REFORMED THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY
CNL FINANCIAL GROUP
SEEKING THE WELFARE OF THE CITY:
AN ASSESSMENT FROM A CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVE OF HOW
HUMAN NEEDS ARE MET IN CENTRAL FLORIDA
CONTRIBUTIONS BY:
ANGELA WINN, PHILIP HISSOM, AMY LAUGER, MELISSA KURTZ,
JENNIE HISSOM, AND MATTHEW BUCKLAND
ORLANDO, FL
NOVEMBER 14, 2009
Contents
Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 1
Methodology ....................................................................................................................... 2
Process ............................................................................................................................ 3
Phases .............................................................................................................................. 5
Phase One: A Year of Discovery ............................................................................... 5
Phase Two: Working Theory ..................................................................................... 8
Phase Three: Recommendations ................................................................................. 9
Findings............................................................................................................................. 10
Summary of Findings .................................................................................................... 10
Frameworks................................................................................................................... 13
Theological ............................................................................................................... 13
Historical ................................................................................................................... 20
Socioeconomic .......................................................................................................... 24
Central Florida Needs ................................................................................................... 26
Helps in Central Florida ................................................................................................ 29
Best practices ................................................................................................................ 33
Working Theory ............................................................................................................ 36
Pilot Neighborhood ................................................................................................... 40
Cautions and Correctives .......................................................................................... 47
Recommendations ............................................................................................................. 48
Research ........................................................................................................................ 49
Leadership ..................................................................................................................... 51
Collaboration................................................................................................................. 52
Capitalization ................................................................................................................ 54
Conclusion .................................................................................................................... 55
Appendices ........................................................................................................................ 57
Appendix A: Organizations Contacted ......................................................................... 57
Appendix B: Pilot Neighborhood Demographics ......................................................... 65
Appendix C: Literature Review .................................................................................... 75
Appendix D: Expert Consultation................................................................................. 79
Appendix E: A Neighborhood Transformation Process ............................................... 83
Appendix F: Association Interview Guide ................................................................... 93
Appendix G: Bibliography ............................................................................................ 97
Introduction
Seeking the Welfare of the City (SWC) started as a project commissioned by the CEO of
CNL Financial Group, Jim Seneff. Mr. Seneff’s desire was to see how the resources of
the Central Florida community could be better utilized to help the needs across our city.
Mr. Seneff commissioned a team of seminary students from Reformed Theological
Seminary along with Angie Winn, an associate of CNL, to undertake this research.
In parallel, Greater Orlando Leadership Foundation (GOLF) partnered with its national
affiliate Leadership Foundations of America (LFA) to analyze the city’s most critical
needs and to recommend a model by which resources of the GOLF alumni could be
mobilized to meet the greatest needs. The consultant conducting this research for GOLF
was Angie Winn of CNL. Naturally, the two analysis efforts converged as one.
After three years, the research team gathered enough information to assert that the
“culture of service,” or the way resources are working to meet the human need in Central
Florida, is broken. The resources to alleviate distress are not focused in neighborhoods
where distress is concentrated and do not emphasize building capacity in those they serve
in a holistic way. But many service providers are eager to remediate these shortcomings
and there are a vast number of caring and talented individuals available to implement the
necessary changes. These changes will require leadership, capitalization, collaboration,
and continuous research – the four recommendations that resulted from SWC research.
This report outlines the methodology, findings, and recommendations of the research. It
represents volumes of interview notes, demographic and best practice research, and
literally hundreds of relationships made in the city through the team’s efforts of
exploration. This report in no way adequately represents the movement of the hand of
God that we have seen since the inception of this project. However, be assured that the
movement of God’s hand in this city is acting very swiftly at this moment. God has laid
the vision of a better city on the hearts of many Christian leaders. We believe that hours
of prayer, relationship building, and discovery have led us to see our city in the way that
God desires us to see it – with both its pain and its hopes. And we believe this gift of
seeing has brought us to the point of strong recommendations that will help to transform
our city and bring God’s people together to seek its welfare.
1
Methodology
The initial objectives of this research were to determine the greatest needs of our city and
the existing resources working to address those needs. To do this, we needed lenses, or a
set of frameworks, that could be used to guide the research and recommendations. The
three frameworks were theological, historical, and socioeconomic. The theological
framework was established using the Bible as the foundation complemented by articles
and books from a Christian perspective to ministering in the city. The historical
framework was created by looking at what has been done to address human need that has
successfully led to holistic transformation. Lastly, a socioeconomic framework was
established to assess the cultural situation into which recommended actions would
happen.
As the frameworks were being established, the needs and resources of Central Florida
were assessed quantitatively and qualitatively for Seminole, Orange, Osceola, and Lake
Counties. Firstly, existing research publications of human need and the services to
address it in Central Florida were reviewed. These sources were complemented with
quantitative data from the U.S. Census Bureau and other sources along six key indicators:
family structure, housing, income, crime, education, and health insurance. The indicators
were analyzed at the neighborhood, county, regional, state, and national levels in order to
assess how healthy the neighborhoods in Central Florida were compared to one another
and how Central Florida compared to the state and the nation. Qualitative data was
gathered through observations and interviews of non-profit and church leaders, staff,
volunteers, as well as from residents of distressed neighborhoods and clients of non-profit
organizations and church ministries.
As the research effort began to unfold, it became apparent that there were vastly different
perceptions of the effectiveness of service entities among staff, volunteers, clients, and
neighborhood residents. Statistical data, interviews, and observations were proving
insufficient to give a complete picture of what was happening in our communities. This
finding led to adopting Participatory Action Research (PAR) as the overall methodology
for the project. PAR is an iterative learning process where researcher’s actions in the
community, community participation, and critical review of the process are all integral
parts of the research. The researcher’s desire to improve the situation being researched is
disclosed and this disclosure allows researchers to move beyond detached observation to
direct participation.1
Initial findings gave way to a working theory that needed to be tested on the ground and
improved before final recommendations could be made. This led to a pilot study in a
particular distressed community in Orlando. The pilot, along with the rest of the research,
led to genuine relationships between the team and area residents and informed a robust
set of recommendations for seeking the welfare of our city.
1
Bob Dick, "Action and Research," Southern Cross University,
http://www.scu.edu.au/schools/gcm/ar/arp/aandr.html.
2
Process
The methodology was structured around the three overarching research questions below
which resulted in the cyclical process depicted in the diagram on the following page.
1. What is our situation? A three-tiered approach was employed to assess the
current situation of how well human needs are being addressed in Central Florida:
a. Tier 1: Indicators – statistics of community well-being called indicators
were used to evaluate community health from demographic information
for all of Central Florida.
b. Tier 2: Interviews – formal interviews of human service providers were
performed to assess the culture of service from those actively involved.
c. Tier 3: Observations – direct observations of human services and informal
conversations were also recorded, informing subsequent action items.
2. What should be done? Three frameworks, or lenses, were adopted through
which to view the current situation in order to determine the most appropriate
action. The theological, historical, and socioeconomic frameworks are presented
in full in the findings section of this report and were derived from the following
source material:
a. Literature Reviews – SWC research was undertaken from a Christian basis
so the Bible and the witness of Christians through the ages were highly
weighted. In particular, the Bible is viewed as the normative authority for
life and practice. This presupposition places the research outside the
bounds of most Action Research (AR) which tends to see norms as mere
social constructs. Socially constructed norms are by definition not
transcendent and are mutable, unlike God and his standards. Other
pertinent research literature was also reviewed to ascertain the most
effective practices in meeting human needs. Practices that resulted in
positive social outcomes that did not run contrary to God’s standards were
viewed favorably regardless of their source.
b. Expert Consultations – opinions of experts in the field who have engaged
in some level of success in ministering to distressed communities in
Central Florida and throughout the United States were gathered.
3
3. How did that affect our situation?
a. Action Item – a community action derived from the previous question was
implemented in a specific community setting. Actions included
presentations of preliminary findings, discussions with community leaders
and residents, participation at Neighborhood Association and other
community meetings, and volunteering with non-profit agencies.
b. Observations – reviewing each action in the context of the current
situation provided the grounds for improved action and additional insight
into the nature of the service entities in our community. The following
four questions were asked as part of each review: 2
i. What did we set out to do?
ii. What actually happened?
iii. What went well and why?
iv. What can be improved and how?
Seeking the Welfare of the City – Participatory Research Methodology
1. What is our
situation?
white
Indicators
Historical
Interviews
Socioeconomi
Observations
c
2. What should be
done?
white
Theological
Historical
Historical
Action Item
Socioeconomi
Socio-economic
c
3. How did that
affect our
situation?
2
United States Agency for International Development, After Action Review: Technical Guidance, PNADF-360, (Washington, D.C.: USAID, 2006).
4
Phases
The main objective of the research was to produce sound recommendations for what
ought to be done to address human need in Central Florida. This objective was pursued in
the three phases described below. Using the cyclical process outlined in the previous
section, key research questions for each phase were explored and key outcomes achieved.
1. A Year of Discovery: Aug. 2006 – Aug. 2007
2. Defining and Validating Working Theory: Sept. 2007 – Sept. 2008
3. Recommendations: Oct. 2008 – June 2009
Phase One: A Year of Discovery
August 2006-August 2007
The first phase of the project was a ‘Year of Discovery,’ during which the research team
became familiar with human need in Central Florida and the people committed to
addressing those needs. Ray Bakke, a Christian leader in urban ministry, insisted that
getting to know a city takes a considerable amount of time and that if the discovery phase
were rushed, erroneous conclusions would be the certain result. He cautioned us against
coming to conclusions divorced from the “on-the-ground” problems and efforts to
address them. Other experts, such as Robert Lupton, reiterated these cautions.
During this phase the team sought to answer the three “Key Research Questions” listed
below using local publications, demographic information, the Bible, qualitative
interviews, direct observation, and expert opinion from consultation and published
materials.
KEY RESEARCH QUESTIONS:
1. What are the most pressing human needs in Central Florida?
2. What are the best practices for addressing human need?
3. How do the service entities in Central Florida try to meet human need?
KEY CONCEPTS (see Appendices C and D):
• Seeking the Welfare of the City (Jeremiah 29:7, Tim Keller)
• Gentrification with justice (Bob Lupton)
• Just generosity (Ronald Sider)
• Participatory evaluation (Bryant Myers)
KEY OUTCOMES:
• established base indicators of community health
• assessed existing efforts working to meet area needs
• learned about certain under-resourced neighborhoods through direct participation
5
Answers to the first two “Key Research Questions” in phase one were sought through
local publications about human needs in our region and through demographic statistics.
1. Local interest publications included:
a. Legacy 2002: Greater Orlando Indicators Report3
b. Children and Youth Legacy Report4
c. Community Health Assessment5
d. Blueprint to Reduce Child Maltreatment6
e. Economic Contribution of Florida Non-profit Corporations7
f. Annual Report on Homeless Conditions in Florida8
g. Myregion Mid Project Report9
h. Central Florida Regional Indicators Report10
i. Central Florida Social Capital Survey11
j. Demographic and Social Services White Paper12
k. Hunger in Central Florida13
2. Additional demographic data sources included:
a. U.S. Census Bureau (Year 2000 data for Education, Family Structure,
Transportation, Home Ownership, Health Insurance variables)
b. Environmental Systems Research Institute (2008 estimates and 2013
projections of the U.S. Census data listed above)
c. U.S. Department of Justice (Crime)
d. Florida Department of Law Enforcement (Crime)
e. Applied Geographic Solutions (Crime)
3
The Healthy Community Initiative of Greater Orlando (HCI), Legacy 2002: Greater Orlando Indicators
Report, (Orlando, FL: AtKisson, Inc., 2002).
4
HCI, Children and Youth Legacy Report, (Orlando, FL: HCI, 2005).
5
Winter Park Health Foundation, Community Health Assessment: Orange, Osceola, and Seminole
Counties, (Winter Park, FL: Community Health Improvement Council, 2000).
6
Howard Phillips Center for Children and Families (HCPPF) Child Abuse Prevention Project Team,
Blueprint to Reduce Child Maltreatment, (Orlando, FL: HCPPF, 2005).
7
Rollins College Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership Center, Economic Contribution of Florida
Nonprofit Organizations: A Resource for the Public Good, (Winter Park, FL: Public Sector Consultants,
Inc., 2002).
8
Florida Department of Children and Families, Annual Report on Homeless Conditions in Florida,
(Tallahassee, FL: Office of Homelessness, 2005).
9
myregion.org, How Shall We Grow?, (Orlando, FL: myregion.org, 2006).
10
myregion.org, Central Florida Regional Indicators Report, (Orlando, FL: myregion.org, 2005).
11
myregion.org, The Ties That Bind, (Orlando, FL: myregion.org, 2005).
12
myregion.org, Demographic and Social Services White Paper, (Orlando, FL: myregion.org, 2006).
13
Second Harvest Food Bank, Hunger in Central Florida, (Orlando, FL: SHFB, 2006).
6
In order to answer the third research question (How do the service entities in Central
Florida try to meet human need
need?) we focused on local non-profits
profits and churches and their
approach to service. In order to construct a list of these entities the team used two
sources, a list compiled by graduate students from the Department of Public
ublic
Administration at the University of Central Florida under the guidance of Dr. Naim
Kapucu and search results from Guidestar.org, a national listing of non
non-profits.
profits.
Geographic and taxonomic (National
National Taxonomy of Exempt Entities
Entities)) criteria were used to
limit the results to the four counties (Lake, Orange, Osceola, and Seminole) and to human
service organizations that provided services which matched one or more of the six
“Indicators of Community Health.
Health.”14
This process revealed 3800
00 third sector entities – which are non-profit
profit organizations and
volunteer associations. Five percent (190) of the 3800 third sector organizations were
then selected to investigate more closely and twenty percent of which (one percent of the
total or 38) were selected for intensive interviews. These inquiries sought to answer the
following questions.
a. What is the organization’s primary focus a) relief, b) training, c) community
development, or d) structural change?
These four categories came from literatu
literature
re reviews in which types of service were
categorized. Relief
elief is analogous to giving someone a fish to eat; training is
teaching someone how to fish; community development is analogous to buying
the pond or creating a fishing business or opening a restaura
restaurant;
nt; and structural
change is analogous to ensuring fair access to the pond.
b. Was the organization’s geographic focus a) a specific neighborhood, b) the city,
c) the region, or d) other (nationa
(national, international, or undefined)?
c. What was the organization’s pri
primary need?
d. What other organizations did they collaborate with?
e. Where did their vision come from?
Social Sectors
Researched
Business
Third Sector
Government
SWC research primarily focused on voluntary associations as a distinct social sector from
the business and governmental sectors. This is commonly referred tto
o as the ‘third sector.’
14
Polis Institute, “Indicators of Community Health Report,”
http://www.polisinstitute.org/images/Polis_Indicators_2008.pdf
http://www.polisinstitute.org/images/Polis_Indicators_2008.pdf.
7
Phase Two: Working Theory
SEPTEMBER 2007- SEPTEMBER 2008
In phase two the research worked to define a working theory of what would most benefit
the region in terms of handling human need based on the phase one findings, validate the
theory with local leaders to gauge potential for implementation on a large scale, and
begin to test the theory in a pilot neighborhood. Activities during this phase included
establishing working partnerships with several area churches, discovering assets in
certain neighborhoods, developing core principles, and creating a vehicle for these
principles to be communicated.
KEY RESEARCH QUESTIONS:
1. How should we address human need in Central Florida?
2. Where should we pilot this approach?
KEY CONCEPTS (see Appendices B and C):
• White privilege, internalized racism, superiority (Potapchuk, Leiderman)
• Social capital (Robert Putnam), creative capital (Richard Florida)
• Mutually beneficial relationships, asset mapping (Kretzmann, McKinght)
KEY OUTCOMES:
• developed working theory
• created 2007 Indicators Report; presented findings in community venues
• established working partnerships with several area churches
• discovered assets in pilot neighborhoods and facilitated relationships
• developed core principles, wrote, piloted Dignity Serves
In order to validate, test, and improve the theory a pilot neighborhood had to be selected.
The Holden Heights community was selected as the pilot neighborhood. The reason it
was selected was because it had clear signs of distress, it had support from multiple
political jurisdictions, City of Orlando and Orange County, and the neighborhood had
been the focus of several past improvement efforts which afforded the research team an
opportunity to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of these efforts. Choosing a
neighborhood that spanned jurisdictional boundaries provided a soft assessment of the
political entities in that if conditions in the neighborhood were consistent across
jurisdictional lines, the neighborhood ethos would prove itself to be stronger than the
efforts of the political entities.
