URBAN MINISTRY_by Susan N.Mugambi Arimi

Susan Arimi
THE PRINCIPLES OF CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
Just like the old city of Jerusalem, whose walls are broken down and gates have been burned with fire. Nehemiah’s heart was troubled and moved with love and concern for the remnants in the city, for they were in great affliction and reproach. In part this situation describes most of the American cities today. People are in distress and have been neglected for many years. Even the Church of Jesus Christ has sat down and watched the situation, which it has also contributed. This calls for new Nehemiah’s who are moved with love to see the need and poverty of the people.
The most creative long- term solutions to the problems of the poor and needy are coming from the grassroots and church based efforts. God’s work can be done through people who see themselves as agents and models for Jesus here on earth, in their own neighborhoods and communities. The philosophy known as Christian community development was developed and formulated by people who lived and worked among the poor and needy for many years.
Relocation: Living Among the Poor
Living out the gospel means bettering the quality of other people’s lives totally. That means spiritually, physically, economically, and emotionally as better as yours. A key word to understand relocation is incarnation. Jesus himself relocated and lived among us, so he understood fully the pain and suffering that we have and he ministered to our needs. By relocating and living among the poor, we understand most clearly the real problems, and with God’s help us we start to look for real solutions. Relocation transforms the way we view others, and instead of using words like “you, them, and theirs” we use “we, us, and ours”, which helps us see things the way they are other than the stereotype.
Reconciliation: People to God, People to People
Reconciliation is the heart of the gospel, and we fulfill the commandments: Love God and love your neighbor as yourself (Mark 12: 30 – 31). The first concern of CCD is to reconcile people to God and bring them into a church fellowship. Having a nice place to stay and a job is not the answer, but a true relationship with Jesus Christ. It is essential to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ so that individuals can place their faith in Christ for salvation. The gospel of Christ is wholistic, though rightly understood, it responds to people as whole people; it does not single our one part and speak on that.
It is well documented that the most segregated time of the week is during Sunday morning church services. American churches are rarely integrated, which weakens the gospel message. We need to ask the question can a gospel that reconciles people to God without reconciling people to people be a true gospel of Jesus Christ? Our love for Christ should break down every racial, ethnic, and economic barrier. Coming together to partner and witness across these barriers is a big challenge to the Christians. The task of loving the poor is shared by the entire body of Christ, whether black, white, brown, yellow, and pink; rich and poor; educated and uneducated; urban and suburban; male and female. The Bible transcends culture and race, but we in church are still having a difficult time with these essentials.
Redistribution: Bringing Our Resources into the Community
When the body of Christ is present and living among the poor, and loving our neighbor as ourselves, the result is redistribution. By bringing our lives, our skills, our education, and our resources and putting them to work to empower people in a community of need is redistribution. The primary goal of redistribution is to restore the stabilizing glue and fill the vacuum of moral, spiritual, and economic leadership that is prevalent in poor communities. The great question to ask how do we affirm the dignity of people, motivate them, and help them takes responsibility for their own lives? Nothing other than the community of God’s people is capable of affirming the dignity of the poor and enabling them to meet their own needs. Again empowerment is an important aspect of God’s care to the poor. CCD empowers people to be all that God has created them to be.