Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
Moving from Church Outreach to Community Development
223 Plays19 days ago
Michelle Ferrigno Warren is joined by Joshua Park of Genesis Church of Fayetteville to reflect on their experience in CCDA’s Flourishing Congregations Initiative and how God is moving in the city. They share about what loving mercy and doing justice looks like and how cultivating partnerships in the city helps the church move from doing community outreach to community development.
Learn more about CCDA’s Flourishing Congregations Initiative at ccda.org/fci.
Michelle Ferrigno Warren is the President of Virago Strategies, a consulting group which provides strategic engagement and project management support for churches and non-profits stepping more deeply into the work of public justice. She has been working in Christian community development for over 30 years utilizing her skills as an educator, worship leader, non-profit manager, public policy specialist & faith-rooted organizer & activist. She is an adjunct professor at Denver Seminary and a Senior Fellow with The Dietrich Bonhoeffer Institute. She is a fierce advocate for justice and has shared much of her journey toward civic engagement and activism in her books, The Power of Proximity, Moving Beyond Awareness to Action, IVP 2017, and Join the Resistance, Step Into the Good Work of Kingdom Justice, IVP, 2022.
Joshua Park is the Director of Outreach and Worship at Genesis Church of Fayetteville, where he has served for the past three years helping lead dignity-first, asset-based community development rooted in an Imago Dei theology. In his role, Joshua helps translate conviction into strategic practice—building relational pathways that strengthen neighborhoods through uniting and mobilizing churches, non-profit service providers, and government entities to support people in moving from vulnerability to stability and freedom. Originally from Memphis, Josh earned a B.A. in English from the University of Memphis and spent a number of years living abroad teaching English in multiple countries. His commitment to community development began in college and has taken many forms throughout his life. After battling addiction in his own life for 25 years—and experiencing poverty and homelessness firsthand—Joshua found freedom in Christ and a clear calling to invest in others seeking their own way out.
Learn more about CCDA and how you can get involved at ccda.org. Connect with CCDA on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Follow CCDA on YouTube.
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction to Flourishing Congregations Initiative
00:00:09
Speaker
Hello, and welcome to the CCDA Podcast. My name is Michelle Ferrigna Warren, and I've been a part of CCDA since the early 90s. It's been an honor to serve with the Flourishing Congregations Initiative this last year and a half as one of the coaches.
00:00:24
Speaker
Today, I'm your host for this podcast episode. CCDA is passionate about seeing people and communities experience God's Shalom, And one way we are doing that is through our Flourishing Congregations Initiative, or FCI.
00:00:38
Speaker
This is a comprehensive four-year program designed to empower church leaders to help their congregations deepen their community engagement, enhance their ministries, and contribute to the flourishing of their neighborhoods.
Genesis Church: Community Engagement and Origins
00:00:51
Speaker
Today, Josh Park from Genesis Church in Fayetteville is joining us to share about what they are doing in their church and community and how they are seeing God move. Josh, thanks for being with us today.
00:01:02
Speaker
Thanks, Michelle. It's a pleasure to be here. Well, you know, we are not just wanting to get to know you, which of course we want you to introduce yourself, but we're really excited to hear about your church and then also what drew you to the Flourishing Congregations Initiative.
00:01:19
Speaker
Would you introduce yourself and tell us a little bit more about your church and the FCI program? Yeah, so my name is Joshua Park. I am the Outreach Director at Genesis Church. It's a church in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
00:01:31
Speaker
And to church, it's a relatively young church. We're about 12 years old. And we were started actually as an outreach outpost of a larger church here in Northwest Arkansas.
00:01:44
Speaker
And so from the very beginning, Genesis was launched with the intention of being a community outreach church. And so it has really been a journey of seeing how the church engages with our local community in very real and tangible ways.
00:02:03
Speaker
and And our idea really is that we would share the love of Christ with people in a way that is transformative in their lives and in a way that shows them just how loved they are by God and by us, and that we would really be able to walk that out in our relationships with people in the community.
00:02:24
Speaker
That's terrific. You know, what drew you to not just the Flourishing Congregations Initiative within CCDA, but CCDA itself? And what are you hoping that this intentional partnership is going to achieve?