In order to validate the theory the following activities were undertaken after the Holden
Heights community was selected:
• assess past efforts in pilot neighborhood
• validate theory with neighborhood leaders and community development experts
• test elements of the theory in various settings
8
Phase Three: Recommendations
SEPTEMBER 2008- JUNE 2009
The research conducted in the first two phases revealed a great need to implement a
comprehensive model that will strengthen the city of Orlando and the Central Florida
region. The essential components of the model include research, leadership,
capitalization, and collaboration.
KEY RESEARCH QUESTIONS:
1. What are the recommendations for each key finding?
2. What organizational emphasis will lead to successful implementation of the
recommendations?
KEY CONCEPTS:
• Dignified interdependence as the ideal type of relationship for meeting human
need
• Jesus Christ as the source and standard of human dignity
KEY OUTCOMES:
• created 2008 Indicators Report; presented findings at community venues
• created Neighborhood Stress Index (NSI) as a composite of the indicators
• published Dignity Serves as introductory curricula
9
Findings
Summary of Findings
The main finding of the SWC research is that the culture of service in Central Florida is
broken – the resources to address human distress are not focused on neighborhoods
where distress is concentrated and do not emphasize building capacity in those they serve
in a holistic way.
The culture of service, or the way that human needs tend to be met, can be described by
the most prevalent goal of social service entities in the region – self-sufficiency. This
goal is self-defeating because it is unattainable; no human being is self-sufficient. Yet this
goal is evidenced by the prevalence of relief and individual
betterment programs which focus their limited resources on
The culture of
giving things to clients to provide for immediate needs (relief)
or training clients in certain skills (individual betterment). The
service in Central
belief being that if you give a person in need a ‘hand-out’ or a
Florida is geared
‘hand-up’ then they are better prepared to take care of
towards selfthemselves and become more self-sufficient. While, in certain
sufficiency, an
circumstances, this is certainly helpful for individuals, relief
unattainable and
and betterment programs alone have not proven to strengthen
unbiblical goal.
whole families or neighborhoods, the very entities that need
strengthening in Central Florida. In order to do that, there will
need to be a focused shift in the culture of service towards
holistic efforts to empower individuals in distressed communities to not only care for
themselves but for their families, neighbors, and community as a whole. Resources from
outside these communities will need to be patient and humble enough to discover and
nurture these capacities rather than imposing a readymade solution.
The main finding is supported by the following six key findings:
1. There are six inter-related “Indicators of Community Health” that reveal the needs
of our region (education, family structure, health insurance, housing, income,
crime).
2. There are vast disparities between neighborhoods on all indicators.
3. Most efforts to address the needs are:
a. not collaborative,
b. focused on relieving the symptoms represented by a single indicator,
c. unable to demonstrate a holistic impact on distressed neighborhoods.
4. Non-profits lack the resources and strength to accomplish their mission.
5. Churches in Central Florida are often immobile or vision-imposing.
6. While there are mature and effective examples of asset-based community
development in other parts of the country, none exist in Central Florida.
10
Findings 1 and 2: Indicators of community health are inter-related and there are
vast disparities between neighborhoods on all indicators
It is impossible to fully separate human needs into discreet categories. Family
structure affects education which affects income which affects housing options
and health insurance options. These relationships do not simply go one direction;
there are intricate relationships between each of the indicators which intensify at
the neighborhood level – needs concentrate in distressed neighborhoods but
efforts to address the needs do not tend to restrict programs to certain places.
Please refer to Indicators of Community Health Report for the specific findings
related to each indicator – the regional trends and neighborhood comparisons.15
Finding 3: Most efforts to address the needs are not collaborative and are focused
on relieving the symptoms represented by a single indicator
There are numerous non-profits in Central Florida meeting specific needs that are
competing for resources to address these needs. As the indicators are inter-related,
so must be the work of the organizations trying to meet needs. This will require
collaboration with other entities working to address similar and related issues.
Many national grants require that non-profits collaborate to receive funding but
these partnerships are not clearly evident throughout our region. This
independent approach limits the ability to improve our communities. A director
of a local foundation stated that “our problem in Orlando is not a duplication of
service, but fragmentation.”
Finding 4: Non-profits lack the resources and strength to accomplish their mission
Non-profit leaders often have the passion and experience to provide services to
the marginalized people of our city. However, many non-profits are challenged
operationally with running an organization and lack the resources necessary to
stay on the front-lines of the work. Church partnerships can be helpful but also
hindering because of the desired level of control and the lack of commitment.
Finding 5: Churches are often immobile or vision-imposing
The church is called to social and spiritual renewal of the city, yet many churches
are either immobile or conduct high-profile relief efforts that do not result in
transformation. Community development experts would argue that these efforts
may be damaging in that they foster dependencies and unhealthy perceptions of
inferiority and superiority. Resource rich churches often try to impose a vision
from outside of a distressed neighborhood and do not work to understand the
hopes, concerns, and assets of the residents in the neighborhood. The majority of
the churches within the distressed neighborhoods are focused either strictly on
word of mouth evangelism or serving parishioners outside of the neighborhood.
15
Polis Institute, “Indicators of Community Health Report,”
http://www.polisinstitute.org/images/Polis_Indicators_2008.pdf.
11
Finding 6: There are no mature and effective examples of asset-based community
development efforts in Central Florida
Every community expert interviewed, most of which were Christian, cited the
secular work of Northwestern University researchers McKnight and Kretzmann as
an essential resource for transforming distressed communities. Their approach is
asset-based and happens from the inside out. There are mature and effective
examples of this approach working in other parts of the country but none exist in
Central Florida. There are Community Development Corporations, Neighborhood
Associations, and community groups of all kinds in Central Florida but none have
had the fortitude or capacity to bring holistic transformation to their
neighborhoods. A major factor contributing to the lack of influence of these
groups is a culture of service that is heavily geared towards providing relief and
betterment services. Relief and betterment services fixate on short-term gains and
as these gains have become the expected norm, there is little patience for
alternatives, even when these short-term gains have not translated into measurable
transformation of distressed communities.
12
Frameworks
Frameworks help provide a lens through which to view the research of the needs and
helps in our city. They also provide a set of guiding principles by which
recommendations can be made. SWC research builds upon a Christian understanding of
the need for community involvement and outreach. We use three primary perspectives as
the foundation for our work. First, we use a theological perspective. We believe that Holy
Scripture is the God-breathed, inspired, infallible Word of God and is authoritative for
Christian life and practice. Therefore, we are driven to action by what the Bible teaches
about justice in our community. Secondly, we view our work from a historical
framework. In particular, we want to learn from the Church’s involvement in the
community throughout history. Lastly, we want to examine what is important today from
a socio-economic perspective so that community actions are properly contextualized.
Theological
SWC focused on three themes in the Bible – the kingdom of God, the image of God, and
the covenants of God with his people. These three broad themes inform our mandate to
seek the welfare (or “shalom”) of the place where we are and champion the dignity that is
inherent in all people because of God. The Bible tells the story of God’s action in the
world and his desire to be known throughout the world. Genesis 3 tells of humanity’s
lapse into sin and the need for redemption. The hope of the gospel is first seen in Genesis
3:15 with the promise that evil will be vanquished. The good news of the gospel is
redemption from the guilt and misery of our sin, reconciling us to God and to each other.
Redemption of the world itself is also promised.
The Kingdom of God
In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus teaches his disciples to pray, “Thy Kingdom come, thy will be
done, on earth as it is in heaven.” The Christian life is not merely about believing in Jesus
to receive forgiveness of sins and to go to heaven. Jesus teaches that the Kingdom of God
is to come to earth, and that in and by its coming, God’s will be done here on earth. The
Kingdom to which Jesus refers is a theme throughout Scripture. From the beginning of
Genesis, the Biblical accounts show that God’s desire for humanity is that they spread his
glory throughout the earth. God tells Adam and Eve to “be fruitful and multiply, to fulfill
the earth and subdue it.”16
The Old Testament describes this Kingdom as one of peace, justice, and righteousness.
God expected the Israelites to establish a nation accordingly, and they received judgment
and exile for their unfaithfulness. Even though the exile occurred, the prophets
announced a future restoration of God’s Kingdom. Isaiah 9:6-7, which is a foreshadowing
of Christ, says:
16
Genesis 1:28 (New International Version).
13
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon
his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of
peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to
establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time
forth and forevermore.
When Jesus came and announced that the Kingdom of God was at hand, he inaugurated
what had been God’s plan from the beginning of creation. He is the Prince of Peace who
will rule with justice and righteousness. This is the good news, or gospel, he brings for
the poor.
Shalom
The Hebrew for “peace” in Isaiah 9:6 is shalom. The Kingdom of God is to include the
promise and presence of shalom. According to Nicholas Wolterstorff, shalom includes
“right harmonious relationships” with God, other people, and nature.17 Cornelius
Plantinga says:
The webbing together of God, humans, and all creation in justice, fulfillment, and
delight is what the Hebrew prophets call shalom. In the Bible, shalom means
universal flourishing, wholeness, and delight – a rich state of affairs in which
natural needs are satisfied and natural gifts faithfully employed, a state of affairs
that inspires joyful wonder as its Creator and Savior opens doors and welcomes
the creatures in whom he delights. Shalom, in other words, is the way things
ought to be.18
Redemption is not merely forgiveness of sin but a return to shalom, and all that it entails.
As Plantinga says, it’s the way things are supposed to be. This holistic redemption is
what Jesus had in mind when he said, “I came that they might have life, and might have it
abundantly.”19
Shalom is also related to prosperity. Even exiled Israel was called by God to settle in and
radically pursue the prosperity of their captors. God challenged them to not disengage
and withdraw but to take into account the city’s safety, health, prosperity and peace with
man and God. They were called to care for the city and do everything they could to
promote shalom therein (Jeremiah 29:4-7). And like their forefathers Abraham,20 Joseph,
(Genesis, chapter 37) and Daniel (Book of Daniel, chapters 1 through 6), they were to
pray for it, for when they prayed for its prosperity, they too prospered.
17
Nicholas Wolterstorff, Until Justice and Peace Embrace, (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1983), 69-71.
Cornelius Plantinga Jr., Not the Way It’s Supposed to Be: A Breviary of Sin (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans,
1995), 10.
19
John 10:10.
20
Gen 20:17.
18
14
Scripture also provides the guidelines for seeking shalom that focus on social justice and
practical mercy. This is evident in Isaiah 58. In this passage, God calls his people to
move from their cold and empty piety and shine their light in the darkness and make a
difference in the lives of those in need. It is here that we get a taste of God’s heart for
social justice and mercy. And it is when we align ourselves to this calling that he makes
us into a spring that never runs dry, where people can come and be refreshed. And as we
continue in Scripture we find a rich story line of these two things in the plans of God the
Father, ministry of Jesus, and continued work of the Holy Spirit.
Isaiah points us to five human needs as guiding points for justice and mercy:21
1. The need for freedom from bondage and oppression: “Loose the chains of
injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every
yoke?”
2. The need for food: “Is it not to share your food with the hungry?”
3. The need for housing: “[Is it not] to provide the poor wanderer with shelter.”
4. The need for clothing: “[Is this not the fast I choose:] when you see the naked, to
clothe him?”
5. The need for respect and to stop exploitation: “If you do away with the pointing
finger and malicious talk.”
Image of God
The Imago Dei, or “Image of God” is another important Biblical theme. The concept
comes from an Ancient Near East custom in which a king would erect statues around his
realm to represent himself in all of his power and glory. In fact, this custom yet remains
in the area, now known as the Middle East. While statues were used in the Ancient Near
East as images of human kings, only human kings could claim to be images of God.22
Hence, the title image of God had immense significance to the original audience of
Genesis. Contrary to cultural beliefs, the message of Genesis was that not only kings but
all of humanity had the privilege and responsibility of representing their God throughout
the earth. The title bestows immense dignity on every person as they represent God, the
creator and king.
A person’s role as image bearer not only bestows rights to fair treatment but also includes
responsibility. As God’s image bearers, we are called to be representatives of our Father
– in knowledge, righteousness and holiness. O. Palmer Robertson says that the
responsibility of bearing God’s image “involves the bringing out of all the potential
within the creation which might offer glory to the Creator.”23 As the apex of God’s
creation and God’s representatives on the earth, we as humans are required to care about
what our Father cares about, to act as he would act. Therefore, the reality of the image of
21
Isaiah 58:6-9.
Richard L. Pratt, Designed for Dignity 2d ed. (Phillipsburg, N.J.: P&R, 2000), 14.
23
O. Palmer Robertson, The Christ of the Covenants (Phillipsburg, N.J.: P&R, 1980), 80.
22
15
God not only has implications on the dignity and deserved respect for those in need but
also has implications for the requirements of those with resources to fulfill those needs.
Since all of humanity bears the image of God, the responsibility to seek justice for the
oppressed is not limited to the people of Israel in the Old Testament or the Church in the
New Testament. Reflecting on Romans 13:1-4, which teaches that all human
governments are appointed by God to do good, theologian Meredith Kline says:
The general obligation of the Israelite king to see that persons otherwise not
adequately protected or provided for should enjoy fair treatment in judicial
proceedings and should receive the daily necessities of life is evidently
understood as the duty of all kings.24
Human Dignity
The implication of bearing the image of God is that all people have dignity and deserve
respect. Jesus Christ is the source and standard of human dignity. In him the fullness of
deity dwells25 and through his death humans may be reconciled to God.26 His sacrificial
death was the capstone of his obedient life as a servant and the reason God has exalted
him to the highest place.27 Dignity refers to inherent value and worth. And there is no
other person of greater worth than Jesus. This bodes well for the rest of us. For rather
than devaluing the rest of humanity, his high value elevates our own. Humans are not
only created in God’s image,28 our likeness is how God chose to reveal his eternal son.29
Without a standard, human dignity becomes a meaningless concept equally open to
anyone’s definition. A quick survey of the contemporary use of the word dignity will
illustrate the point. For example, human dignity is invoked in arguments both for and
against euthanasia. It seems we have a sense that human dignity is important but are not
so clear where it comes from or what it means. In 2008, the President’s Council on
Bioethics convened to define the word dignity but failed to reach consensus. The reports
and proceedings of the council shed much light on the problem of defining human
dignity. In sum, their difficulty derived from trying to evaluate something, namely the
inherent worth of human beings, without a standard.30
In the major English translations of the Bible, ‘dignity’ is used to translate seven different
Hebrew words and two Greek words. Each word conveys a slightly different take on the
same theme of high value (exaltation, height, honor, splendor, authority, reverence,
seriousness, glory, nobility, distinction, and holiness). The Bible conveys its highest
honor on Jesus Christ. In a very real sense, Jesus is dignity. And what he chose to do with
his high value is truly amazing – he “made himself nothing, taking on the very nature of a
24
Meredith G. Kline, Kingdom Prologue (Hamilton, MA: Wipf & Stock, 2006), 73.
Col. 2:9.
26
Col. 1:22.
27
Phil. 2:8-9.
28
Gen. 1:26.
29
Phil. 2:7.
30
The President’s Council on Bioethics, Human Dignity and Bioethics, (Washington, D.C.: 2008).
25
16
servant”31 – he served others. Jesus is dignity; Jesus serves; dignity serves. And he does
so to enliven other servants - servants of the living God and servants of people who serve
that still others might revere Christ and sacrifice for the benefit of others.
Dignity serves everyone. God graciously provides and cares for all human beings, even
those who do not believe that he exists. “He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the
good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.”32 This is referred to as
“common grace,” the grace of God that we all share and by which we draw each and
every breath. By his grace, God affords all of humanity the opportunity to show kindness
to others, alleviate suffering, advance our understanding of the world, create amazing
works of art, and build the essential infrastructure for our societies.
As helpful and beautiful as these acts of creativity and kindness are, they do not obligate
God to allow us into his immediate presence. We remain too unlike him because of sin.
Everything we do is tainted with sin – selfish motives and acts that transgress his law and
harm other people. In contrast, we are called to serve everyone33 to the glory of God.34
By a special act of grace, God makes this possible. He draws those who believe into an
intimate relationship with him and teaches us to become servants like his Son.
Relationship is what God seeks with us and for us. And it is in and through relationship
that dignity serves. The triune God exists in harmonious fellowship and draws people into
fellowship with him and with one another. This three-way fellowship between God,
others, and ourself is the ideal context for our lives. It is therefore the ideal context for
meeting human needs. It is a partnership in which all parties participate. Paul’s letter to
the Philippians is all about the joy that participating in this partnership brings – what he
calls a “partnership in the gospel” (1:5) that shares “in the matter of giving and receiving”
(4:15), shares in Christ’s suffering (1:29, 3:10), shares a common citizenship (3:20), a
common goal (3:14-15), and a common Lord (3:1).
