EMPOWERMENT

The eight components of Christian Community Development (CCD) employ a wholistic approach to working with people and under-resourced communities. This approach is a new paradigm, a new way of looking and acting as God’s people to transform under-resourced communities. It is sharing God’s vision of “wholistically restored communities with Christians engaged in the process of transformation.” It is important to note that the focus for CCD is under-resourced urban, suburban and rural communities, even though most of the components can also apply elsewhere. There is overlap between each component, and true CCD needs to incorporate all eight components to be most effective. All eight of the key components of CCD listed below, when lived and applied as a whole, have the power to transform people and communities—picking and choosing one or two components offers only a part of the picture and process. This Toolkit (book and companion DVD), first in a series that covers our core philosophy, focuses on the component of Empowerment. The eight key components of CCD are: • Relocation • Reconciliation • Redistribution • Church-based • Listening to the Community • Wholistic Approach • Empowerment • Leadership Development Often, in workshops where we teach the philosophy of CCD, people ask, “Shouldn’t we be about the work of evangelizing and saving souls, instead of working with the neighborhood and all of its problems?” We would say that CCD and empowerment is evangelizing. We witness and share God’s love, hope and care in the process of addressing the wholistic needs of people and their communities. The church sometimes preaches one thing and lives out another. We share words about God’s love, while acting out racism or classism; this gives the wrong message. Some attribute this familiar quote to St. Francis: “Preach the gospel at all times, and when necessary, use words.” The work of empowerment, of building relationships, and of involvement in the community, is also the work of evangelism—of saving souls.