Joining and Learning from FCI
00:02:39
Speaker
Yeah. So we, you know, we kind of had some inside track, especially in the FCI program, because Christina Fore, who leads the FCI program, goes to church here. And so when she started telling us about it, it just seemed like a perfect fit, honestly, ah with what we do. And then what, you know, what CCDA is all about. It just seemed to to fit pretty perfectly with Genesis, who we are as a community and who we are as a church.
00:03:04
Speaker
And I would say probably the thing that pulled us the most in this direction was the opportunity to go through some some education and some training with people who have experience in it. Everything that we had been doing up until that point was very, you know, kind of building the plane mid-flight.
00:03:25
Speaker
and figuring out what we're going to do as we go along. And so the chance to step into a space where we could work with coaches like Michelle and people who have been doing this for a long time and have the experience of what it looks like to engage the community as a local church, for me in this outreach position was was huge because we wanted that perspective that was bigger than just you know what's happening here in South Fayetteville in Northwest Arkansas.
00:03:55
Speaker
I love that analogy of building the plane while flying. And i I want to kind of put a disclaimer because, you know, Christian community development, you know, it never moves totally from not building the plane while flying. That's part of being in community. But I am really glad to hear that it is creating at least a little bit more of a stability and direction while your're while your plane is in flight.
00:04:19
Speaker
So I'm curious to know, you've talked about being connected to, you know, some of the coaches, and some of the teaching, and that is really good. But I'm just wondering if there's like big takeaway for not just you, but maybe for your congregation. I know I had the opportunity to be with them this past summer, and that was probably my favorite part about coaching you all was to actually be on site and see you all in action and worship with you on Sunday. But I'm just curious if in the relationship and even going through conferences that you've had a big takeaway.
Strategic Outreach vs. Development
00:04:51
Speaker
Yeah, I would say probably for me and really for our whole outreach team and our congregation, the the biggest takeaway that we've had is just kind of a constant reminder to listen to the community.
00:05:03
Speaker
it is It's really easy to step into this space in an unintentionally paternalistic way and to say, you know, we're looking at the community, we're looking at what we see oftentimes as either dysfunction or or a lack, and we're saying,
00:05:20
Speaker
You know, what can we bring to bear in order to either repair this or fix this? And what are what are our ideas about what this community ought to look like? And it has just been a great constant grounding reminder that that's not our role.
00:05:35
Speaker
Our role is to listen and then respond. And so that part has been really huge and it has helped us to kind of stay in that mindset. And then I would say, in addition to that,
00:05:47
Speaker
Working with Michelle and seeing just the example of Open Door and what's possible years down the road has been huge. you know We're 12 years as a church, but I would say really coming of age, especially in our outreach and development stuff, I would say six five, six years of really doing this intentionally.
00:06:09
Speaker
And then i would say for me in a leadership role, the key thing that I've taken from working with Michelle in particular has been just the idea of outreach versus development.
00:06:21
Speaker
And how we as a church, we have we run five like major kind of flagship programs, and some of them fall into the category of outreach, and some of them fall into the category of development. And over the last year as we've been going through FCI,
00:06:37
Speaker
The biggest thing for us has been really kind of figuring out the identity of those two areas and seeing where we need to invest differently with both of those and approach those in a strategic way that that is all centered around the love of Christ and how we show that to our community, but also that has some very specifically intentional approaches, depending on which part of it we're engaging in there.
00:07:03
Speaker
You know, that's really music to my ears. You know, we've had so many different conversations about how often the church and even the church in Fayetteville has a charity mindset and how you move from just seeing people as targets and doing ministry to and for them, but really moving and shifting to an accompaniment so that you do it with them, you know,
00:07:26
Speaker
so that they can do things by themselves. And so I know that I've really benefited from that conversation as well. And, you know, just to give the listeners a little bit more insight, one of the conversations, or I should say probably the foundational conversation that we had this past year or so is that, you know, mercy is a response to a problem and we need to love it. We don't want to stop it. We don't want to minimize it, but that does fit in the outreach. And that is doing things for people.
00:07:54
Speaker
but you want to do justice. And as you move into how do you respond, not just to immediate, but the the circumstances, the situation, sort of the streams that that brought a person and a whole community to a certain place, how do we look at those and do the justice and the development so that it's not just an outreach or a mercy response? I always I don't want to minimize loving mercy, because we're supposed to love it, but I also don't want to leave the absence of doing justice. So so yeah, so that's great to hear.