The research team wrote the small group curriculum
God asks us again and
Dignity Serves for the purpose of equipping the
again, day after day, “Will
church to more fully engage in this three-way
you love your neighbor?”
partnership, what is referred to in the curriculum as
‘dignified interdependence.’ From this wellsupported position we learn to deeply enjoy our
dependence on God, being helped by others, and sacrificially serving those God places in
our lives. We become more patient, trusting, trustworthy, and committed in our service.
We learn to more readily see the image of God in everyone we encounter. We learn to be
more faithful to God’s calling for us to love our neighbor as ourselves. Our neighbor is
the one with whom we come into contact, who God puts in our path and about whom he
asks us, “How will you treat this person?” He also calls us to move towards and neighbor
those in distress: the poor needing food, water, shelter, clothes; the persecuted suffering
31
Phil. 2:7.
Matt. 5:45.
33
Matt. 9:35.
34
1 Cor. 10:31.
32
17
injustice; aliens; the lonely; widows and orphans; the ill in hospitals and in homes; and
the slaves who have been kidnapped, trafficked, and imprisoned. God tells us “the entire
law is summed up in a single command: Love your neighbor as yourself”35 and asks us,
again and again, day after day, “Will you love your neighbor?”
Covenants
Covenants are the basic form of relationship that God has with his people. The structure
of covenants in Scripture bears many similarities to those between nations of the Ancient
Near East. Biblical covenants most closely resemble Suzerain treaties, in which a greater
(Suzerain) king would make a treaty with a lesser (vassal) king. The Suzerain king
established the treaty at his discretion, and the basis of the covenant would be his
goodness to the people. The historical prologue to the treaty would tell of how the greater
king had loved the lesser king and his people. The treaty would essentially require loyalty
to the greater king in response to the soundness of the treaty and benevolence of the king.
Blessings were promised for loyalty and curses for disloyalty.36
Understanding our relationship to God in terms of covenant structure clarifies some
prevalent misconceptions in evangelicalism. According to John Perkins, President
Emeritus of the Christian Community Development Association and strong advocate for
social change, “the key reason why the church is not making the impact upon society that
the Bible says it should is due to the dichotomy between faith and works that so many
Christians maintain.”37 An appreciation of covenants
helps to explain that grace is not opposed to law.
“The reason the church is not
Rather, the law of God is part of his covenant with us
making the impact upon society that
that already presupposes the graciousness of the
the Bible says it should is due to the
covenant. As John Frame has said:
dichotomy between faith and works
that so many Christians maintain.”
Law follows grace. We do not obey God in
order to earn our salvation. Rather, we keep
- John Perkins
the law out of thankfulness to him for saving
us... The first element of the law is love,
exclusive covenant loyalty… This law of love
motivates us to keep other laws.38
As explained in the section on the image of God, all of humanity is called to represent
God in his justice for the oppressed. However, God further establishes his desire for
social justice in the context of his covenants with his people. For the people of Israel,
God established such laws mainly through the Mosaic Covenant. In addition to appeals to
personal generosity, Israel’s economic system included systemic safeguards for the poor.
35
Gal. 5:14.
John Frame, Salvation Belongs to the Lord (Phillipsburg, N.J.: P&R, 2006), 116-117.
37
John Perkins, A Call to Wholistic Ministry (St. Louis: Open Door, 1980), 14.
38
Frame, 117.
36
18
Later in Israel’s history, God sent the nation into exile for breaking their covenant
obligations. Social injustices were a significant part of the judgment upon them.
Through the Mosaic Covenant, the Israelites were bound to care for the poor. The poor
had a right to expect generosity from others, for within the covenant community, the
whole community was required to ensure that the basic needs of everyone were met.39
Scripture shows that God makes us all responsible for the well-being of each other.
The Church continues to be in covenant with God under the New Covenant. Similar to
the covenants of the Old Testament, the covenant between God and his people is initiated
by his grace and not by anything we have done. It is by his grace alone that we have
salvation. Yet, out of gratitude for that salvation, God wants covenant faithfulness from
his children. The New Covenant does not abolish any of the previous commandments but
is rather a fulfillment of them.
39
Stephen Charles Mott, Biblical Ethics and Social Change. (New York: Oxford University Press, 1982),
67.
19
Historical
The New Testament shows that from its infancy, the Church actively cared for the poor in
its midst. Paul speaks about raising financial support for the Jerusalem church in Acts 24
and Romans 15. When James, Peter, and John sent Paul and Barnabas to the Gentiles,
Paul says “All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very
thing I was eager to do.”40 James also gives caring for the poor a prime position in
Christian faithfulness. James 1:27 says, “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure
and faultless is this: to look after orphans and
widows in their distress and to keep oneself
“Religion that God our Father
from being polluted by the world.” It seems
accepts as pure and faultless is this:
all too clear that the apostles heeded their
to look after orphans and widows in
Messiah’s words from Matthew 25 that when
their distress and to keep oneself
a Christian feeds the hungry or clothes the
from being polluted by the world.”
needy, he does it unto Christ himself.
James 1:27
Christians continued to have the reputation in
the Roman Empire for caring for the poor.
The immediate needs of poor Christians were
met by other believers. Eventually, permanent charity institutions were established.
Christians were often defined by their generosity throughout the Roman Empire. By the
time of the third century, the church at Rome cared for up to fifteen hundred poor people
at a time. This extent of sharing with the poor was otherwise unheard of in that day.41
Julian the Apostate, a Roman Emperor raised as a Christian but who left the faith, reigned
from 361-363 and was bothered by the amount of good Christians were doing. Julian
tried to set up his own establishments to mimic those run by Christians, for he thought “it
was a shame that the heathen should be left without support from their own, while ‘the
godless Galileans’ (i.e. the Christians) ‘nourish not only their own, but even our poor.’”42
According to Philip Schaff, Julian’s attempts to develop a culture of charity were in vain
because “the idea of the infinite value of each human soul, even the poorest and
humblest, was wanting, and with it the basis for true charity.”43
St. Augustine’s views on poverty as well as his theology in general had a profound
influence on the medieval church and beyond. According to Carl Lindberg, “Augustine’s
doctrine of charity became the heart of medieval Christianity.”44 Lindberg asserts that a
theology of charity was systematized in Augustine’s paradigm of the two cities, where
greed belongs to the earthly city and almsgiving and humility are characterizations of
those in the heavenly city.45 Augustine was rather suspicious of riches. In Enarrationes in
40
Galatians 2:10.
Philip Schaff, History of the Christian Church, vol 2: Ante-Nicene Christianity (Grand Rapids:
Eerdmans, 1959), 97.
42
Ibid., 377.
43
Ibid., 373.
44
Carter Lindberg, “Through a Glass Darkly: A History of the Church’s Vision of the Poor and Poverty,”
Ecumenical Review 33 (Jan 1981): 39.
45
Ibid., 40.
41
20
Psalmos, Augustine says, “It is enough if riches do not destroy their possessors; it is
enough if they do them no harm; help them they cannot.”46
The emphasis on almsgiving continued in the Middle
Ages. This emphasis on the giver in addition to the present
“It is enough if riches
help for the receiver preserved personal charity as a
do not destroy their
primary means of caring for the poor. In addition, the
possessors; it is
Church established many hospitals, which were not
enough if they do them
primarily for the sick but were charitable intuitions caring
no harm; help them
for the broader needs of the poor.47 Later in the Middle
they cannot.”
Ages, great shifts occurred that heightened the problem of
poverty throughout Europe. The Black Plague of the
- Augustine
fourteenth century claimed the lives of anywhere from one
third to two thirds of Europeans. As a result, many
families were devastated and many people were widowed and orphaned. Coupled with
this, the culture was becoming less agrarian and more urbanized. Many of the desolate
found their way to the cities to look for work or to beg for their daily sustenance. The
prominence of begging became a serious predicament in many cities. Some estimated
that up to thirty percent of the population in the late Middle Ages were “paupers and
vagrants.”48 Poverty that was once idealized in some circles within Christianity was now
despised. Harsh laws were enacted against begging, particularly by the able-bodied.49
The Church’s former handling of poverty was not enough to handle the changing
circumstances of medieval Europe. Along with urbanization came many citizen-led and
government-led initiatives to care for the poor. Councils and private citizens partnered
with the Church to provide services to the poor in an effort to increase efficiency and
productivity. According to Carter Lindberg, however, these goals were only partially
realized until the sixteenth century when the ideology and theology of charity were
redefined.50
With the dawn of the Reformation in the sixteenth century came massive theological and
social changes. According to Lindberg, “Historians, theologians, and social scientists
have long recognized that the sixteenth century was the watershed for poor relief.”51 Most
scholars attribute Martin Luther’s posting of the Ninety-Five Theses on the door of
Wittenberg Church as the start of the Reformation. The Theses primarily addressed
abuses associated with the sale of indulgences, which the Roman Catholic Church
encouraged the faithful to buy to obtain years off a sentence to purgatory for themselves
or their departed loved ones. The Church used the proceeds for their purposes, including
building ornate cathedrals. Luther was concerned that the poor were being exploited for
the sake of Rome’s grandiose building projects. In Thesis 35, Luther says, “Christians are
46
Ibid.
Robert M. Kingdon, “Calvinism and Social Welfare,” Calvin Theological Journal 17 (Nov 1982): 212.
48
Carter Lindberg, “’There Should Be No Beggars among Christians’: Karlstadt, Luther, and the Origins of
Protestant Poor Relief,” Church History 46 (Spring 1977): 317.
49
Pattison, 72.
50
Lindberg, “Through a Glass Darkly”, 45.
51
Perkins, Beyond Charity, 9.
47
21
to be taught that he who gives to the poor or lends to the needy does a better deed than he
who buys indulgences.”52
The Reformers’ understanding of the gospel contributed to a redefining of the Church’s
role in the alleviation of poverty. Luther believed that the right worship of God would
compel one toward caring about social ethics, including caring for the poor.53 He worked
to make poor relief central to the life of the Church. In Luther’s church, he reintroduced
the former practice of having a collection for the poor following Holy Communion.54 In
Trade and Usury, he said, “No one should contribute more money to the institutional
aspects of the Church than to the relief of poverty and suffering.”55
As a second-generation Reformer, John Calvin continued the trend started by his
predecessors in caring for the poor. According to Nicholas Wolterstorff, Calvin’s
emphasis on the imago dei, or the image of God, inherent in all individuals and giving
them immense value and dignity, was crucial in Calvin’s convictions for social reform.56
Wolterstorff concludes that in Calvin’s thought, “an act of injury to [a] human being is an
act of injury to God himself.”57 In addition, Calvin’s
theology emphasized the need not to turn inward and
“All the gifts we possess
away from the world as an expression of piety but to seek
58
have been bestowed by
to transform the world as an act of obedience to God.
God and entrusted to us
Calvin’s thoughts on caring for the poor went beyond the
on condition that they be
idea of stewardship. He believed that the material gifts
distributed for our
we have been given are to be used to advance the work of
59
neighbor’s benefit.”
God in this world. Calvin said, “All the gifts we
possess have been bestowed by God and entrusted to us
– John Calvin
on condition that they be distributed for our neighbor’s
benefit.”60
The so-called Protestant work ethic has often been correlated to personal financial
success. It is true that many Protestant circles emphasize certain virtues that lead to
material wealth, but one can imagine that the Reformers themselves would be ashamed of
the lack of stewardship of and generosity with that wealth. John Wesley, of the eighteenth
century, was himself outspoken against the misuse of wealth. Wesley’s monetary ethics
have been summarized by this motto, “Gain all you can, save all you can, give all you
can.” Elsewhere he says, “If you have any desire to escape the damnation of hell, give all
you can; otherwise, I can have no more hope for your salvation, than of that of Judas
52
Lindberg “There Should Be No Beggars”, 313.
Pattison, 95.
54
Pattison, 94.
55
Perkins, Beyond Charity, 164.
56
Nicholas Wolterstorff, Until Justice and Peace Embrace (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1983), 78.
57
Ibid.
58
Wolterstorff, 11.
59
Pattison, 137.
60
Calvin, 695.
53
22
Iscariot.”61 Much has been written on John Wesley’s heart for the poor and his demand
for faithful stewardship among Christians. According to Theodore Jennings Jr., for
Wesley the problem of poverty was not merely one item on a list, but a concern through
which he evaluated all his commitments.62
Abraham Kuyper (1837-1920), a Dutch theologian and prime minister of the Netherlands
between 1901 and 1905, emphasized the need for the entire world to be transformed for
the sake of the gospel. In an inaugural address at the dedication of the Free University, he
said, “There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which
Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry: ‘Mine!’”63 Kuyper did not believe that
most models of personal charity were sufficient to alleviate poverty. He believed a large
scale social change was needed in his day. Says Kuyper, “If Christians are to contribute
to the alleviation of poverty, they will need to develop a comprehensive Christian social
philosophy. Starting with anything less than an integral Christian vision will only lead
away from the truth of God’s creation order and his
sovereignty in history.”64
“If Christians are to
contribute to the alleviation of
The history of social reform in America began
poverty, they will need to
strongly. In the seventeenth century, John Winthrop
develop a comprehensive
articulated a great hope for America. “We shall find
Christian social philosophy.”
that the God of Israel is among us… For we must
consider that we shall be as a city upon a hill, the
- Abraham Kuyper
eyes of all people on us.”65 The postmillennial
idealism of many early American Christians drove
them to seek social progress. One of American’s
greatest theologians, Jonathan Edwards was outspoken about the responsibility of
Christians to be generous to the poor. Later in the history of the United States, many
Christians became increasingly pietistic in their theology. Instead of seeking societal
transformation as part of the spread of the gospel, much of American theology started to
emphasize heavily a personal relationship with Christ and a life of personal holiness.
In the early part of the twentieth century, a large debate ensued between fundamentalists
and theological liberals. Theological liberalism tended to embrace modernism and a
Western utopianism and allowed higher criticism of the Bible. Fundamentalists stood
their ground in defense of Biblical inerrancy and against modernistic ideas that threatened
it. The so-called “social gospel” was birthed out of liberal Protestantism and was often
associated with socialism and evolution. The Fundamentalists reacted strongly against the
social gospel which underemphasized the need for individual salvation in favor of a
61
Theodore W. Jennings Jr., Good News to the Poor: John Wesley’s Evangelical Economics (Nashville:
Abingdon, 1990), 135.
62
Ibid., 71.
63
John Stott, The Contemporary Christian (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1992), 95.
64
Abraham Kuyper, The Problem of Poverty, ed. James W. Skillen (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1991),
19-20.
65
Harvie M. Conn, The American City and the Evangelical Church (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1994), 31.
23
broader, social salvation.66 The debate led to what has been called the “Great Reversal” in
the early part of the twentieth century. Conservative churches, according to Robert
Linder, retreated “from active social involvement into private prayer and personal
evangelism.”67
During the last few decades, many evangelicals have been calling for a more holistic
understanding of the Church’s call in the world. The debate between fundamentalism and
liberalism led to many one-sided views of the Church’s call. Many on either side of the
issue mistakenly believed that they must choose between spiritual redemption and social
redemption. In reality, the Church is called to both. The gospel is good news of holistic
redemption that includes forgiveness of sins and redemption of our souls as well as
redemption of our bodies and this world.
Driven by the call of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Church has always cared for the poor.
Christians had a widespread reputation of their sacrifice for the needy during the Roman
Empire. Generosity continued in the Middle Ages through personal charity and hospitals.
The Reformers reinvigorated and reprioritized caring for the poor as a result of their
theological reforms. Many Christian leaders after the Reformation continued the
zealousness of their forebears while others over-spiritualized the gospel and neglected the
commands of our Lord to care for redemption of the physical as well. The Church today
must increase its work to include social outreach and care for the poor in its ministries,
for that is a necessary component to religion that God our Father accepts.
Socioeconomic
The theological perspective gives SWC foundational principles for our work while the
historical perspective allows us to learn from the example of those who have gone on
before us. We must also have a clear and comprehensive understanding of the
socioeconomic situation of our day in order for us to apply theological imperatives and
historical lessons wisely in our context. We have talked to many knowledgeable leaders
and conducted much of our own research to appreciate the socioeconomic climate more
adequately. Our theological perspective has guided us to believe that churches, non-profit
organizations, businesses, and government entities should all be involved in seeking the
welfare of the city.
Gentrification is a common concern among those who study the urban environment. A
generation or two ago, well-off Americans left cities in droves to new and bustling
suburbs. The cities were left with mostly poor families. However, this trend is reversing
throughout the United States. Gentrification is the new trend. Merriam-Webster defines
gentrification as “the process of renewal and rebuilding accompanying the influx of
66
Frank E. Gaebelein, “Evangelicals and Social Concern,” Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society
25 (March 1982): 18.
