Josh and I believe strongly that God has been moving us toward ministry among the poor and to be agents of class reconciliation. All signs point to this being a very difficult task. When trying to research churches that are doing this successfully, the CCDA (Christian Community Development Association) kept popping up. They have invaluable experience and their methodology has been tried and proven over time. After visiting a prominent CCDA church in Chicago , and attending their annual conference, we believe that their model of ministry is a fit for us.

The CCDA is grounded on what they call the three R’s – Relocation, Redistribution, and Reconciliation.

Relocation means moving into the neighborhood and living among the people. It is modeled after the incarnation of Christ who gave up heaven and all the privileges of deity to live among us. Relocation means sharing in the life of the neighborhood and having a vested interest in its growth and well-being. Relocation establishes trust and helps breaks down us-and-them barriers. John Perkins says that relocation means living close enough to the people to identify with their real needs.

For us, the neighborhood we are feeling led toward is the area surrounding downtown Springfield. But our home and our immediate neighborhood are barriers and we feel that God is preparing us for relocation. This is challenging us on so many levels! We would love for God to call others to relocate with us, but please do not think that relocation is a requirement for being a part of this church! We would only encourage you to relocate if you were convinced God was calling you to do so. Many people within our church community will live in other parts of town.

Redistribution refers to bringing resources back into the neighborhood that is used to having its resources sucked away. It’s related to relocation because when you move into the neighborhood you bring resources with you – your money, talents, time, education etc. and “spend” them in the neighborhood. Where there is poverty and hardship, the people who can get out of there usually do. So the brightest and most resourceful take themselves and their resources somewhere else. Redistribution encourages people to stay and invest those resources back into the community that needs them.

The life and ministry of our church will exist in a community that we hope to bless and help transform. The resources our church brings to the community is a part of redistribution. And over time (community development is a long-term commitment) we hope to see people whose lives have been transformed stay in the neighborhood and continue the work.

Reconciliation is the heart of the gospel – restoring broken relationship with God, with self, and with others. Reconciliation restores wholeness and brings healing. Josh described this well at our first meeting, as concentric circles with God and self in the middle, and then other individuals, and then small groups and then large groups. Reconciliation with God through Christ Jesus is essential to transformation and the start of the healing needed to restore families, to mend communities, to heal racism and classicism and other “isms.” True reconciliation overcomes fear and hatred and brings peace.

This begins with us in spiritual community with one another. Before can “do” we have to “be” and then what we do will come from who we are. This first year will be formative for us – becoming a community that will be grounded and equipped for the work Christ has prepared us to do.

The CCDA itself stresses that it’s not an organization that people subscribe to. It’s an association that its members define. By being a CCDA church we are in fellowship with 600+ other ministries who share these values. The resources of this association are incredible and will be helpful to us as we grow up as a church. We have the comfort of knowing we’re not alone in this kind of ministry, even though it seems unconventional, and we can benefit from their rich experience.