00:08:26
Speaker
i would probably want to ask another thing. What is the one thing people should know about your church? And then even also maybe some of the things that you're engaging in your community. Yeah, I would say, you know, Genesis as a church, we are unique in our area in that our we're about a 200-member church on on a strong Sunday, ah but we have a very large footprint in the community.
00:08:53
Speaker
Our staff is about 13, and for a church that size, ah that's a very, very large staff. about About a third of that staff functions in an outreach or community development area.
00:09:06
Speaker
function And so we almost operate as a nonprofit service provider within a church. And so that's the the kind of the spirit of Genesis. If you come here on a Sunday morning, if you come here any day of the week, you will find activity going on. We engage mostly in this community with our unhoused population.
00:09:29
Speaker
we it said It's a recently gentrified neighborhood. And so as that is progressing, more and more people are finding themselves displaced. More and more people are finding themselves not knowing where their place in the community is. And so we've had the opportunity to really kind of be that refuge that people can turn to and people can still kind of maintain that identity and and feel that they're a part of the community by being here. One of the things that CCDA asks and that that we ask ourselves a lot is, you know, if if your door, if your church closed its doors tomorrow, would the neighborhood notice?
00:10:09
Speaker
And i would say with Genesis, very much so. And that is a testament to our congregation, to the community around us. Fayetteville as a community is an incredibly generous community and incredibly giving and serving and supportive place. And it's sort of a little kind of bastion of of social justice in Arkansas.
00:10:34
Speaker
which is not known for that. And so Fayetteville is known for that here in Arkansas, but Genesis has had the opportunity to establish our identity in that way. And it's cool because any day of the week that you drive by,
00:10:49
Speaker
Unlike most churches here in the South, you you're not going to see an empty parking lot. You're not going to have to wait till Sunday to see things going on here. There is just a ah hub of activity and engagement happening every day of the week, which I think is i think is's pretty great. And I think that that's really where the local church has the opportunity to step into our community and make an impact in that way.
00:11:13
Speaker
Yeah, wholeheartedly agree. As you were talking, I just keep thinking about a few things. One is, that's good news. It's good news for everyone, and that's really what we're about. The gospel is about restoration. about justice. is about being good news. And then I was also thinking about that passage in Isaiah 58, that, you know, when you— set aside, intentional giving to the poor and and doing the work that we've been talking about doing and beyond, that you get a good reputation. That not only is the work get done, but but people look at you and say, you know, and I kind of use the old King James version, you know, you're the repairers of the breach. You're you know, the restorers of of cities and and streets with dwelling. and
00:11:56
Speaker
And that is really what we're all about, not just at CCDA, but that's what the gospel is. That's what the law the salt and light in the world is. One of the things that I've really been been really encouraged by you all at Genesis is you haven't just expanded what you do inside and outside the the four church walls, but you are heavy in collaboration beyond the faith community. So one i i wanted you to tell us a little bit about your dynamic because you're you're a smaller city and you've got one really big entity in that small city. You know, not everybody has, for sure. And it has to do with education, just in case you need a little bit of hint. And then also there are sectors. You know, you've got your nonprofit sector. you've got your for-profit sector. And usually in community development, that relationship is tight. Private sector, I need your money to fund my stuff. you know And that's sort of like the well that goes back and forth. But often people don't work with the public sector and they don't know how to. And you guys have not just, mean, you've been highly collaborative and you're constantly growing. So I would really love for you to share a little bit about the dynamics of that big entity and how that does or does not impact your work. And then also just the ways that you integrate with the public sector so that you both are able to do the job of meeting needs of neighbors in your community.
Fayetteville Context and CR2H Collaboration
00:13:21
Speaker
Northwest Arkansas is unique in Fayetteville particular in that Fayetteville relatively small. It's about a hundred thousand person city. And because of that large entity you mentioned, it grows by about 30% every year.
00:13:36
Speaker
And so we have a swell after the summer and all through the spring and the fall, we have about 30 to 35,000 ah people who join us here. And so it creates some interesting dynamics for the people who who live here locally, have established themselves.
00:13:55
Speaker
And so there's a ah really great collaboration there. But then also we have Northwest Arkansas the hub for Walmart, J.B. Hunt, Tyson. There's very, very large corporate entities that are global entities that are also headquartered here. So for ah for a pretty small place here in Arkansas, it's the center of quite a bit of large scale industry and and things like that. And so it creates an interesting environment. And what we say a lot of times in Northwest Arkansas is, you know, you either have money or you're mad about it.