67
Robert D. Linder, “The Resurgence of Evangelical Social Concern (1925-1975)”, The Evangelicals:
What They Believe, Who They Are, Why They Are Changing, rev. ed., ed. David Wells and John
Woodbridge (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1977), 212.
24
middle-class or affluent people into deteriorating areas that often displaces earlier usually
poorer residents.”68
Many central cities have been economically revitalized by this process, but devastating
effects often accompany the progress. The poorer residents who are displaced are often
scattered throughout the suburbs, where they are forced to start over with little sense of
belonging to a community and often without the public services they have depended upon
in the city. The infrastructure of the central city can be disturbed because employees in
the service industry can no longer afford to commute to their old jobs. Many businesses
have learned that making investments in the community to help the lower-income
residents remain in their homes can pay dividends later as valuable employees are
retained. Government officials have also seen positive results by providing tax incentives
for businesses to revitalize districts without completely displacing the lower-income
residents as well as tax incentive for mixed income housing.
Bob Lupton has coined the phrase “gentrification with justice”69 to describe development
that seeks the best interests of all parties concerned. This is a business and development
friendly approach that seeks creative ways to champion the interests of the poor while
simultaneously building vibrant businesses. This approach, coupled with the highly
substantiated Kretzmann and McKnight70 work on asset-based community development
discussed in the Best Practices section of this report, forms the backbone of the
socioeconomic framework.
68
Merriam-Webster Online, http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?gentrification., accessed August 1,
2007.
69
Robert Lupton, Compassion, Justice, and the Christian Life: Rethinking Ministry to the Poor, (Ventura,
CA: Regal Books, 2007), 116.
70
John Kretzmann and John McKnight, Building Communities from the Inside Out, (Skokie, IL: ACTA
Publications, 1993).
25
Central Florida Needs
The picture that emerged in researching Central
Florida was one of a rapid growth region that was
struggling to keep pace with the growth in terms
of skilled workers, wages, and affordable
housing. It was also a region experiencing sharp
increases in crime and entrenched concentrations
of poverty in certain locales common in cities
with much larger populations. These findings
were published in the initial “Indicators of
Community Health Report.” In the report the
research team focused its attention on six
indicators of community health: family structure,
health insurance, housing, income, crime, and
education. These six were chosen because they
were the most consistently referenced indicators
in the reviewed literature and corresponded to the
six critical needs in Central Florida. Also, the
signs of community health and distress are highly
interrelated and working with a large number of
indicators makes analysis overwhelming while
not sufficiently enhancing understanding.
SWC researched regional
trends and neighborhood
comparisons for six
indicators: crime,
education, family
structure, health
insurance, housing, and
income. While Orange
County, Florida is
generally on par with the
state and the nation,
there are vast
disparities between
neighborhoods within
Central Florida on
every indicator.
In general, Central Florida is on par with the state and the nation with notable exceptions:
1. Preponderance of service sector jobs that do not offer sustainable wages and
insufficient number of skilled workers to fill positions in growing job market.
2. Underperforming secondary education system.
3. Increasing crime rates, particularly in certain neighborhoods.
4. Majority of households severely burdened for housing costs.
5. High concentration of single parent led homes in low income neighborhoods.
6. High percentage of under-insured residents for family healthcare.
The literature reviewed revealed consistent attention to six indicators of community
health. These key indicators also correspond to the predominant needs listed above. As
such, particular variables were identified to assess human need in each category and are
described below. These indicators were then brought together in a single index called the
Neighborhood Stress Index (NSI) to allow for a comprehensive view of the relative levels
of stress being experienced in the neighborhoods of our region.
1. Income: Median Household Income
2. Education: High School and College Graduation Rates
3. Crime: Total Crime Index
4. Housing: Owner Occupied Housing Units
5. Family Structure: Percent Single Parent Led Homes
6. Health Insurance: Percent Insured
26
Orlando Neighborhood Comparison
Children in Single-Parent Families
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
United States
Source: Census 2000
Florida
Central Florida
Orange County
NH -1
NH -2
71
Disparity Between Orlando Neighborhoods
A Representative Indicator72
16%
14%
12%
10%
United States
8%
Florida
Central Florida
6%
Orange County
4%
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
Regional Trends: Poverty Rate
A Representative Indicator
71
Note difference between NH-1 and NH-2, two neighborhoods in Orlando, and how each compares to
regional, state, and national levels.
72
For full report see Polis Institute, “Indicators of Community Health Report,”
http://www.polisinstitute.org/images/Polis_Indicators_2008.pdf.
27
Seminole
County
The graphics on the previous page are representative indicators, one showing the
disparity between Orlando neighborhoods in the incidence of single parent homes
and the other showing the annual trend in poverty rate.
The Block Group geography from the U.S. Census bureau was used to define the
boundary of a neighborhood. Block Groups generally contain between 600 and
3,000 people with an optimum size of 1,500.73 Stress level was determined by
forming a composite index, the NSI, as the average ordinal ranking of income,
home ownership, crime, family structure, and education variables. The index was
then divided into five intervals using Jenks Natural Breaks algorithm and assigned
labels from “low” to “high” to indicate relative levels of stress. The roughly 20%
of the neighborhoods at the highest stress level are considered to be in distress.
There are 507 neighborhoods in Orange and Seminole Counties and 100 of them
are in distress.
Neighborhood Stress Index
73
U.S. Census Bureau, http://www.census.gov/geo/www/cob/bg_metadata.html, accessed April 2008.
28
Helps in Central Florida
SWC was a contact intensive research project in which creating relationships with the
efforts we sought to learn more about was deemed as important as the information
collected. SWC contact involved direct participation in volunteer programs, formal
interviews, informal discussions, and working in partnerships to address social issues in
Central Florida. All of these activities were viewed as community actions that we
assessed according to our core research objective of discovering if our third sector human
service entities were addressing human needs in the most appropriate and effective ways.
Direct Contact - Local Organizations74
Contact Type
Description
Evaluation
Direct participation in service programs in order
to evaluate service emphasis and delivery. These
evaluations ranged from one day events to as long
as nine-months.
Interview
Formal interviews were conducted with 1% of the
area service organizations.
Discussion
Informal discussions were held with numerous
service organizations in one-on-one settings, over
the phone, and via email.
Partner
Working partnerships to mobilize service
projects, to address specific social issues (e.g.
homelessness), and to discern the best response to
individual requests for their help.
SubTotal (Direct Contacts) - 5% of 3800 service organizations – primary
source data for SWC assessment of the culture of service in Central
Florida
Number
24
38
116
12
190
Indirect Contact – Local Organizations
Web
Viewed web materials for the organization
Mail
Regular mail introduction and questionnaire
Sub-Total (Indirect Contacts)
75
40
115
Direct Contact - Other
Other local entities (Government, Education)
Non-local/national entities
Neighborhood leaders in Holden/Parramore not representing an organization
Sub-Total
14
10
6
30
GRAND TOTAL
335
74
Please see the Appendix A for a full listing of organizations and their contact information.
29
The SWC research uncovered 3800 organizations in Central Florida working to address
human need, 996 of which were Christian churches. While there are approximately 2400
churches in the four counties, only those with identifiable service programs and separate
non-profit agencies were counted. Also, government agencies
were assessed separately as neighborhood level assets.
Most of the 3800
Businesses were also included at this level of investigation. It
non-profits in
is conventional in the social sciences to view organizations in
Central Florida are
of one of three sectors – government, business, and a third
focused on providing
sector which includes families, non-profits, churches, and
short-term relief for
informal social groups of all kinds. Due to the special
their clients.
responsibilities inherent with third sector entities and their
volunteer orientation, it is the ideal sector from which to
assess the culture of service. Of particular interest were the
third sector entities with some amount of formal structure. Other less formal third sector
entities along with the business and government sectors were taken into account when
neighborhood assets were mapped.
1. Primary focus of human service organizations:
o Over half of the organizations were focused on relief (53%)
o Most of the remaining organizations were focused on training (42%)
o Very few organizations were focused on community development (4%) or
structural change (1%)
Primary Focus of Non-profit
Service Programs
Relief
Training
Development
Structural Change
30
2. Geographic focus of human service organizations:
o Most organizations did not indicate a geographic focus.
o Those organizations that did have a geographic focus tended to indicate a
regional focus as opposed to a city or neighborhood focus.
o Of the organizations in Orlando, approximately 30% of the non-profits
were able to accurately identify what neighborhood they were located in
while 70% of churches were able to identify their neighborhood.
Geographic Focus of Nonprofit Service Programs
Neighborhood
City
Regional
Other
3. Primary self-reported need of human service organizations:
o A majority of organizations answered ‘money’
o Most other organizations said ‘volunteers’
o Other answers included ‘prayer, board, planning, and staff’
Primary Need of Nonprofit Service Entities
Money
Volunteers
Other
31
4. Collaborative efforts of human service organizations
o Most organizations were willing to commend other agencies or
associations but did not regularly collaborate with organizations doing
work similar to their own. In other words, non-profits were willing to
collaborate with churches and, to a lesser extent, other non-profits who
were engaged in activities outside the scope of their primary business.
o Roughly half of the organizations shared physical space with other
organizations. The arrangements of the shared use of space varied from
formal rental agreements to very informal verbal agreements.
5. Vision of the organization
o Most non-profits were started from the passion of a single visionary
leader.
o Churches were often started as offshoots of existing churches. Sometimes
this expansion was from positive growth other times from internal strife.
32
Best practices
In order to understand how effective Central Florida residents are at meeting human
needs, we researched best practices. Best practices for meeting human needs means
applying the most appropriate form of help in the most holistic context in ways that have
the most positive measurable impact. There are four forms of help: relief, individual
betterment, community development, and cultural change. Relief involves one party
giving something to someone else in need. It is most appropriate in crisis situations but
performing relief activities in non-crisis situations results in harmful dependencies.
Individual betterment often involves skills training but can perpetuate the notion of selfsufficiency. Community development involves local resources addressing local problems
but often runs into resource limitations. Cultural change solutions involve addressing
unjust policies, perceptions, and practices but can overcomplicate simple problems and
lead to frustration and resentment. Each of these forms has an appropriate application and
also unintended consequences - the potential for which increases if the solution is
misapplied.
Best practices for addressing human need, from a Christian perspective, also cannot be
separated from advancing the gospel of Jesus Christ. The gospel is a holistic message that
does not radically separate the spiritual and physical, mercy and justice, evangelism and
service. It is God’s promise to make all things new, God’s invitation for us to be part of
his redemptive work, and God’s calling us to extend this invitation to all the peoples of
the world (Matt. 28:19-20). Our calling is to faithfully “hold out the Word of Life” (Phil.
2:16) in word and deed. This calling is not just to individuals but includes their families,
neighborhoods, and work environments and includes the following obligations:
Love God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength (Luke 10:27)
Love your neighbor as yourself (Luke 10:27)
Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you (Matt. 5:44)
Respect all people because they bear God’s image (Gen. 1:26)
Do good to all people, especially fellow believers (Gal. 6:10)
Care for:
o family members (1 Tim. 5:8)
o those in distress that we encounter (Luke 10:36-37)
o widows and orphans (James 1:27)
o the hungry, thirsty, sick, imprisoned, poorly clothed, alien (Matt. 25)
o the poor (Matt. 19:21)
The communities of which we are a part need the gospel person, the gospel message, and
the gospel’s power to heal. We also need each other. We all have need; no one is selfsufficient. Social action of some kind is required to address these needs whether that is in
the context of an immediate family, a neighborhood, or through the work of an
institution. The table below describes the four forms alluded to above. All four of these
forms are legitimate expressions of Christian gratitude and love but it is common to
present these forms in opposition to one another and to advocate one form over the
others. This creates the false impression that there is a perfect solution, a sinless vehicle
33
through which we might address the needs of others. Each form has an appropriate
context and potential unintended consequences.
The ideal context for this work is Christ-centered community development because it is
the most comprehensive. It does not replace or run contrary to the other types of service,
it includes them. While each of the forms of helping others shown in the subsequent table
has its appropriate context and potential unintended consequences, community
development presents the greatest opportunity for long term, sustainable, positive change.
Problems tend to concentrate in geographic locales and tend to be interrelated, while
impactful solutions require long-term, sustained commitment to people and places. In
community development, activities are intentionally restricted to a certain place and
solutions tend to include a greater number of people and are enacted over a longer period
of time. Because of the inclusive nature of community development, it is also an ideal
context for garnering support against unjust policies and practices.
Relief
Individual
Betterment
Community
Development
Cultural
Change
Serving, mercy;
addressing
immediate,
obvious needs
“Helping others”
Training;
transferring skills
Empowering a
community to
care for one
another
“Helping others
help others”
Biblical rationale
Matt. 25;
Luke 10:25-37
Tends to take
place (where):
Crisis point
(temporary) or
central service
center (long
term)
In crisis
situations
Gen. 30; Rom.
15:2; Matt. 28:1920
Central location opportunity
draws clients to
training or
teachers to clients
With individuals
interested in
improving,
acquiring specific
skills
Self-sufficiency;
failure; pride
Justice,
influence;
systemic issues;
decision making
“Changing the
way help
happens”
Esther;
Isaiah 58:6-12
Focuses on:
Explanatory
phrase
Most
appropriate
context:
Potential,
unintended
consequences:
Correctives:
Dependency;
shame; burnout
create pathways
for those served
to become
servants
“Helping others
help themselves”
train in a way that
inspires
participants to
train and inspire
others
34
Nehemiah;
Jeremiah 29:7
In a particular
neighborhood
In a community
with problem
and solution
identified by
community
Displacement;
abandonment;
frustration
commit to
intentional,
consistent
participation
Culturally;
among clusters
of people joined
to address a
particular issue
In opposition to
unjust policies,
practices, and
perceptions
Futility;
resentment;
hostility
foster genuine,
dignified, cross
cultural
friendships
Literature
In order to discover what approaches were effective in meeting human needs the research
team consulted with experts and read pertinent literature on the subject. One resource in
particular was mentioned by nearly every expert, Building Communities from the Inside
Out by John Kretzmann and John McKnight. This book chronicles numerous examples of
distressed communities improving, summarizes the common themes of these
transformations, and outlines an approach to replicate the positive results. The work is the
result of extensive research at Northwestern University by the aforementioned authors. In
examining how communities change they found the following common denominators:
The source of change was nearly always an asset indigenous to the community
The faith community (which was overwhelming Christian) was nearly always a
central component of the transformation
These results exert a strong call on the Christian
community to focus resources on discovering and
championing local assets in a community as a means of
outreach. There are mature efforts to do just that
throughout the country but not in Central Florida. The
absence of Church-initiated asset-based community
development is conspicuous and, along with the highly
visible presence of relief services, provides evidence that
there is an ethos of meeting human needs that runs
counter to community development.
Assets indigenous to the
community and the
Christian church have been
the common denominators
in the transformation of
distressed communities in
America.
In phase one of the research project a general picture of the most pressing human needs in
Central Florida was drawn alongside an outline of the types of services present to address
the needs. This picture was then contrasted with the recommendations of experts and the
witness of Christian scripture. It became evident that while there were many wellmeaning and helpful ministries and non-profits addressing immediate needs and
providing various types of training, there were no local asset-based community
development efforts the likes of which have proven effective at transforming distressed
neighborhoods in other parts of the country for three decades. The Indicators of
Community Health75 report revealed intense disparity between communities across all
indicators. The interviews revealed that most current efforts to address these issues
lacked geographic focus and were needs-based and over-burdened with trying to meet
these needs and raise funds to perpetuate the organizations. Furthermore, the efforts to
address the needs did not regularly collaborate on community-wide initiatives but rather
competed with one another for resources.
75
Polis Institute, “Indicators of Community Health Report,”
http://www.polisinstitute.org/images/Polis_Indicators_2008.pdf.
35
Working Theory
A working theory was established as a response to the initial research on frameworks,
needs, helps, and best practices in order to guide the actions for the remainder of the
project. These actions provided an opportunity to test and improve the theory so that a
sound recommendation could be provided as the central outcome to the research.
According to the long-term research of McKnight and Kretzmann,76 meeting human need
in ways that leads to sustainable transformation actually begins with discovering and
affirming assets rather than simply solving immediate problems which should be reserved
for emergency situations. Treating non-crisis requests for help as crises to be immediately
solved can perpetuate dependencies and harmful perceptions of inferiority and
superiority. Yet that is precisely how needs are often addressed in the help community
and certainly the norm in Central Florida evident in the preponderance of short-term
relief oriented programs. Asset-based solutions require much more patience and the will
to forgo short-term fixes for long-term gain. The asset-based approach represents a fullscale paradigm shift from the needs-focused paradigm and forms the backbone of our
initial working theory:
Working theory:
We will see measurable progress in areas of distress through
geographically focused efforts to discover the assets in these areas and
through creatively fostering dignified, genuine relationships among the
assets within and outside the areas.
