Philosophy of Ministry
CCI is a Member Organization of the Christian Community Development Association (CCDA) and wholeheartedly adopts the CCDA’s Eight Components of Christian Community Development .
Our Approach
Relocation
Reconciliation
Redistribution
Leadership Development
Listening to Community
Church-Based
Wholistic Approach
Empowerment
Our greatest emphasis is on the 3 R’s of the components.
Relocation: Living Among the People
Living out the gospel means desiring for one’s neighbor and neighbor’s family that which one desires for one’s self and family. Living out the gospel means bettering the quality of other people’s lives spiritually, physically, socially, and emotionally as one betters one’s own. Living out the gospel means sharing in the suffering and pain of others.
Relocation transforms “you, them, and theirs” to “we, us, and ours.” Effective ministries plant and build communities of believers that have a personal stake in the development of their neighborhoods. There is no question that relocation is the linchpin of Christian Community Development and that all other principles of development draw upon for meaning.
Reconciliation
People To God
Reconciliation is at the heart of the gospel. Jesus said that the essence of Christianity could be summed up in two inseparable commandments: Love God, and love thy neighbor. (Mt 22:37-39) First, Christian Community Development (CCD) is concerned with reconciling people to God and bringing them into a church fellowship where they can grow in their faith.
People To People
A person’s love for Christ should break down every racial, ethnic and economic barrier. As Christians come together to solve the problems of their community, the great challenge is to partner and witness together across these barriers in order to demonstrate our oneness in Christ. CCD recognizes that the task of loving those in under-resourced communities is shared by the entire body of Christ, black, white, brown, and yellow; rich and poor; urban and suburban; educated and uneducated. CCD is intentional about reconciliation and works hard to bring people of all races and cultures into the one worshipping body of Christ.
Redistribution (Just Distribution of Resources)
When men and women in the body of Christ are visibly present and living in the community (relocation), and when people are intentionally loving their neighbor and their neighbor’s family the way a person loves him or herself and family (reconciliation), the result is redistribution, or a just distribution of resources. When God’s people with resources (regardless of their race or culture) commit to living in under-served communities seeking to be good neighbors, being examples of what it means to be a follower of Christ, working for justice for the entire community, and utilizing their skills and resources to address the problems of that community alongside their neighbors, then redistribution is being practiced.
The following poem is used as a philosophical guide to those working on Christian Community Development.
Go to the people
Live among them
Learn from them
Love them
Start with what they know
Build on what they have:
But of the best leaders When their task is done
The people will remark “We have done it ourselves.”
For a more in-depth discussion of the 8 components of Christian Community Development please visit the Christian Community Development Association website at www.CCDA.org .