00:14:28
Speaker
And that's kind of the way that the system here works. And So it's not a resource dry place, but what it has been is is kind of a resource controlled place.
00:14:42
Speaker
Okay, tell me more tell me a more on that. It is because we have such large entities here who are, and we have you know family foundations that are the result of those large entities, all of those being large family controlled organizations.
00:14:57
Speaker
There is a lot of private money here. that operates in the public sector. And so that offers a lot of control to those entities. And so what has happened is that over the years, relationships have developed in the nonprofit sector with the profit sector, but it has been kind of controlled and directed by where's the money rather than where's the need.
00:15:25
Speaker
And what we found in engaging is that that's not necessarily the agenda or the result of those large organizations and entities. It is really the responsibility of those of us who provide services and engage with the community to, like we said earlier, really be listening and then to leverage those resources that are here for the good of our communities.
00:15:50
Speaker
And so i would I would say in addition to those things, the biggest partnership engagement collaboration that we've had is with the city of Fayetteville itself and with the city government.
00:16:02
Speaker
And so we've been able to collaborate and work with them in ways that are that are pretty extraordinary. We get to run a workforce development program with them that hires people from the unhoused community to do litter abatement, city beautification, park cleanup, those sorts of things, and and have really been able to work with them to establish a program that really redefines our unhoused neighbor's place in the community.
00:16:32
Speaker
Rather than just being cared for, rather than just being provided for, they're able to start being a part of solutions in the community, which is really beautiful. and And one of the things that I love here is that in Fayetteville, which is kind of known as the kind of liberal bastion of Arkansas, which is an incredibly conservative state, it it's not assumed that a church would work well with the government here.
00:16:59
Speaker
because that's the reputation. But I have not found a place where the government has really been more welcoming to the work that we do. I mean, it has been a really unique opportunity for us to collaborate with our local ah civic entities and work in those programs. And so they they fund and help us to provide services to to quite a few people.
00:17:23
Speaker
And then we partner with them as well in are like We do a winter shelter and some other things, and we are the city's response to those things.
00:17:33
Speaker
So rather than either competing with a lo when ah with a public entity or trying to figure out how to get around that or having that sort of relationship, we've ended up in partnership with several other organizations, which are also faith-focused organizations.
00:17:50
Speaker
Being able to really be that city response, which I think is really cool because it brings a ah sense that when our when our neighbors are engaging with our programs and our opportunities, they're not just working with our church, they're working with the whole city and they're working with the community at large to take steps forward and be a part of Solutions.
00:18:15
Speaker
What are some of the things that the collaboration, not just with the city, because I've been there and I've seen like that kind of diverse stakeholders that all care about the well-being of neighbors and they're coming together and they're really trying to not just think about the immediate, you know, cold winter shelter we need to address.
00:18:32
Speaker
We also need to look a little bit farther down. That's the moving from outreach to development. And what are some things that are coming up as a result of working together that you are excited about for the future?
00:18:45
Speaker
Yeah. So one of the coolest things that's happened over the last year that is just beginning to develop is a program called CR2H, which is the community response to homelessness.
00:18:56
Speaker
And it is a collaboration between faith organizations, nonprofit service providers, and the city government. And the also as well now in the last few months, the University of Arkansas.
00:19:09
Speaker
And so we've been able to connect all of those entities. And it has created, just like you said, Michelle, an opportunity to really look at the future and look at where the community is headed.
00:19:22
Speaker
And so rather than focusing purely on what's today's problem, maybe it's cold weather shelter, maybe it is an issue with litter abatement that needs to take place in the park, something like that, really starting to shift the focus to long-term strategic solutions.
00:19:39
Speaker
Fayetteville in particular and Northwest Arkansas as a whole has been a draw for people experiencing ah homelessness, living in unhouse situations. And so what has happened is that a lot of service providers have popped up and it's solving the needs of creating more of a comfort in that space. And what's been cool in these collaborations is that we've been able to start looking at what are long-term development solutions look like.
00:20:07
Speaker
And so in workforce development programs, we're able to engage people in meaningful, dignifying work, but then also to work with them with case managers and with a local shelter and collaborate with all of those together to create a pathway forward for people so that while they're working, they're not just earning some money, but they are working on you know getting their IDs and getting their fines paid down and making meaningful connections with the court systems and landlords and other people who are going to really pave that pathway forward to start moving out of that situation they found themselves in. And so creating a community that has a robust safety net
00:20:53
Speaker
And a really robust kind of ah sort of a series of on ramps that people can access to either get to employment, get to other forms of development, whether it's education, mental health care, substance abuse, treatment, any of those things.
