I went to lunch last Tuesday, with my 22 year old twin sons. While I stepped away to the restroom, the check arrived, and to my pleasant surprise, my son Micah picked up the check! My take-away on this is that things do change in significant ways over time. I’ve bought Micah many meals over the years and to have him pay for one signifies a major change that is a generation long in coming. I attended a meeting at Hope Community Church in Cary hosted by their local missions pastor Byron McMillan that same evening. There were representatives there from the Christian Community Development Association (CCDA), which is a national network of practitioners of community development from a distinctly Christian perspective. So what is “Christian Community Development”? CCDA has developed eight components that are essential to authentic Christian community development. They are:
- Relocation (living among the people)
- Reconciliation
- Redistribution (just distribution of resources)
- Indigenous Leadership Development
- Listening to Community
- Church-Based
- Holistic Approach
- Empowerment
To see the full treatment of these concepts, go to CCDA’s website at: http://www.ccda.org/philosophy Habitat Wake is a Christian organization that is working intensively in SE Raleigh’s Long Acres community hoping to spark and encourage lasting change in this proud neighborhood that has recently been declining. As Christians, we believe that we are called to partner with any and everyone regardless of their faith in these efforts. Believing that change will come is a big first step. Just like having my son pay for lunch, I expect that the full revitalization of a community in need like Long Acres, will be a generation in coming and that by applying the concepts above it will be a genuine and lasting change. Exciting things are already happening in Long Acres. Go to our volunteer page to see opportunities to get involved with everything happening at Habitat Wake.