Friday Food for Thought: What’s Your View?
February 10, 2012 2 Comments
Interested in Asset Based Community Development? Where do you start? First, consider your view of your neighborhood; your presumptions about your neighbors and your community influence how you will engage.
Communities First Association presumes the following:
1. God is already in the community–he was there first! This is God’s creation and God’s people. Ministry begins by looking for what God is already doing in a community.
2. Ministry in a community always takes place in an asset-rich environment. What God put into the creation itself, into the people in a community, and into the systems and infrastructure of a community are all good gifts that can be used for the common good.
3. Effective community ministry is the art and discipline of recognizing, developing, and calling forth the gifts, talents, and resources God has already placed in his world for the benefit of all in the community. Community ministry is not meant to dictate a new reality for the community.
4. Effective community ministry is a way of life: living among and engaging neighbors, loving them enough to see God in them, and artfully calling forth and directing their gifts and resources for community benefit.
(Communities First, p. 10)
What presumptions have you made? How have they impacted your view of your neighbors and your involvement in your community?
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