00:21:09
Speaker
as the community starts to come together, rather than being siloed in our individual little purposes, we're starting to see collaborative work where someone who steps into the spaces that that we're helping to form, they're not just solving today, but they're starting to look at six months, three years, five years down the road, where do I want to be? And then as a city and as a collaboration,
00:21:38
Speaker
We're looking at what is this going to look like six months, three years, five years down the road? Are we just creating ah an environment and a situation where people come here to be a little bit more comfortable living in that situation?
00:21:52
Speaker
or are we creating an environment where people come here because they know that this is a place where there's hope? They know that this is a place where there's opportunity to start making forward motion. And that's what I think has been probably the coolest part of all of those collaborations.
00:22:07
Speaker
And I could go on and on about the different programs that are popping up, but they but it it would take me all day because there are just so many things starting to come along in those collaborations that are creating. We've we've kind of moved to this place where we say we we want to make it a little bit more difficult to be unhoused in Fayetteville.
00:22:28
Speaker
And nearly impossible to stay that way because there are so many opportunities to make forward motion. And it's such a supportive community in that way.
00:22:39
Speaker
Wow, that's incredible. You know, as you're sharing it, and I'm thinking of the principles of CCDA, really what you're talking about is setting up just the principle of redistribution. It's probably the most often under-talked about, and but it's also incredibly powerful. And without relationships across sectors and beyond your own organization, it's really hard to redistribute.
00:23:03
Speaker
know, some of the opportunities to change, some of the barriers, so that people really can be empowered and developed, etc. So when you think about the FCI program, because that's what really i want to keep focusing on, and I have to remind myself too, because you and I could get off on some really...
00:23:21
Speaker
Amazing tangents in some of the conversations that we've had throughout the last couple of years. But I'm just wondering, you know, you have been doing this job for a little bit. And as you have sat at tables, as you've catalyzed some of these groups of people, what's kind of the voice in your head that you bring to it and you may have already mentioned it, but specifically, you know, being immersed in this FCI, you've been doing CCD training every month from people around the country who have been practicing it for so long. What's the sort of the voice in your head as you begin to go outside and sit at these tables or even, I'll even say, leverage and negotiate those relationships?
00:24:00
Speaker
I would say that the the driving thing that that keeps coming up, and it is a direct result of our engagement with you, Michelle, but also with just the the environment that FCI has created, is that idea that, ah number one, we're not alone.
00:24:18
Speaker
And that that's not that's not a failure on our part, that we can't do it all. It is by design, that we were designed to function in communities. We were designed to function in collaboration. And so when you look at, especially with with the principles that CCDA operates off of, that that church-based idea. And so when you take that and you combine it with the idea of redistribution and you combine it with the idea of of relocation and being local to to what's happening,
00:24:51
Speaker
you start to be a part of the fabric of the community. And what is really cool, I think what impacted me in a huge way at the conference this last year was listening to several of the speakers when we were at the FCI breakouts talk about the neighborhoods that they have worked with for 20, 30 years.
00:25:10
Speaker
And then to hear them come back at the end of their talk and say, you know, this neighborhood I'm talking about, maybe it's ah South LA, maybe it's you know Upper West Side Chicago, whatever that looks like.
Leadership Empowerment and Community Purpose
00:25:22
Speaker
What we're talking about is neighborhoods that used to exist because those neighborhoods are no longer in this place where they were. they're now neighborhoods that are flourishing. They're now neighborhoods where the people who we we came in to help are now leading the neighborhoods. They're leading those communities.
00:25:40
Speaker
And so the I would say the inspiration of that is though that we're not the answer. We are a resource. We are able to step into the community and help to guide and inspire and direct.
00:25:54
Speaker
But it is in raising up the leaders within the community and doing that that leadership development work. that CCDA focuses on so much and and starting to create a community of developments within the community where the folks that we work with are able to take the reins on those things. ah Probably the biggest change we've made over the last year, and it is a direct result of our work with the FCI program and with Michelle, is that we
00:26:26
Speaker
have started to turn over leadership of our programs to people of the community and people who have come up through those programs. And so like our workforce development program is now run by one of our first employees of that workforce development program, who when we met was living in a tent, ah was wrestling with mental health issues, addiction issues, all of those things.