1. Measurable progress in areas of distress
SWC published a report called Indicators of Community Health that
outlined key indicators, highlighted positive signs of hope, and issued a
call to respond. From that work SWC created a composite index so that
the stress level of the neighborhoods could be assessed called the
Neighborhood Stress Index (NSI). This index ranks neighborhoods by
family structure, income, home ownership, crime, and education levels.
The neighborhoods (U.S. Census Block Groups) with the highest
percentages of single parent homes and violent crime and the lowest
percentages of median household income, owner occupied housing, and
high school graduates are considered to be facing the most stressors. These
neighborhoods have a “high” stress level and can be said to be in distress.
2. Neighborhood asset discovery77
Our working theory suggests that neighborhood assets and not outside resources
will be the source of transformation for these distressed neighborhoods. As these
assets are brought together around shared interests, outside resources will need to
be brought alongside to support the initiatives that result. What will create lasting
76
John Kretzmann and John McKnight, Building Communities from the Inside Out, (Skokie, IL: ACTA
Publications, 1993).
77
See Appendix E in this report for Sample Asset Surveys.
36
change is that if the ideas that result are truly championed and owned by people in
the distressed neighborhood.
Focusing on assets allows us to discover what everyone in the community has to
offer one another. Needs-based approaches, which tend to focus on meeting short
term needs, create a mentality of “us” helping “them” – those with resources
helping those with needs. Asset-based approaches help level the playing field and
counteract false and damaging senses of superiority and inferiority.
An asset-based approach does not seek to ignore or minimize the real needs and
problems present in our lives and communities. However, we cannot focus solely
on fixing visible needs and solving problems. The goal of service is to love
people and to glorify God, who has the power to transform lives and
communities. Asset-based approaches respect the dignity of all people and the
contributions they can make. In this process, needs will be addressed, and
problems will be solved. But more importantly, with an approach that focuses on
the inherent value and gifting of all of us who are needy, God’s steadfast loving
kindness will be manifested, sacrificial and genuine relationships will be formed,
and freedom to live as God’s powerful image-bearers will be unleashed.
People who are often overlooked as potential participants in service to others can
have very useful skills and resources. Recently, many community developers and
outreach ministries have shifted their focus from cataloguing all the needs of a
community to realizing all the assets within the community. Instead of viewing
single parents, the elderly and at-risk youth in a community as liabilities and in
need of help, their abilities and resources are acknowledged, appreciated and
invited. This more positive emphasis in outreach and development is much more
effective and empowering as it recognizes the dignity inherent in all people and
communities. So instead of only focusing on problems to be fixed, we should also
focus on the skills and resources waiting to be tapped into.
The neighborhood assets may include a wide variety of resources such as
education, experience, skills, talents, time, physical property, or simply an
eagerness to learn something new. This type of inquiry reveals a very different
picture of a community than that created by solely focusing on what its residents
may lack or need. Surprisingly, even needs themselves can reveal assets.
Legitimate needs have assets behind them that we can focus on instead of only on
the deficiencies. The bored teenager or retired senior can be viewed as a person
with time to give to their community if given the right opportunity. Whenever we
identify a need, we are revealing that we care about redeeming that need. And that
care we have is an asset for the community.
37
Assets: We define an asset as any resource that can be used to serve others and a
community – this relates closely to the definition used in Kretzmann and
McKnight. Other related terminology used in their work is defined below:78
a. Individual Assets: Individual skills, education, motivations, interests, and
desires.
b. Community Assets: The individuals, associations (formal and informal
groups, such as a church or a P.T.A.) and institutions (private and public
formal organizations, such as a school, a library, or a grocery store) in
every community.
c. Asset mapping: A process that involves cataloguing community assets and
drawing mutually beneficial connections among them. See the Appendix E
for sample asset surveys.
d. Asset-based approaches: Service methods which focus on recognizing,
supporting, and drawing on all the community assets.
e. Types of assets in a neighborhood
i. Physical property, such as buildings, land, cars, tools, and other
equipment.
ii. Individual skills, education, motivations, interests, and desires.
iii. Networks with other individuals, associations and institutions.
iv. Economic capital and productivity.
3. Dignified and genuine relationships
Personal relationships define our lives. People play, work, grieve,
celebrate, create businesses, buy houses, and worship God all in the
context of relationships. Most people come to faith and secure
employment through personal relationships. These two facts alone reveal a
lot about the power of relationships.
We also help one another in the context of relationship. Every effort to
help another person encourages some type of relationship and
relationships are the key to transformation. But it is not any type of
relationship that will truly unlock the door to true transformation in our
distressed communities. It is only dignified and genuine relationships
between people from different walks of life.
The relationships formed and furthered when trying to address human
need encourage one of four outcomes:
1. Dependency – when one party has the resources and the other
party has little or none, dependency can result. This has harmful
effects on both parties over the long-term. Of course there are
people who are very young, old, infirmed, or handicapped in some
way who are dependent on the care of others. But everyone has
something to offer others and when this capacity is undervalued
then the dependency that results is harmful.
78
Kretzmann and McKnight, 65-75.
38
In order to remediate these harmful dependencies care must be taken to
include the capacities of those helped whenever possible. Simply inviting
those that you intend to serve to participate in the serving will dramatically
change the nature of many relief programs, giving those who typically
receive help the blessing of serving others. Being asked the question,
“Will you join us?” creates an entirely different context for the
relationship. Instead of one person being the needy one and the other
being the caring one, both have the opportunity to participate.
2. Self-sufficiency – By definition, this is not a relational outcome.
Even though self-sufficiency is a myth, SWC research revealed it
as the most consistent aim of Central Florida non-profits. It is often
made a goal to counter the problems of dependency discussed
previously.
Programs that promote self-sufficiency are often training programs.
Providing a broader context to training classes helps inspire people to go
beyond the potential rewards of learning a new skill to wanting to share
that skill with others. To remediate the problems associated with selfsufficiency, inspire trainees to teach others what they have been taught as
part of the program or inspire clients to become volunteers.
3. Reciprocity – Some efforts to help others strive to create mutually
beneficial relationships through their programs. These
relationships are formal and informal partnerships in which both
parties give and receive talent, time, and energy. This type of
relationship has been seen throughout history in the western world
as an ideal. The phrase “giving and receiving” was a technical
phrase in the first century Greco-Roman world. It was sometimes
used for financial transactions, but usually referred to a special
kind of friendship. In De Beneficiis, the philosopher Seneca wrote
about “giving and receiving” as the primary bond of society social reciprocity that was the legally enforced norm. Even in the
Bible, Paul emphasizes his partnership in the gospel with the
church at Philippi and he uses this specific phrase to emphasize a
point. While there were similarities between the Greco-Roman
ideal of social reciprocity and the Christian ideal, there were stark
differences as well. In the Greco-Roman world, the giving was
proof of virtue of the giver and was only done for those who had
the means to reciprocate.79
Reciprocal relationships can become quite transactional and not
very meaningful or impactful in someone’s life. In order to
remediate against this tendency, it has proven helpful throughout
79
G.W. Peterman, Paul’s Gift from Philippi, (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1997).
39
this research to ensure that there is adequate follow-up when trying
to help others and appropriate sharing of struggles. One way to
demonstrate meaningful follow-up is to simply ask someone how
you can pray for them and then check back with them to see how
the prayer was answered.
4. Dignified interdependence – The most genuine and powerful
outcome in our efforts to help others views everyone as having
both needs and assets and as dependent on God for their life and
value. As outlined in the Theological Framework section, human
dignity stems from being created in the image of God. “Dignified
interdependence” is the phrase coined by the research team to
describe this ideal type of relationship. It is a God-honoring,
holistic approach to life that acknowledges our absolute
dependence on God and deep need of one another – the ideal
context in which needs are met and assets shared. This concept
intentionally moves us away from the popular but mythical notion
of self-sufficiency and beyond the helpful but incomplete notion of
reciprocity to the biblical ideal of dignified interdependence.
Pilot Neighborhood
In order to test the merits of the working theory, a pilot neighborhood was selected. The
Holden Heights community, just south and west of downtown Orlando was selected
because there are clear signs of distress among all indicators, there have been attempts to
alleviate this distress in the past, and there are current identifiable leaders in the
community with whom the theory could be discussed at length. Initially, past efforts in
the neighborhood were analyzed and then the working theory was validated with current
neighborhood leaders. Specific questions that arose in the first two steps were then
brought to the attention of leaders in the other parts of the country to further validate the
theory. Lastly, the theory was tested in various situations within and outside the pilot
neighborhood. These phases are described below followed by a summary of the merits
and limitations of the working theory.
Past efforts in pilot neighborhood
The Holden Heights community has seen and continues to see numerous efforts to
address the problems that the neighborhood faces. The trend is for an initiative to begin,
secure funding around a positive vision and the chronic state of the problems in the area,
and then the initiative loses steam when significant changes are not produced. Losing
steam has taken several forms over the years from initiatives shutting down, to changing
the focus of programs or target clients to those that produce more favorable results. The
end result is that the community has only continued to deteriorate and has come to be
viewed as a place to flee rather than a place to invest – in short, hope for transformation
of the community is in short supply.
40
In 1998, a study of Holden Heights was conducted that revealed the following. The
demographics of Holden Heights, reportedly derived from the U.S. Census Bureau, were:
56% black, (roughly half of those African-Americans and the other half HaitianAmerican); 34% white; and 10% Hispanic. Fifty-six percent of all individuals and
families located in this area were at or below the federal Median Income Level. Like
many American neighborhoods, many households were single-parent families or families
with both parents working. Unlike most American neighborhoods, however, many people
were unemployed and homeless. Drug and alcohol addiction, prostitution and despair
were a way of life for many living in this community characterized by poor housing
conditions, dirt roads, open drainage ditches, and a lack of sanitary sewers. The following
specific characteristics were cited in the 1998 report:
High Crime Rate: The Orange Blossom Trail has long been a major crime
problem for both the City of Orlando and Orange County. The surrounding lowincome neighborhoods, coupled with the declining commercial property and the
proliferation of bars and adult entertainment businesses, provide an environment
which promotes criminal activity such as drug trafficking, prostitution, rape and
murder. Statistics show that the seven top crimes of Orlando are committed 6-10
times more often in the Holden Heights area.
Non-Resident Home Ownership: Because of the small number of owneroccupied dwellings, little care is given to the maintenance of both the interior and
exterior of the homes. Although most of the residences in this area are single
family dwellings, they are located on small lots and vary greatly in size. Many of
the rental units are owned in clusters by non-resident investors. Some rentals are
used as unofficial "half-way houses" as former inmates adjust back into society. It
is unfortunate that it is the practice of some of these property owners to exact high
rent for shared rooms. As a result, many homes house multiple numbers of nonrelated people, thereby rapidly deteriorating these homes through misuse and
neglect.
Deteriorated Buildings: Over half of the housing and buildings in the area have
been declared to have signs of deterioration and are in need of repairs. Over 10%
are abandoned for various reasons and almost 10% of all homes are beyond repair
and need to be torn down.
Poor Waste Disposal: The majority of the land is poorly drained and is almost
totally dependent on septic tanks. Inadequate sanitary sewer service makes the
properties less marketable and has a tendency to inhibit sound growth and
development. Orange County, with state and federal dollars is currently installing
a sanitary sewer system. This will be a welcomed improvement.
Poor Street Layout: The streets are close together and many of them are
unpaved. There is no alley system to provide access to interior lots. Many
unpaved streets intersect Orange Blossom Trail, contributing to the run-down
appearance to the neighborhood.
41
People In Need: The neighborhood can be divided into two main groups of
people; (a) elderly home owners who isolate themselves from the neighborhood
by staying indoors and away from the crime and deterioration around them; and
(b) young families with children. Many homes are crowded and often poorly
furnished. There are few activities in the community. In many cases children are
left unattended while the adults are working. The neighborhood is a gathering
place for people in need. People relocating to Orlando often have difficulty
acquiring a job, and financial stresses may bring them on or near Orange Blossom
Trail. There is a continual need for basic necessities such as food, clothing, and
lodging as they become increasingly unaffordable. It is essential that a job
training program be established to help people get back in the work force.
Area Potential: There has been little renovation or redevelopment in the area
primarily due to the lack of sanitary sewers and proper drainage. This has resulted
in the area being kept as a low-cost housing community for new residents and
low-income people who wish to escape the apartment disadvantages. The greatest
positive factor is the presence of a generous tree canopy which is visible from the
Trail. There is a small pond which has recently been improved and redefined
which acts as a neighborhood amenity. Money was appropriated by the county for
building the "Kaley Square" park. This park, adjacent to Restore Orlando, was
completed in July, 1993.
This assessment of the neighborhood from 1998 would almost hold true today except for
the extensive sewage and draining project conducted by the county and the change in area
demographics.80 The neighborhood is aging slightly, has declined in overall population,
seen increases in the Hispanic and black populations, and declined in white population.
The neighborhood is still quite poor and crime-ridden. Over 25% of those over the age of
16 are unemployed and the median household income is $28,241. There has been a
decrease in the percentage of owner occupied homes and an increase in vacant homes.
In spite of this data, the neighborhood has immense potential beyond the suggestions of
the 1998 assessment above. For instance, nearly one-third of the neighborhood has some
college education. Additionally, we met numerous committed and talented residents in
the neighborhood with a strong desire to see the neighborhood flourish. Based on
successes in other areas of the country, it could be argued that the major obstacle to the
improvement of this community is the view from within and without that it is definable
by what it lacks rather than what it has. Until this community and others like it are
approached with the intent of discovering what it has to employ for its own development,
no sustainable improvements are likely to occur.
80
Please see “Appendix B: Pilot Neighborhood Demographics” for a thorough comparison of Holden
Heights demographics from 2000, estimates for 2009 and projections for 2014.
42
Validating the Working Theory with Neighborhood Leaders
SWC researchers met with community elders, people who had been in the community for
a long time and had the respect and admiration of both neighborhood residents and those
across the area. There were six leaders in particular that have been in the area an average
of over thirty years. They have held numerous positions of leadership and authority over
the years but were questioned as individuals with a unique perspective on the community
and the different attempts to help out the community over the years rather than as a
representative of a particular organization.
•
What are the major neighborhood concerns?
o Crime and Education are the top priorities
o Transportation and Housing are next
•
What are the biggest barriers to transformation?
o Trust – the default position is to not trust outsiders – “there are wounds
you cannot heal”
o Mobility – many new people every month
o Individualism - “Everybody wants to be king of their own kingdom”
o Gentrification, especially in Parramore which will soon be part of the
Central Business District
o Churches - lots of them but most are
not there for the community. Several
Until this community and
have formed from church splits and
others like it are approached
do not get along
with the intent of discovering
o Leadership – some have a vested
what it has to employ for its
interest in the community continuing
own development, no
to struggle
sustainable improvements are
likely to occur.
Why have past efforts failed?
o Know-it-alls coming to save
o Lack of follow through
o Giving money and gifts without relationship
o Did not build trust level
o Short-term vision, uncommitted
•
•
What is not being addressed?
o GED classes
o Home ownership classes
o Training on how to get and keep a job
o Health care, education
43
Validating the Working Theory with Other Leaders
Other discussions were held with leaders from other areas in the country (in addition to
those outlined in the Best Practices section) in response to descriptions of the Holden
Heights community. Here are some of the results of these conversations:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Creating shared vision in the neighborhood is the most difficult and important
thing to do.
Need people collaborating towards that shared vision. The number one predictor
of collaboration is a previous history doing so.
People want quick solutions to problems because they do not want to feel the pain
of those problems.
Get residents, especially parents involved from the beginning.
Turn service providers into capacity builders.
Ask the business community for more than
People want quick
money.
solutions to problems
Work only with those who want to be at the table.
because they do not want
Remember the answer to “how” is yes.
to feel the pain of those
Get people to focus on things that matter most to
problems.
them.
Focus on simple first steps, get others enthused
by what they see happening.
Uncover the symbolic universe of the city and the neighborhood.
Develop a theology of place and commit to particular places.
Don’t provide people things or services that they can do or get for themselves.
Most of the change will come through simply convening around shared interests.
Four essentials to build community:
1. Show up
2. Pay attention
3. Ask questions
4. Don’t quit
Testing the Working Theory in Various Situations
The research team has provided findings of its research in different community settings
throughout the research as community actions in order to increase awareness, gauge
reactions, and to establish working partnerships.81 Through additional meetings,
interviews, and direct participation, the team sought to establish a better understanding of
the mission, target audiences, successes and challenges of these local ministries and other
non-profits. After providing indicators and best practice research, the team acted as
consultants to implement these best practices, plan or modify strategies of service,
educate and mobilize volunteers, present to key leadership teams, and measure their
efforts. Through these interactions, the team was afforded the opportunity to test the
working theory in various situations and to discover the key principles that underlie the
theory.
