Community Ministry and Development

As the population of people who are elderly continues to increase, human services professionals are faced with the question of how to help people age well with independence and dignity. Social support from families and communities, religious involvement, and health and preventative care all play an important role in caring well for those who are elderly. The article concludes with suggestions for how social workers, clergy, health care practitioners, and other human services professionals can help people who are elderly improve their connections with these resources.

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Thinking about asset-based community development (ABCD) is a way to find and mobilize resources that already exist in a community. This article is reprinted with permission and is available at www.fastennetwork.org.

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The Congregational Health Survey conducted by the National Council of Churches USA in 2006-07, represents a modest attempt to understand more fully the nature of congregational involvement in the provision of health education, provision of direct health services and advocacy activities related to health care policies. This report summarizes the results of that study and suggests some implications from its findings, which may be of interest to pastors, denominational leaders, health care advocates and the public at large concerned with the state of health care policies in the United States today.

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This essay is based on a workshop that was presented as part of the Barbara Chafin Lectureship at The Next Big Idea, a conference for church leaders held at Baylor University in February 2009. There are more than 40 million children in Sub-Saharan Africa who have been orphaned as a result of disease, HIV/AIDS, war, and other causes. Many well-meaning churches have responded to this challenge in ways that are ineffective or not sustainable. This article includes suggestions for how churches can effectively engage in partnerships with one another and with other organizations to care for those affected by this crisis.

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This article introduces readers to family literacy as an approach to strengthening families and building communities by teaching literacy and English as a Second Language (ESL). The model presented is adaptable for use by congregations and in nonsectarian settings. The four components of family literacy – adult education, childhood education, parenting education, and parent and child together time – are described using examples from an ESL program at a middle school in a predominantly Hispanic urban neighborhood. After defining family literacy ministry, the author describes keys to his team’s success and provides guidelines for congregations desiring to implement such a ministry.

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Offering care for orphans and vulnerable children living in situations of extreme poverty is a growing concern for churches, nongovernmental organizations, and governmental entities. This article presents one model in central Africa that incorporates short-term residential care with a goal of family reunification and community restoration. Les Enfants de Dieupromotes a model of leadership development for vulnerable children in Rwanda that is consistent with best practice principles.

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This article begins by affirming God’s concern for people who are poor by examining scripture in both the Old and New Testament. The author then identifies seven broad ways, based on biblical examples, that God’s people can help families who are impoverished. By practicing these examples and expressing their faith through love, people can promote healing for physical, emotional, and spiritual needs and encourage personal as well as societal transformation. This article was originally printed in Hope for Children in Poverty: Profiles and Possibilities edited by Ronald J. Sider and Heidi Unruh and used by permission of Judson Press, 800-4JUDSON, www.judsonpress.com. It was updated by Heidi Unruh in 2012.

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Faith communities have always been integral to social support systems in the United States (Cnaan, 2002; Cnaan, Wineburg & Boddie, 1999, Hall, 1990). However, not all religious groups organize social service and health systems in the same way. Catholics and Jews developed social support systems through community-wide institutionalized systems, with congregations playing a limited role in providing services. On the other hand, denominations stemming from the Protestant Reformation center social supports through their congregations, which continue to play a role even after nonprofit agencies have been created to provide specific services. This article outlines the differences between two models: the congregational and institutional models of faith-based service provision. These differences suggest ways that congregations and organizations can work together within each model.

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This case study highlights the asset-based, emergent planning process of a multi-congregation partnership that developed and coordinated a summer meals program in San Angelo, Texas. The congregations provided volunteers, space, and food by coordinating the lunch program based on each congregation's resources and capacity, neighborhood location, and established relationships and networks. Their attentiveness to cultural context, congregational capacity, and community input allowed for successful congregational collaboration and program planning. A literature review of congregational resources and program planning methods precedes the narrative and is followed by further implications for congregations.

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