00:26:53
Speaker
And by having the opportunity to engage with the whole community through those is now housed and stable and employed and a leader showing hope to the other people in our community and saying, hey, if i I'm in this place now, then there's the opportunity for for you to be in this place.
00:27:12
Speaker
And so it's not these people over here do this good thing. and then we're over here being in the community, it is it's kind of a call to arms from the people in the community to their neighbors and their friends that says, let's go, let's make a change, let's make a difference, let's get engaged. And I would say that is a major shift for us.
00:27:33
Speaker
It had for a long time been a service provider mindset. And through our work with yeah FCI and and really with Michelle as a coach, seeing the neighborhood and the community through a different lens.
00:27:46
Speaker
And so the inspiration there of seeing those communities that have been talked about and worked with n CCDA for so long, that those communities are now flourishing communities is an inspiration to us that says, hey, we're not the answer.
00:28:01
Speaker
we're just We're just here to to inspire the answer because we know the answer to human brokenness is Jesus Christ. And so we can come up with all the clever ideas in the world, but if we keep pointing people there,
00:28:14
Speaker
then then they will find hope and they will begin to be the leaders within this community. That's tremendous. Thank you. Thank you so much, Josh. It's really been a joy to work with you. Thanks for really sharing quite robustly how you are seeing the CCDA philosophy at work in your community.
00:28:32
Speaker
I want to go ahead and just loop back to just the word flourishing. and We talk about flourishing in CCDA a lot. Sometimes we'll talk about community well-being. And so as we get ready to conclude our time, I'm wondering if you could share what does flourishing mean to you?
00:28:50
Speaker
and what do you think it means to your church and community at this point, especially after, you know, a couple of years of the program? So one thing that I think is pretty neat outside of our direct connection with FCI and CCDA, our church, every year our church has like a theme for the year.
00:29:07
Speaker
And for 2026, that theme is flourishing. And so it fits beautifully. Our lead pastor, Jody Farrell, that's been kind of his focus over the last few months. And so as we moved into 2026, that became our focus for the year.
00:29:24
Speaker
And so that's really where we're at all year is just talking about the idea of flourishing and focusing on that. So for us in our outreach and development area, it's perfect because When I think of flourishing for our South Fayetteville community that we're a part of and for Genesis Church, what I see is a community where people are stepping into their purpose and stepping into whatever the thing is that they were created to do.
00:29:54
Speaker
In a big picture sense, all of us were created to reflect the glory of God and to be a part of our community in a meaningful way.
00:30:06
Speaker
What that looks like on an individual level is different for each of the people that we engage. It's different for us. But my idea of a flourishing community is that when that question gets asked of anyone in our community, that they're able to give you an answer. When I say, what does flourishing look like to you? What is your purpose in this community? What is your reason for being here that it isn't because I have no other choice or it isn't you know because this is where I'm stuck?
00:30:38
Speaker
but that it it is you know something of purpose that says, I'm here because this calling in my life is is the way that I can impact the city, is the way that I can impact my neighbors around me. I'm here because i was where my neighbors are today and I've been able to walk in this direction and to find this hope. And I want to share that with the people around me.
00:31:02
Speaker
And where it's not the as you said before, Michelle, the charity idea that says, I have a resource and you have a need and I'm going to take my resource and meet your need. But it is that that asset-based mindset kind of you know invading the community and getting people starting to think about the idea of what do I have? What do I bring to the table? And how can I leverage that? Not only for my success, but for the success of my community as a whole.
00:31:32
Speaker
And I think one of the the pivots that takes place in the mindset of someone who steps into that flourishing life is when I stop asking the question, what can this community do for me?
00:31:45
Speaker
And I start saying, what can I do for this community? And that's the change that takes place in people. And so when I think of flourishing as a whole, it would be a community filled with people who are asking the question, now that I...
00:32:00
Speaker
I'm in a place where I'm living in purpose. How can I be a part of helping the community to flourish? And if you have a community filled with people with that mindset, that the possibilities are limitless.
00:32:16
Speaker
And when you you know when you look at at poverty as a whole, one of the biggest pieces of it is that it's a brokenness in relationship to God, to my identity, to my
Flourishing and Transformative Engagement
00:32:28
Speaker
community.