81
See Appendix A in this report.
44
The research team created a small group study to formalize the process of discovering the
merits and limitations of our working theory called Dignity Serves. The curriculum asks
the group to do a service project and to formally review the project as well as to provide
the results to the agency that they helped and to the research team. Groups also fill out a
before and after survey which is used to not only improve the quality of the study but to
test the merits of the working theory.
As asset discovery is key to the working theory, a neighborhood resource and asset
mapping process was created and tested. This process was used by the team and as a
guide for churches who have a desire to serve in a designated neighborhood. It includes
familiarizing oneself with the targeted geographical location, its history and current
reputation; statistical data analysis; and mapping associations, physical environment,
leaders, individuals, and institutions, and determining appropriate links to outside
resources.
Merits and Limitations of the Working Theory
After a season of validating and testing the working theory, the research team believes it
to be fundamentally sound. The most powerful and universally applicable part of the
theory is the emphasis on dignified interdependence and the tools that promote this type
of relationship as found in the Dignity Serves curriculum. Another merit of the working
theory is the emphasis on measurement which has been readily lauded in the community.
Many have made use of demographic materials, the Indicators of Community Health
Report, and other program specific success measures. These success measures have
provided yet another avenue to promote holistic principles of transformation by helping
ministries pick the best things to measure (e.g. number of clients that become volunteers,
changes in attitude, increased faith).
The most significant limitation of the theory is that it will simply take a long time to see
if it leads to the kind of meaningful transformation that it proffers. Many of the 100
distressed neighborhoods in Orange and Seminole Counties have been distressed for
some time and transformation that goes beyond mere gentrification will take several
years. Related to this limitation is the difficulty of not working against a specific
problem. This is actually a merit as well as a limitation. It is a merit in that asset-based
approaches have proven to be effective in other areas of the country. It is a limitation in
Central Florida because the culture of service is so geared towards solving immediate
problems. Asset-based approaches involve discovering what is there first, not just what is
lacking, so it takes time to discover and empower these assets. The outcomes that result
are varied – it could be a small business, a work sharing initiative, or simply a convening
opportunity (fellowship, parties). Having different outcomes makes the goals initially
difficult to describe and therefore it is harder to solicit the patient participation required.
Not all neighborhoods are going to have the interest to be involved in the process so
selecting a neighborhood is crucial to success. There needs to be a certain level of interest
in order to gain the kind of participation needed. Attaining the needed level of interest
could also prove to be a limitation of the theory.
45
There is another limitation to having a neighborhood centric theory because some
problems or the existing solutions for those problems are not neighborhood centered.
Homelessness is one such issue. While the homeless population exists in and around city
neighborhoods, the primary areas of emplacement are homeless camps, residential
facilities, or isolated areas. These areas are not conducive to community development.
Similarly, some residential facilities are also not conducive to traditional community
development. While these are limitations that should caution us to use “community” in
addition to “neighborhood,” we are seeing that the empowerment principles taught in
Dignity Serves do have a positive impact even among the homeless population.
There is also a need to strategically convene leaders across all social sectors, from
distressed communities and those from elsewhere who desire to help. The working theory
will not result in successful transformation if all of the work remains at the neighborhood
level. While the type of relationships formed in and outside of the community is vitally
important, outside resources and skills will be needed to transform distressed areas of the
city. Not all of these resources will need to enter into long-term relationships in order to
have a positive impact on the community.
46
Cautions and Correctives
The comments derived from community actions can be summarized according to the
following four cautions. Proposed correctives that are in line with the working theory are
provided under each caution:
1. Inaccurate view of local neighborhood
• seek first to listen and learn from the community
• maximize reliability of information by ground-truthing statistical data with
consistent interview data and personal observations (data triangulation)
• validate findings and action items with experts and literature
• collect original data as a valuable service to the community
• asset map neighborhood and nourish assets actually present
• update view of neighborhood (ongoing) and measure progress
2. Imposition of a vision for the community from outside
• discover hopes and concerns of the community from within
• build real relationships (two-way learning and benefit)
• cease involvement in communities that lack indigenous leadership or an
interest in partnering
• advocate local concerns
3. Absence of cohesive neighborhood vision, efforts often redundant or
disorganized
• actively participate in neighborhood groups wherever possible
• facilitate mutually beneficial relationships within the community and with
existing agencies and churches
• seek indigenous leadership to create a lasting vision
• learn from and support interested residents and leaders
• champion existing groups and work to make their mission successful
• make comprehensive, well-managed data available to community
4. Lack of leverage/influence of the local community
• open doors where appropriate with regional leaders
• remove obstacles to success
• foster dialog concerning difficult systemic issues such as white privilege
• be or create a vital link between “inside and outside”
• explore ways to leverage real estate developers to assist in mixed income
housing and church-planting
• make long-term commitment to communities and build real, lasting
relationships
47
Recommendations
The research conducted in the first two phases revealed
a great need to implement a comprehensive model that
will strengthen the city and the Central Florida region.
The essential components are research, leadership,
capitalization, and collaboration. Each of these
recommended components are derived from viewing
the six key findings above in light of best practices, the
frameworks, and the results of piloting the working
theory in a particular neighborhood. The following
table outlines the bridge between the findings and
recommendations.
The four essential components
of the model that will truly
benefit the “least, the last, and
the lost” in Central Florida are:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Research
Leadership
Capitalization
Collaboration
KEY FINDING
1. Six inter-related indicators
RECOMMENDED SOLUTION
Monitor improvement in distressed
communities across six indicators; broaden
research to include community strengths;
increase awareness of findings through a
communication campaign.
2. Vast disparities between
neighborhoods on all indicators
Mobilize church to invest in distressed
communities; assist communities in
discovering a positive vision for the future and
local assets; convene assets around shared
interests and leverage these initiatives with
outside resources and leadership.
3a. Most efforts are not collaborative
Coordinate efforts towards neighborhood
transformation; advocate incentivizing
collaboration to area foundations.
3b. Most efforts are focused on
relieving the symptoms of a single
indicator
Promote a paradigm shift towards
empowering assets in distressed communities;
coordinate relief efforts towards multiple
indicators in a way that necessitates
collaboration.
3c. Most efforts are unable to
demonstrate holistic impact
Measure meaningful outcomes and help nonprofits and churches shift to more
developmental approaches.
4. Non-profits lack resources and
strength to accomplish mission
Connect similar efforts for collaboration;
advocate truly transformational efforts to area
foundations.
48
KEY FINDING
RECOMMENDED SOLUTION
5. Churches in Central Florida are
often immobile or vision-imposing
Promote the principles and biblical framework
that will mobilize the church to humbly invest
in our community in a way that brings about
transformation.
6. No mature, effective asset-based
community development efforts in
Central Florida like those found in
other parts of the country
Mobilize teams through area churches to do
the work; train volunteers using best practices
from other successful initiatives; monitor
progress towards transformation.
Research
REQUIRED ACTION:
ESTABLISH AN URBAN INSTITUTE IN CENTRAL FLORIDA FOCUSED ON
RESEARCH AND EDUCATION
There is a need for ongoing quality research to take place in the city. For true
transformation to take place, the church, service entities, and leaders across the city must
have a heightened awareness of the city’s greatest areas of distress. In addition, the
approach taken by these entities should be guided by a focus on neighborhoods, people,
commitment, and assets. Thirdly, their efforts should be measured for their impact and
effectiveness, so that improvements can be made.
Continuous Research of the City
We recommend a three-pronged research effort that measures indicators of community
stressors, strengths, and health on an ongoing basis. SWC research revealed six
community stressors: underemployment, crime, housing costs, transportation, poor
health, and family structure. These stressors should be evaluated on an annual basis at the
neighborhood, city, county, state, and national levels in order to establish regional trends
and geographic comparisons. Community strengths should also be regularly catalogued.
Strengths include the interests and assets of individuals, associations, and institutions.
The interpersonal relationships that are formed and furthered as community strengths are
leveraged to alleviate community stressors reveals community health, the third
recommended area of ongoing research. This report identifies dignified, interdependent
relationships as the ideal context for addressing human need. We recommend that these
types of relationships be viewed as a key indicator of community health and that
additional research be conducted on the role of interpersonal relationships in community
health.
The research will require making use of existing data sources and producing original
research as needed. We recommend using existing sources whenever possible and
partnering with the Economic Development Commission, University of Central Florida,
49
Rollins College, the Chamber of Commerce, and others to produce an annual report that
can be used to guide decisions for distressed neighborhoods, populations, and overall
city-strengthening initiatives. Where existing sources do not adequately describe
community stressors, strength, and overall health, original research will also be required.
Sufficient information exists on community stressors from government sources such as
the U.S. Census Bureau and the Federal Bureau of Investigation such that original
research is not necessary in this area.
There are opportunities for original research on community strengths and community
health. While there has been significant research done on strengths as capital (e.g.
economic, social, and creative), there is an opportunity to conduct original research on
spiritual capital as a community strength. There are also opportunities to conduct research
on changes in belief and attitudes as a result of participating in individual betterment
programs. Lastly, due to the lack of mature asset-based development efforts in Central
Florida, initiating such efforts and monitoring their effectiveness would be valuable
research.
Most initiatives, non-profits, and service entities do not know the impact, if any, they
make on a target population. Most donors do not have the information they need to
adequately assess if their dollars are making a difference. And many non-profits and
service entities lack efficiency and effectiveness in the work that they do. In order for
transformation to occur and for donors to stream their funding to those initiatives striving
towards transformation, there needs to be a way to measure impact and effectiveness.
This report and the Indicators of Community Health Report contain broad measurements
that can be built upon to create a more detailed view of the real outcomes of our efforts to
help others.
Education of Frameworks and Principles
SWC research revealed three key frameworks and six key principles that provide a
foundation for engaging community interests
towards strengthening the city. Having robust
By the grace and mercy of
frameworks teach us what should be done, what has
God, the following six
been done, how to view our current social climate,
principles will transform
and what could be done for community
our distressed communities:
transformation. Principles guide how we act. By
emphasizing the continuous study and education of
1. Dignity
these frameworks, partners in the community are
2. Interdependence
more apt to see the city with a worldview that will
3. Responsibility
direct their activities and result in transformation.
4. Trust
Frameworks and principles that are researched,
5. Commitment
understood, and promoted are needed to raise
6. Joy
awareness, mobilize, and inform action.
The primary current vehicle to promote the use of
these principles to address community needs is a six
50
lesson curriculum called Dignity Serves which was created by the SWC research team as
a direct response to our community’s request for education and guidance. The goal of the
study is to discover and nurture the servant’s heart. Participants are taught helpful
questions that tend to go unasked when meeting human need and challenged to commit to
a specific cause or a particular distressed neighborhood in the city. Pilot groups have
responded well to the study and it is being updated to ensure that the content is userfriendly, biblically sound, and accomplishing the aims of the study. To date, over 300
people from 15 churches have gone through the study. Components of it have been used
to instruct non-profit leaders, volunteers, and community-minded business people. It
should be formally published and utilized for various audiences. It is also recommended
that other white papers, articles, and studies continue to be published as new findings are
discovered and the need arises.
For the past three years of this research project, we have built relationships with many
urban theologians and community development experts. These relationships will be
critical to lean upon for future publications. In addition, there are two seminaries in
Central Florida that are also beginning to enhance their programs through theological
research of urban issues. We recommend partnering with them and offering internship
opportunities for students.
Leadership
REQUIRED ACTION:
COMPEL LEADERS TO SEEK THE WELFARE OF THE CITY AND BUILD
CAPACITY OF INDIGENOUS LEADERSHIP
The findings reveal the importance of place and that any problem is best addressed as
close to the source as possible. An imposing church or other outside entity can do great
harm if not mobilized and led properly. This is why leadership must be developed at the
“street saints” level, or with those leaders who are dealing day to day with people and
their distressed communities. This approach is the cornerstone of what is needed in
Central Florida. However, it cannot stay only at the grass-roots level or the impact would
be minimal. God has graced us with a large church that is called to constantly seek the
welfare of the city and to mobilize to bring about social and spiritual renewal in the city.
Development of Leadership and Organizational Capacity
Those with greatest access to the greatest areas of distress require support. The typical
non-profit in a neighborhood struggles with leadership, funding, business acumen,
planning, and executing, which can greatly limit their capacity to serve in a
transformational way. It is our recommendation that non-profit and ministry leaders
focused on serving the marginalized are developed and strengthened through similar tools
that their constituents receive in the business world. They should have the opportunity to
engage in a process that includes diagnosing and strengthening the leadership and
organization through coaching, training, board support, fundraising, team and
51
organizational development. Also, it is critical for Christian leaders throughout Central
Florida to be developed to seek God’s heart in the city. Christian leaders represent all
four sectors in our region, and they must be prepared and equipped to seek the welfare of
the city and have the tools to act.
Mobilization of the Church
Brave leadership is required to mobilize the church to become involved in activities that
truly strengthen the city, leadership that values quality over quantity and commitment
over short-term successes. There is a large Christian population in the Orlando area. We
have the opportunity to leverage the body of Christ to further the peace and prosperity of
Central Florida like few other places on earth. We also have the responsibility to do so. If
the church is going to play a vital role in the transformation of the distressed communities
of Central Florida, then our common call to action will have to lead to unity rather than to
competitive positioning to acquire the largest congregations in the area. Many do not
think it is possible for the church to make such choices. We assert that brave leadership
can indeed forge a new path where the body of Christ leads the way to healing in our
most distressed communities and inspires others to join the cause.
Mobilizing the church must be done in a way that does not impose an outside vision or
damage the community which means that leadership must not only inspire others to
action but to the most helpful action. This is mediated by building relationships with the
indigenous leaders within the communities and bringing the church into relationship with
those leaders to support them, as well as sharpening their perceptions of assets, dignity,
commitment, humility, and other principles of transformation through tools such as
Dignity Serves. Many of these leaders do not occupy organizational or institutional
positions of leadership but are well-respected within the community and should be
learned from and supported.
Collaboration
REQUIRED ACTION:
CREATE PARTNERSHIPS THAT BENEFIT THE DISTRESSED
COMMUNITIES OF CENTRAL FLORIDA IN MEASURABLE WAYS
Sacrificial collaboration is the key to successful transformation of our distressed
communities. No one person, organization, or institution can create the desired change.
Brave leadership is the prerequisite for these collaborations to form and flourish in ways
that have measurable positive impact on the distressed communities of Central Florida.
Collaboration should cost you something and yield a result beyond the capacity of any of
the contributing entities acting alone. And if these collaborations are to be successful,
they must have clear goals shared by contributing entities and beyond the reach of any
one entity. These far-reaching goals force sacrifices since no one can accomplish the task
alone and enable the seemingly impossible to become obtainable.
52
We recommend that Central Florida leaders across all social sectors adopt the SWC
Neighborhood Stress Index (NSI) as the baseline data from which to assess our collective
efforts to alleviate distress in these communities. This index can be updated annually and
used to draw attention to our successes and remediate our failures. There are 100
distressed communities outlined in the NSI. These communities should be our primary
geographic areas of focus but their distress should not automatically translate into goals
for the neighborhood. We recommend making use of asset-based community
development strategies for determining these goals and creating partnerships that will
effectively champion these goals. This effort will involve enhancing the impact of
existing programs and establishing community-led initiatives.
Enhancing the Impact of Existing Programs
SWC research revealed 3800 organizations dedicated to addressing human need in
Central Florida. This represents a small army of concerned people, well-intended
programs, and committed investors. While these efforts have yielded success stories for
many individuals and families in our community, they have not tended to lead to
transformation at the neighborhood level. We believe it possible to enhance the impact of
existing programs by improving their internal measurements, organizational and
leadership capacity, and their ability to enter into effective partnerships. If these
partnerships have a stated goal of championing the interests of specific distressed
neighborhood and share best principles, we believe they will lead to measurable
improvements in the NSI and community health.
Establishing Community-led Initiatives
SWC research revealed that many initiatives that were the seeds of change in chronically
distressed neighborhoods were quite humble. Examples included block parties, bike
repair services, and small catering businesses. The common denominators to these
initiatives were that they built upon what the community had rather than what it lacked
and the driving force was often the Christian church. As such, we recommend a churchinitiated approach to discovering these initiatives. The initiatives should be developed in
a collaborative manner that complements the work of existing programs discussed above.
