Community Involvement
Lasting change doesn’t happen unless the community takes the lead. We seek to listen and learn from members of the community to better understand what is the appropriate, practical, and functional approach to best help their community. Then, we come alongside members of that community, providing resources and leadership training to accomplish the task.
Christian Witness
Our faith in Jesus Christ is the reason we do what we do. Jesus tells us to think more highly of others than ourselves. He calls us to love those on society’s margins and to see the image of God in the poorest of the poor. Our understanding of the gospel shapes our view of what community development truly is. In our good moments, we empower people, build up communities, and bring an end to cycles of disease and desperation. But we understand that this is not the best that we have to offer. Through Jesus Christ, every human being can be in a right relationship with God; Jesus has the power to transform, to redeem, and to make lives into stories of hope and purpose. This is the best news that we have, and we are compelled by love to share it. We do not coerce or manipulate. We serve all who are thirsty, regardless of their beliefs. But we do our work praying and yearning for people to know Jesus and accept Him as their personal Lord and Savior. We recognize that apart from Christ, we are all the same – lost and broken and in need of God’s grace. It is our desire to help each person understand their need for Christ while meeting their physical needs.
Recognizing God is Always at Work
It would be arrogant to think that God arrives with us when we enter a community. He has been at work there all along, whether the people realize it or not. It is our role to recognize His activity and be part of it. In many communities, living witnesses to God’s work are already present in the form of local churches. As we enter a new community, it is our greatest hope to empower the people of God that are already there.