Asset-Based Community Development) to some 30 adults.  ABCD is a very useful way for people to organize themselves around common efforts that bring constructive change from the “inside-out”.  The people (not government or other ‘outsider’) make things happen.

On another Sunday, Jeff had the class role-play, using the “Magic Wand” interview tool.  We pretended to interview our neighbors using his five-question process.  This helps people get to know their neighbors and to discover their vision for positive changes in their community.  Afterwards he had people describe their reactions.  This was a build up for signing up for the two-day “When People Care Enough To Act” conference in Issaquah on March 30 and 31st.  This seemed to be something I should do.

I was struck by the variety of people who were there, coming from such differing jobs, backgrounds and reasons for taking part.  There were a number of individuals from other States and people from local government agencies, not just church people talking with other church people.

Mike Green was the presenter.  He asked common sense questions.  He noted how often we begin with ‘our’ assessment of the needs of others coupled with ‘our’ own imposed solutions.  This all before we ask others for ‘their’ ideas.

He elicited stories of experiences encountered by people that were applicable to the ABCD approach.  I especially appreciated a story by George Montoya.

He and a friend were in a Mexican village near El Paso, TX.  There a crisis erupted with a mom bringing a very sick baby to these two from the U.S.  They wanted the Americans to solve this crisis.  But George kept on asking the people themselves for their own solutions: who to call, where’s the clinic, how to get there, how to pay for the medications, etc.  In the end, everything that was done to solve this was all done by the people from that village neighborhood.  This taught the people, and me, that the “people” can be the solution, not just outsiders.  In this way it was the community’s own assets that were brought to bear on the solutions.  That was a learning conversation.

During this ABCD training, participation by government agency representatives was positive.  It gave perspective to them as well as to people coming from a religious point of view, how each can play a role in helping build community.

The conference showed how asking questions and listening could lead to more questions, more listening and real communication.  If you care enough, you can use communications tools and become motivated within community to work for change!

There was plenty of interaction, and the day went quickly.  The conference gave me an appreciation for looking first at what strengths and assets we have as a community rather than beginning with deciding what the community needs.

Had I to do it over, I would have signed up for both days…more eager than obligated after the experience!  JA

Filed under Developing a Community Vision, Stories Tagged with , , , , , ,

What is the Problem with Your Neighborhood?

August 6, 2007 Leave a comment

by Jeff Heerspink

In essence that is what we are asking the people in the community to the North.  On October 15, Karen Keyzer, Rich DeVries and myself headed out to knock on a few doors.  What we found is that many people are not home on Sunday afternoons, but more importantly those who are home are more than willing to answer a few questions about their neighborhood.

The questions are simple.

*  If you could wave a magic wand, and make one positive thing happen in the community this next year, what would it be?

*  What gifts, strengths, education, talents, passion, and abilities do you have that you could offer to make this one thing happen?

*  If you found out there are other people in the neighborhood who have a similar idea as you, would you consider working with them to make this one thing happen?

*  How many neighbors do you know by first and last name that live near you?

By asking these four questions we find out what those in the community would like to have changed (not what we think should be changed), we find out what resources are available in the neighborhood and if people are willing to help bring change to the community they live in.  Our goal is to get back to them with a letter communicating the concerns in their community and to begin to try to bring them together to bring about the changes.

The three of us split up and in an hour and a half we were able to connect with 21 people (half of one street).  The three biggest concerns we found:

(1)  Traffic on 14th (trying to get on Superior).

(2)  Neighborhood association not having any authority to uphold rules and

(3)  Lack of a community.

When I think of “community development,” I think of Jesus’ story of the Good Samaritan.  This is the story Jesus told when the Pharisees questioned him about who his neighbor was.  Jesus highlights the reality that everyone in need is to be our neighbor and tells us that we are to do as the Good Samaritan did, by caring for people in tangible ways.  Jesus concludes the parable with the statement, “Go and do likewise.”  The heart of Community Development is to discover the needs and demonstrate God’s love to our “neighbors.”

We do not want to be a church that sits in a neighborhood without making any tangible effect.  I believe that the church must do more to change the landscape of a community than just be a building.  We need to be active and display the grace and love of God as we serve the community as a representation of Christ.  Our goal is not to do all the work for this community but simply to assist them in coming together to bring about the changes that they see fit.  That is why it is important that we find out not only what the problems are, but what they are willing to do about the problem and what resources are available to them.

We pray also that as we go out in the community and talk to our neighbors, they will want to know more about the church and ultimately about a relationship with Jesus Christ.  Who know how God might use the efforts of His people?

Filed under Developing a Community Vision, Stories Tagged with ,

Newer posts →

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 83 other followers