The church is the primary audience for this work and the church has a clear responsibility
to work to alleviate distress. Furthermore, the model was developed by Christians
desiring to bring the hope of the gospel to the city. Once work has begun in a particular
neighborhood, all social sectors should be engaged in a process that focuses on the
interests of the neighborhood as the rallying theme. Christians can participate in such
work without compromising their beliefs. Even more, neighborhood transformation
serves as an ideal context for a holistic Christian witness delivered in both word and
deed.
Based on the success of other efforts, signs of improved community health should be
evidenced within three years. At that time there will be well-trained community
advocates, community-championed initiatives, increased faith in Christ, and
improvements on indicators of community health. SWC researchers constructed a process
53
which builds on the successes of Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) and
Community Health Evangelism (CHE). It is recommended that this process is adopted
and that training is provided for interested churches through the Urban Institute. The
effectiveness of any resulting efforts should be monitored and improved on an ongoing
basis. The training should complement church discipleship and evangelistic efforts with
Biblical principles and best practices in community development.
Capitalization
REQUIRED ACTION:
RESOURCE EFFECTIVE TRANSFORMATION EFFORTS THROUGH A
FOUNDATION DEDICATED TO THE CAUSE
Neighborhoods and cities decline because of disinvestment. So investment, or
capitalization, is needed to bring about transformation, but not just any type of
investment. Our research revealed that solely focusing on economic investment leads to
gentrification and solely focusing on building relationships neglects other indispensible
elements of development such as job creation. The research also revealed that solely
focusing on providing resources for distressed communities leads to harmful
dependencies while neglecting to draw in needed capital from outside a distressed
community leaves grass-roots initiatives impotent.
Holistic capitalization is required. This type of investment will be a result of the brave
leadership and sacrificial collaboration outlined in the previous recommendations. But
the impact of these collaborations will be enhanced when resource providers such as
foundations act on a holistic understanding of capitalization and resource effective
transformation efforts. Holistic capitalization incorporates resources and leadership
across all social sectors, capitalization categories, and social strata.
Efforts geared towards city transformation require collaboration with leaders across all
social sectors: government, business, and the third sector (non-profit, churches, and
voluntary associations). It is recommended that an area foundation intentionally work
towards establishing connections to all sectors and garner resources that can be
capitalized to a greater degree. A foundation that would be a critical benefit to our
community should be faith-based and focused on providing resources to ministries and
non-profits proclaiming Jesus Christ and focused on local initiatives that strengthen the
city in measurable ways.
Holistic capitalization includes different categories and perspectives on investment. Nonprofits and churches focused on community building efforts require the social, economic,
spiritual, and creative capital to facilitate real change in the lives of those serving, being
served, and in their communities. Social, economic, and creative capital are wellresearched categories for investigating urban well-being. These categories respectively
emphasize the relational, financial, and skill capacity required for an area to be a vibrant
54
and attractive place to live, work, and visit. Spiritual capital is also a valuable concept but
the research on this important topic is inconsistent. Researching how spiritual capital can
be leveraged for community well-being would be a useful endeavor and would add to the
previously mentioned categories to create a truly holistic view of investment.
Holistic capitalization also ensures that both resources from within and outside of a
distressed community are engaged in its development. It is vital to long-term
transformation that ideas, leadership, and resources from a distressed community be
central to the initiatives that purport to strengthen it. It is equally important that leaders
and others from other parts of the region with different backgrounds and experiences
commit their talents and resources to strengthening the distressed areas of our region.
Interactions between individuals from different socioeconomic, racial, and ethnic
backgrounds are extremely beneficial to everyone involved particularly when these
interactions lead to dignified interdependent relationships.
Ongoing research would inform the foundation on the greatest areas of distress and
proper training would help develop leaders who seek the welfare of the city and convene
leaders to invest in creative, spiritual and social capital towards city-strengthening
initiatives. There would also be continuous measurement of the effectiveness of the
initiatives through the research which would provide the foundation an opportunity for
donors to see the impact of their investment long-term.
Conclusion
If enacted, the four recommendations above will lead to increased investment in the 100
distressed neighborhoods in Orange and Seminole Counties, improvements in indicators
of community health, and alleviation of much distress. Furthermore, these successes will
be directly replicable throughout Central Florida and will serve as a model for other
areas. Our overarching need is to engage holistic capitalization for our most distressed
communities and this will only be accomplished when leadership becomes convinced of
this necessity and brave enough to act. Leaders will need to enter into purposeful
collaborations that require sacrifice and result in stronger communities. An Urban
Institute should be established to provide accountability, measurements, and quality
educational tools that will help participating entities succeed in this endeavor.
There is a great desire from churches outside of distressed neighborhoods to invest their
time, energy and resources into neighborhoods, coupled with a realization that many of
the ways they have tried to accomplish this task has caused damage to the neighborhood,
lacked impact, or seemed inefficient. There is no local guide to walk churches through
any type of neighborhood investment process. Through this research, a process and road
map for churches has been created and packaged for churches, and includes tools that are
customizable based on their circumstances and level of familiarity with the
neighborhood. It is our earnest hope and prayer that the church responds to this call,
makes use of these resources, and becomes the source of hope and healing that she is
called to be in Central Florida and beyond.
55
56
Appendices
Appendix A: Organizations Contacted
ID
1630
1100
1006
1178
1946
1147
1129
1093
1034
1051
1153
1186
1880
1221
1190
1345
1012
1132
1224
1238
1254
1525
1904
1019
1095
1614
1205
1920
1280
1288
1899
1322
1209
1568
2294
2027
1334
1389
1028
2318
1060
1802
1401
1781
Organization
2-1-1 Community Resources, Inc.
A Gift for Teaching
Abundant Life Worldwide Ministries
Access Through Sign Language
Adoption By Shepherd Care
Adult Literacy League, Inc.
Advancing the Kingdom Ministries
African American CCC
Aloma Baptist
Aloma United Methodist
Alzheimer's Association - Central and North Florida
Anthony House, Inc.
B.A.S.E. Camp Children's Cancer Foundation
Beardall Senior Center
BETA Center, Inc.
Bethany Christian Services of Florida, Inc.
Bethel Missionary Baptist
Bethel Tabernacle
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Florida, Inc.
Boy Scouts of America, Central Florida Council
Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Florida, Inc.
Boys' Town of Central Florida
Brain Injury Association of Florida
Calvary Assembly of God
Catholic Charities of Central Florida
Center for Affordable Housing, Inc.
Center for Autism and Related Disabilities
Center for Christian Counseling, Inc.
Center for Drug-Free Living
Center for Independent Living in Central Florida
Central Care Mission of Orlando, Inc.
Central Florida Children's Home
Central Florida Family Health Center
Central Florida Health Care Coalition
Central Florida Miracle League
Central Florida Women's Resource Center, Inc.
CHARLEE Family Care Services of Central Florida
Children's Home Society of Florida
Christ Holiness Unto the Lord
Christ Kingdom Presbyerian Church
Christ Open Door Community Church
Christian HELP
Christian Service Center for Central Florida, Inc.
Christian Sharing Center, Inc.
57
Contact Type
Discussion
Interview
Mail
Discussion
Discussion
Discussion
Mail
Discussion
Mail
Discussion
Discussion
Discussion
Discussion
Discussion
Interview
Discussion
Interview
Mail
Discussion
Web
Web
Web
Web
Discussion
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PHONE
(407) 849-2364
407-318-3123
(407) 382-3823
(407) 265-9599
(407) 422-1540
407-290-9400
407-671-6951
407-671-2180
(407) 228-4299
(352) 383-5577
(407) 673-5060
(407) 246-2637
(407) 277-1942
(407) 667-9393
407-843-6612
407-649-1642
(407) 522-9799
(407) 889-4403
(407) 841-6855
(407) 366-3667
(407) 889-8588
407-644-1199
(407) 658-1818
(407) 323-3268
(407) 737-2566
(407) 649-2088
(407) 245-0045
(407) 623-1070
(407) 299-6146
(407) 277-7441
(407) 322-8645
(407) 425-9500
407-921-5645
(407) 426-7960
(407) 273-8444
(407) 999-5400
407-644-0947
407-637-9990
(407) 849-0092
(407) 834-4022
(407) 425-2523
(407) 260-9155
2424
1411
1415
1855
1416
1873
1445
1480
1122
1454
1198
1458
1215
1116
1115
1601
Church of the Good Shepherd
Church Street Counseling Center
CITE - Lighthouse for the Visually Impaired of CF
Clearer Vision Ministries, Inc.
Coalition for the Homeless of Central Florida
Community Care for the Elderly
Community Coordinated Care for Children, Inc.
Community Counseling Center, Inc.
Community Foundation of Central Florida
Community Service Center of South Orange
Compassion Corner
Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Central Florida
Counseling Corner, Inc.
Covenant Charities
Covenant Community Development Corporation
Covenant House Florida, Inc.
Discussion
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407-644-5350
(407) 895-5996
(407) 898-2483
(407) 884-6639
(407) 426-1250
(407) 628-2884
(407) 532-4116
(407) 291-8009
407-872-3050
(407) 851-5920
(407) 206-2406
(407) 895-8886
(407) 644-5437
(407) 540-1715
(407) 540-1099
(407) 482-0404
1856
2667
2733
1212
1763
2899
1500
1128
1503
2901
1064
1506
1541
1007
1504
1199
1001
1206
3078
1035
1036
3144
1057
3216
3333
2066
1182
1027
1423
3445
1534
1538
1066
1033
CPR Academy for Citizens
Crosspointe Church Orlando
Dawn Ministries
Destiny Foundation of Central Florida, Inc.
Devereux Florida Treatment Network
Discovery Church
Easter Seals Florida
Ebenezer United Methodist Church
Edgewood Ranch Foundation, Inc.
Emmanuel Baptist Church
Emmanuel United Methodist – Haitian
Episcopal Counseling Center of Central Florida
ESTEEM for Florida Youth, Inc.
Eternal Life Christian Fellowship
Exchange Ministries, Inc.
Experience Works, Inc.
Faith Deliverance Temple
Families Against Drugs
Federation of Congregations United to Serve
First Baptist of Tuskawilla
First Baptist of Winter Park
First Baptist Orlando
First Congregational United Church of Christ
First Presbyterian Church Orlando
First United Methodist Church Orlando
Florida Literacy Coalition, Inc.
Florida Respite Coalition
Flowers Temple Church of God in Christ
Foundation for Life Ministries, Inc.
Freedom Rides
Fresh Start Ministries of Central Florida, Inc.
Frontline Outreach, Inc.
Full Deliverance Church of Jesus
Full Gospel Assembly of God
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Mail
(407) 679-4277
407-207-7060
(407) 370-9312
(407) 849-0079
(407) 812-4555
407-855-3140
(407) 896-2293
407-244-0433
(407) 295-2464
407-260-1788
(407) 236-0500
(407) 423-3327
(407) 645-1193
58
(407) 629-5770
(407) 846-5477
407-425-3398
(407) 812-8680
407-849-5031
407-657-4993
407-644-3061
407-425-2555
407-647-2416
407-423-3441
407-849-6080
(407) 246-7110
(407) 740-8909
407-644-8408
(407) 859-3498
407-293-0411
(407) 293-3822
(407) 293-3000
(407) 843-9129
407-679-275
1939
1542
1037
2025
3596
1272
2093
1067
1544
1336
1109
1002
1124
1560
1784
1881
1616
1872
1785
1011
1208
1906
1251
1428
1799
3675
1595
3771
1302
1481
1240
1111
2144
1476
1982
1916
1895
1193
1986
1606
1134
1370
1120
2622
1477
1069
1088
2616
1252
1181
Give Kids The World
GOALS, Inc - Greater Orlando Area Legal Services
Goldenrod Baptist
Goldenrule Housing
Good News Jail and Prison Ministry
Good Samaritan Home of Sanford Florida, Inc.
Good Shepherd Services of Orlando, Inc.
Good Will Self-Sufficiency Job Center
Goodwill Industries of Central Florida
Grand Avenue Community Development Corp
Greater Orlando Food Outreach
Greater Refuge Memorial
Greater St Paul Church
Grove Counseling Center, Inc.
Guardian Care Convalescent Center
Habitat for Humanity of Greater Orlando
Haitian Social Services, Inc.
HANDS - CF Housing & Neighborhood Development
Harbor House - Center Against Domestic Violence
Harvest Baptist Church
Harvest Time International, Inc.
Haven of Hope Ministries, Inc.
Healing the Children - Florida, Inc.
Health Care Center for the Homeless
Heart of Florida United Way
Heart of Mercy Community Church
HELP NOW of Osceola, Inc.
Helping Hands
Helping Hearts Companion Services
Helping Kids Thrift & Gift, Inc.
His Way Christian Fellowship, Inc.
Holden Heights Front Porch
Holden Heights Neighborhood Association
Holden Heights Residential Care Facility, Inc.
Homeless Services Network of Central Florida
Homes In Partnership, Inc.
Hope and Help Center of Central Florida, Inc.
Hospice of Orange / Osceola
Hospice of the Comforter
House of Hope
House of Prayer
Howard Phillips Center for Children & Families
Hub University Church
Hubbard House
Human Crisis Council, Inc.
Hurst Chapel
IMPACT Orlando
Inmates of the Cross
Intervention Services, Inc
It's Your Move
59
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Discussion
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Discussion
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Discussion
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Discussion
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Discussion
Evaluation
Evaluation
Discussion
Discussion
Web
Discussion
Discussion
Discussion
Evaluation
Discussion
Discussion
Interview
Evaluation
Discussion
Interview
Interview
Discussion
Web
Web
(407) 396-1114
(407) 841-7777
407-671-7448
(407) 324-9123
407-836-3625
(407) 322-3321
(407) 658-2909
(407) 872-0770
(407) 235-1500
(407) 294-0123
407-849-0079
407-872-1984
(407) 425-4362
(407) 327-1765
(407) 295-5371
(407) 648-4567
(407) 445-9599
(407) 447-5686
(407) 886-2856
407-425-3109
(407) 328-9900
(407) 298-2056
(407) 330-0070
(407) 428-5751
(407) 835-0900
407- 293-7784
(407) 847-3260
407-648-0954
(407) 282-9796
(407) 648-0160
(407) 599-9770
407-849-0135
407-425-1473
(407) 843-5620
(407) 893-0133
(407) 886-2451
(407) 645-2577
(407) 599-5079
(407) 682-0808
(407) 843-8686
407-999-0023
(407) 317-7430
407-423-1587
321-841-2527
(407) 294-4704
(407) 423-2831
407-826-2622
407-948-8320
(407) 331-8002
(407) 808-4744
1071
1638
2945
3016
1183
1159
1194
1021
1127
1646
1453
1047
1030
2054
1339
1687
1648
1424
1944
2119
1038
1670
1724
1671
1909
1672
1789
1244
1950
1679
1903
3778
1680
1778
2121
2476
1801
1875
1489
1698
1022
1010
1072
1246
1004
1112
1023
1396
2109
1014
Jesus Christ House of Prayer
Jewish Family Service Center of Greater Orlando, Inc.
Jobs Partnership of Florida
Joy Metropolitan Church
Junior League of Greater Orlando, Inc.
K.I.S.S. - Kids in Safety Seats
Kids House of Seminole, Inc.
Killarney Baptist
King's Way Baptist Church
Kissimmee Area Ministerial Association
Kissimmee Housing Authority
Knowles Memorial Chapel
Kress Memorial Seventh Day Adventist
Lake Mann Homes Neighborhood Center for Families
Lake Mary Senior Center
Lakeside Alternatives, Inc.
Lakewood Adult Care Center
Legal Aid Society of the Orange County Bar Association
Life for Kids and A Center for Women
Lifework Leadership
Light House Baptist
Lighthouse Mission of Orlando, Inc.
Lisa Merlin House, Inc.
Little People of America, Inc.
Living Hope International Ministry, Inc
Loaves and Fishes
Lutheran Counseling Services, Inc.
Lutheran Ministries of Florida
Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church
MADD - Mothers Against Drunk Driving
Make A Wish Foundation
Making Faith Matter
March of Dimes
Meals On Wheels, Etc., Inc.
Mending Hearts Ministries
Mental Health Association of Central Florida
Metropolitan Orlando Urban League
Miller Center for Older Adult Services
Miracle of Love
Missing Children Center
Mt. Moriah Baptist
Mt. Olive CME Church
Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Institutional Church
New Beginnings International Food Ministries, Inc.
New Church of Freewill Deliverance
New Covenant Baptist Church
New Hope Baptist
New Hope Center, Inc.