00:32:28
Speaker
And so flourishing is the repair of that relationship that says, i'm i'm right with God. I'm right with my identity, who I am, who I was created to be.
00:32:41
Speaker
And my position in my community is one where I see my purpose and I see how I can help to make an impact on my community.
00:32:53
Speaker
And so when people start to have that mindset, I think ah it has this domino effect that, and I think in Denver, you've seen it. I think with Open Door, you've seen it, how when some people kind of catch that fire, they It just spreads and it grows.
00:33:10
Speaker
And that's that's what I see as as kind of the flourishing here is as the people in the community start to see themselves as pet parts of the community, not the problem the community has to solve.
00:33:23
Speaker
That's really powerful. You know, Josh, we've never had a conversation quite like this, and I'm just smiling so much because of a couple reasons. One, it's just been such a great journey together, and I have really, really enjoyed, you know, getting a, not a bird's-eye view, like a close-up view, an intimate view just what you all are doing at Genesis and how you're really wrestling with how can we grow individually, how can we grow as a church, and then how can we grow not just in our community impact, but as a neighbor in our community, and with people, etc. So so I just wanted to say that it's really been a really great experience for me. I think the second thing too is having been a part of CCDA almost since its inception, I was that young person running around trying to get informal coaching. You know, you go to the RIT workshop and you just, i remember following Barbara Williams Skinner around like for years. And one time she just, I would sit in the front row and at everything she did, I didn't even care what she was talking about. I just really respected her and was kind of informally being coached. I remember her catching me in the hall and she's like, little girl, little girl, i keep seeing you. You know, you're like everywhere I am. I said, well, you know, I know, i know where to get good information. And so one of the things that I don't think we talk enough about CCBA
00:34:41
Speaker
is just how beautiful the legacy is that we get poured into, that we pour into others, and that that continues to cycle. And even while you lead, you're getting poured into. So I've learned a lot from you. i appreciate you know the relationship and just really grateful for for even just the grant and the opportunity to do the FCI i program with you and your congregation. Is there anything else you want to say before we go ahead and close?
00:35:10
Speaker
Yeah, I would just say, you know, for us, we know that we've been called into this community to make an impact. We know that we've been called to share the love and the the identity that that love of Christ brings to people.
00:35:25
Speaker
We have no idea what we're doing. We are figuring it out every day. And so the the chance to step into this program with FCI, with CCDA as a whole, with you, Michelle, has been transformative for us in that we have somewhere, like you said, you were you were chasing her around trying to figure out what what am I supposed to do? How do I do this?
00:35:49
Speaker
Knowing what we're called to and knowing how to do it are two drastically different things. yeah And so for us, it's been very much a, well, we know what we're supposed to do. We're not sure how to do that or what it looks like.
00:36:03
Speaker
And we get stuck in ruts doing that. And so having your perspective, having the community of CCDA around us to help guide and have that not only close up view, but also that bird's eye view that sees what we don't see, that that's able to address some of those things. There was an issue that came up as we were moving into the winter.
00:36:26
Speaker
And we were we kind of going back and forth with our city about some of the things around our our shelter. And i had a very strong opinion about some things and I brought it to Michelle.
00:36:40
Speaker
And Michelle's answer did not line up with my opinion about things. And I am so grateful that she gave me the answer that she did. Because by being able to work through it from the perspective that she had, we've been able to build a significantly more robust response, but also to grow our relationship in ways that are really healthy. And so turning what could have been a ah pretty, pretty significant conflict.
00:37:09
Speaker
into what has been a huge relationship builder. That's where that perspective that we're able to get from you all and that support of not, we're not going it alone. We're not by ourselves.
00:37:21
Speaker
And it's not dependent on us to figure out and solve every problem. And so we we're grateful to be able to be a part of CCDA and a part of this FCI program and to have just really amazing practitioners who have gone before us, like Michelle, who are able to guide us and coach us through this. That's huge.
00:37:43
Speaker
So thank you very much. Well, Josh, thank you. And also thank you for joining us on this podcast. Thank you to everyone who is listening to the CCDA podcast. If you want to learn more about CCDA and get involved or connected with Genesis Church of Fayetteville, check out the show notes of this episode. Don't forget to subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode is produced by Sarah Callan in association with Christina Fork, and we will be back soon with another episode featuring CCDA practitioners who are committed to seeing people and communities experience God's Shalom.
00:38:23
Speaker
We'll see you then!