New Hope for Kids
New Jerusalem Church of God
60
Mail
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Web
Web
Discussion
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Web
Discussion
Discussion
Discussion
Discussion
Discussion
Discussion
Discussion
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Discussion
Web
Web
Discussion
Discussion
Discussion
Web
Discussion
Web
Discussion
Discussion
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Discussion
Web
Mail
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Discussion
Mail
Interview
Mail
Discussion
Discussion
Mail
(407) 648-9010
(407) 644-7593
407-235-1522
407-894-1081
(407) 422-5918
(407) 857-0353
(407) 302-4442
407-644-7741
407-422-5044
(407) 847-4204
(407) 343-3114
407-646-2115
407-644-4115
(407) 293-9231
(407) 324-3060
(407) 291-6335
(407) 332-1711
(407) 841-8310
(407) 629-5437
407.650.3600
407-678-3890
(407) 291-0124
(407) 292-0109
(407) 774-7722
(407) 422-6797
(407) 886-6005
(407) 644-4692
(407) 869-0988
(407) 647-0010
(407) 246-1331
(407) 622-4673
407-230-2125
(407) 599-5077
(407) 333-8877
321-229-3636
407-898-0110
(407) 841-7654
(407) 629-5771
(407) 445-6008
(407) 327-4403
407-644-3813
407-425-7303
(407) 423-0023
(407) 850-6063
407-849-0120
(407) 425-3001
407-644-0947
(407) 629-8920
407-599-0909
407-423-9771
1013
1123
1017
1239
1532
1074
2108
1104
1617
1987
3414
2449
2716
1076
2134
1931
1097
1738
1304
1427
1327
1919
1635
1369
1031
1196
1732
1750
1751
1475
1471
1734
1049
1220
1743
1340
2129
3254
1748
1752
1490
1218
3180
1882
1079
1160
1168
1170
2021
1762
New Life Hope in Christ Church
New St. Mark Free Methodist
New Zion Progressive Missionary Baptist
Newness Outreach Ministries
No Abuse, Inc.
None Shall Lack Outreach Ministries
Northland Church
OBT Development Board
One Stop Career Centers
Open Homes Fellowship, Inc.
Orange Blossom Family Health Center
Orangewood Presbyterian Church
Orlando Children's Church
Orlando Day Nursery
Orlando Grace Church
Orlando Lutheran Towers
Orlando Neighborhood Improvement Corp.
Orlando Union Rescue Mission, Inc.
Osceola Children's Home
Osceola Community Action
Osceola Wish Foundation
P.A.C.E. Center for Girls, Inc.
Pathways Drop-In Center, Inc.
Pathways to Care, Inc.
Patmos Chapel Seventh Day Adventist
Prevent Blindness Florida
Primrose Center, Inc.
R.S.V.P. - Retired & Senior Volunteer Program
R.S.V.P. - Retired & Senior Volunteer Program
Rainbow Repairs, Inc.
Recovery House of Central Florida, Inc.
Recovery, Inc.
Redeemer Lutheran
Redeeming Light Community Services
Rescue Outreach Mission of Sanford
Restore Orlando, Inc.
River of Life Presbyterian Church
Ronald McDonald House
RP Foundation - Fighting Blindness
Russell Home for Atypical Children
S.A.F.E., Inc
Sadie Holmes Help Service,Inc.
Safe Haven at Maxwell Gardens
Safehouse of Seminole County
Salvation Army
Salvation Army of Orange County
Salvation Army of Osceola County
Salvation Army of Seminole County
Sanford Christian Sharing Center, Inc.
SCORE - Service Corps of Retired Executives
61
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Web
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Discussion
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Web
Web
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Evaluation
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Discussion
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Web
Web
Web
Discussion
Web
407-843-4500
407-843-6259
407-648-0362
(407) 888-8919
(407) 999-9703
(407) 481-8109
407-365-8100
407-855-1705
(407) 599-8388
(407) 849-9888
407-836-2600
407-539-1500
407.923.6244
407-422-5291
407-660-1984
(407) 422-4103
407-648-1623
(407) 422-4855
(407) 846-2988
(407) 846-8734
(407) 846-8762
(407) 843-1775
(407) 843-5530
(407) 388-0245
407-628-4079
(407) 523-1645
(407) 898-7201
(407) 846-8532
(407) 323-4440
(407) 323-8272
(407) 324-2891
(407) 660-2003
407-671-4300
(407) 656-0980
(407) 321-8224
(407) 246-0061
407-351-4333
407-581-1289
(407) 862-5077
(407) 855-8063
(407) 422-7233
(407) 831-6324
407-447-3060
(407) 302-5220
407-292-9868
(407) 423-8581
(407) 931-4343
(407) 322-2642
(407) 323-2513
(407) 648-6476
1773
2065
1653
1832
1912
1777
1902
1187
1682
1188
1358
1350
1003
3100
1043
1056
1157
1917
1040
1054
1039
1046
1053
3688
2147
1865
1005
2100
1000
1008
1176
3792
1793
2023
1015
1009
1131
1911
1328
1029
1016
1083
1426
1299
1018
1941
1473
1985
1092
2347
Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida
Seminole Community Volunteer Program, Inc.
Seminole County Bar Association Legal Aid Society
Seminole County Community Assistance
Seminole Volunteer Enterprises, Inc
Seminole Work Opportunity Program
Senior Education Associates, Inc.
Area Agency on Aging of CF
Seniors First, Inc.
SHARE Central Florida, Inc.
Share the Care, Inc.
Shepherd's Hope, Inc.
Shiloh Baptist Church
Society of St. Andrew
South Seminole Church of Christ
Spanish Church Seventh Day Adventist
Special Olympics Orange County
Special Wish Foundation
St Margaret Mary Roman Catholic
St Paul’s Presbyterian
St Peters and Paul Roman Catholic
St Richards Episcopal
St. Andrews United Methodist
St. James Catholic Cathedral
St. Luke's United Methodist Church
St. Mary Magdalene Adult Center
St. Matthew's House of Prayer
Summit Church
Tabernacle of God Ministries
The Church of Power, Praise, and Deliverance
The Orlando Bridge
The Orlando Initiative
Threshold, Inc.
Transition House, Inc
True Apostolic Church of Jesus Christ
True Gospel Holiness Church of Jesus
True Holiness United Pentecostal Church of Jesus,
Turning Point of Central Florida, Inc.
United Cerebral Palsy Child Development Center
United Church of God by Faith
United Deliverance Christian Center
United Faith Ministries Inc.
Upper Room Counseling Center
Victim Service Center, Inc.
Ward Chapel African Methodist Episcopal
Way Up Christian Counseling Group
Wayne Densch Center, Inc.
Weekends of Greater Orlando, Inc.
Wells Built Museum
Westminster Care of Orlando
62
Interview
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Web
Web
Web
Discussion
Web
Web
Web
Discussion
Interview
Interview
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Mail
Discussion
Discussion
Mail
Discussion
Discussion
Mail
Discussion
Partner
Partner
Discussion
Mail
Partner
Discussion
Mail
Web
Interview
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Discussion
Mail
Mail
Mail
Discussion
Web
Interview
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Mail
Web
Web
Interview
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Discussion
Web
Interview
Evaluation
(407) 295-1066
(407) 323-4440
(407) 834-1660
(407) 665-3270
(407) 322-1520
(407) 699-4419
(407) 365-2535
(407) 228-1800
(407) 292-0177
(407) 841-8902
(407) 423-5311
(407) 876-6699
407-422-9631
407-650-1956
407-657-0657
407-679-2278
(407) 875-3827
(407) 518-0277
407-647-3392
407-647-7774
407-657-6114
407-671-4211
407-647-4516
407-422-2005
407-876-4991
(407) 831-9630
407-897-8130
407-326-6740
407-649-8337
(407) 926-8134
407-334-5597
(407) 671-7060
(407) 891-1551
407-424-1491
407-841-9214
(407) 740-5655
(407) 852-3300
407-629-9560
407-425-0871
(407) 812-7203
(407) 836-9680
407-628-1602
(407) 599-9772
(407) 599-3900
(407) 898-8277
407-245-7535
407-353-7938
1084
1834
2299
1042
1026
1024
1055
1338
1901
1853
1025
Westmoreland Church of Christ
Widowed Persons Service of Greater Orlando
Windermere Baptist Church
Winter Park Christian
Winter Park Church of God
Winter Park Church of the Brethren
Winter Park Presbyterian
Winter Springs Senior Center
Women in Transition
Women's Residential & Counseling Center
Zion Temple Church of Christ
Other direct contacts:
Local
Rollins Philanthropy and Nonprofit Center
Jones High School
Orlando Housing Authority
Nap Ford Charter School
Orlando City Council
Grand Avenue Elementary
Westminster Academy Charter School
Winter Park Chamber of Commerce
Mayor of Orlando
City of Orlando Health and Family Services Office
Winter Park Library and Historical Society
UCF Department of Public Administration
UCF Metropolitan Center of Regional Studies
Family Services of Metro Orlando
Non-local
Desire Street Ministries
Leadership Foundations of America
Christian Community Development Association
Communities First Association
Chalmers Center for Economic Development
International Justice Mission
FCS Urban Ministries
Bakke Graduate University
Acton Institute
Hope for New York
63
Mail
Web
Partner
Mail
Mail
Mail
Discussion
Discussion
Web
Web
Discussion
407-422-7672
(407) 649-9209
407-876-2234
407-671-3000
407-647-2093
407-644-3981
407-647-1467
(407) 327-6697
(407) 628-8996
(407) 425-2502
407-644-0947
64
Appendix B: Pilot Neighborhood Demographics
Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census, 2000 Census of Population and Housing. Environmental
Systems Research Institute (ESRI) forecasts for 2009 and 2014.
Data Notes:
• Household population includes persons not residing in group quarters.
• Average Household Size is the household population divided by total households.
• Persons in families include the householder and persons related to the householder by
birth, marriage, or adoption.
• Per Capita Income represents the income received by all persons aged 15 years and
over divided by total population.
• Income represents the preceding year, expressed in current dollars. Household income
includes wage and salary earnings, interest, dividends, net rents, pensions, SSI and
welfare payments, child support and alimony.
• Specified Renter Occupied Housing Units exclude houses on 10+ acres.
• Average Rent excludes units paying no cash rent.
• Persons of Hispanic Origin may be of any race.
• The Diversity Index measures the probability that two people from the same area will be
from different race/ethnic groups.
• The Spending Potential Index represents the amount spent in the area relative to a
national average of 100.
Geographic Area: Census Tract 120950115, Orlando and Orange County Florida. South of Gore
St, West and North of I-4 and East of Orange Blossom Trail)
65
2000 Total Population
2,976
2000 Group Quarters
2009 Total Population
2014 Total Population
2009 - 2014 Annual Rate
51
2,800
2,788
-0.09%
2000 Households
2000 Average Household Size
2009 Households
2009 Average Household Size
2014 Households
2014 Average Household Size
2009 - 2014 Annual Rate
2000 Families
2000 Average Family Size
2009 Families
2009 Average Family Size
2014 Families
2014 Average Family Size
2009 - 2014 Annual Rate
1,060
2.76
1,007
2.72
1,007
2.71
0.00%
617
3.43
553
3.48
536
3.52
-0.62%
2000 Housing Units
Owner Occupied Housing Units
Renter Occupied Housing Units
Vacant Housing Units
2009 Housing Units
Owner Occupied Housing Units
Renter Occupied Housing Units
Vacant Housing Units
2014 Housing Units
Owner Occupied Housing Units
Renter Occupied Housing Units
Vacant Housing Units
1,223
30.4%
56.3%
13.3%
1,242
27.9%
53.2%
18.9%
1,252
28.0%
52.5%
19.6%
Median Household Income
2000
2009
2014
$23,011
$28,241
$28,619
Median Home Value
2000
2009
2014
$62,237
$93,333
$109,322
Median Age
2000
2009
2014
32.1
32.3
32.5
66
2000 Households by Income
Household Income Base
< $15,000
$15,000 - $24,999
$25,000 - $34,999
$35,000 - $49,999
$50,000 - $74,999
$75,000 - $99,999
$100,000 - $149,999
$150,000 - $199,999
$200,000 +
Average Household Income
1,042
30.1%
24.2%
13.2%
17.6%
11.6%
1.4%
1.2%
0.0%
0.6%
$32,774
2009 Households by Income
Household Income Base
< $15,000
$15,000 - $24,999
$25,000 - $34,999
$35,000 - $49,999
$50,000 - $74,999
$75,000 - $99,999
$100,000 - $149,999
$150,000 - $199,999
$200,000 +
Average Household Income
1,007
24.4%
17.9%
18.0%
16.8%
16.9%
4.1%
1.3%
0.4%
0.3%
$36,139
2014 Households by Income
Household Income Base
< $15,000
$15,000 - $24,999
$25,000 - $34,999
$35,000 - $49,999
$50,000 - $74,999
$75,000 - $99,999
$100,000 - $149,999
$150,000 - $199,999
$200,000 +
Average Household Income
1,007
24.2%
17.4%
16.5%
15.3%
20.8%
3.7%
1.4%
0.4%
0.4%
$37,641
67
2000 Owner Occupied Housing Units by Value
Total
358
< $50,000
33.0%
$50,000 - $99,999
58.7%
$100,000 - $149,999
2.2%
$150,000 - $199,999
0.0%
$200,000 - $299,999
6.1%
$300,000 +0.0%
Average Home Value
$70,168
2000 Specified Renter Occ. Housing Units by Contract Rent
697
Total
98.9%
With Cash Rent
1.1%
No Cash Rent
$462
Median Rent
$459
Average Rent
2000 Population by Age
Total
Age 0 - 4
Age 5 - 9
Age 10 - 14
Age 15 - 19
Age 20 - 24
Age 25 - 34
Age 35 - 44
Age 45 - 54
Age 55 - 64
Age 65 - 74
Age 75 - 84
Age 85+
Age 18+
2,976
7.8%
8.4%
8.6%
7.7%
7.8%
13.9%
17.6%
13.9%
7.4%
4.6%
2.0%
0.6%
70.3%
2009 Population by Age
Total
Age 0 - 4
Age 5 - 9
Age 10 - 14
Age 15 - 19
Age 20 - 24
Age 25 - 34
Age 35 - 44
Age 45 - 54
Age 55 - 64
Age 65 - 74
Age 75 - 84
Age 85+
Age 18+
2,800
7.8%
7.9%
7.4%
7.7%
8.0%
15.1%
12.8%
14.7%
10.8%
4.8%
2.5%
0.7%
71.8%
68
2014 Population by Age
Total
Age 0 - 4
Age 5 - 9
Age 10 - 14
Age 15 - 19
Age 20 - 24
Age 25 - 34
Age 35 - 44
Age 45 - 54
Age 55 - 64
Age 65 - 74
Age 75 - 84
Age 85+
Age 18+
2000 Population by Sex
Males
Females
2009 Population by Sex
Males
Females
2014 Population by Sex
Males
Females
2,788
7.9%
7.9%
7.6%
6.8%
8.0%
15.5%
12.7%
11.7%
12.4%
6.2%
2.4%
0.8%
72.1%
51.8%
48.2%
50.3%
49.8%
49.7%
50.3%
2000 Population by Race/Ethnicity
Total
White Alone
Black Alone
American Indian Alone
Asian or Pacific Islander Alone
Some Other Race Alone
Two or More Races
Hispanic Origin
Diversity Index
2,976
26.3%
66.6%
0.4%
0.4%
3.0%
3.2%
8.1%
56.3
2009 Population by Race/Ethnicity
Total
White Alone
Black Alone
American Indian Alone
Asian or Pacific Islander Alone
Some Other Race Alone
Two or More Races
Hispanic Origin
Diversity Index
2,800
19.2%
73.0%
0.4%
0.5%
3.8%
3.2%
10.0%
53.3
69
2014 Population by Race/Ethnicity
Total
White Alone
Black Alone
American Indian Alone
Asian or Pacific Islander Alone
Some Other Race Alone
Two or More Races
Hispanic Origin
Diversity Index
2,788
16.9%
74.8%
0.4%
0.5%
4.3%
3.2%
11.2%
52.9
2000 Population 3+ by School Enrollment
Total
Enrolled in Nursery/Preschool
Enrolled in Kindergarten
Enrolled in Grade 1-8
Enrolled in Grade 9-12
Enrolled in College
Enrolled in Grad/Prof School
Not Enrolled in School
2,821
3.1%
1.9%
14.6%
7.1%
2.0%
0.0%
71.3%
2009 Population 25+ by Educational Attainment
Total
Less than 9th Grade
9th - 12th Grade, No Diploma
High School Graduate
Some College, No Degree
Associate Degree
Bachelor's Degree
Graduate/Professional Degree
1,716
11.5%
20.2%
39.7%
13.9%
4.5%
8.4%
1.8%
2009 Population 15+ by Marital Status
Total
Never Married
Married
Widowed
Divorced
2,154
44.5%
37.6%
4.7%
13.2%
70
2000 Population 16+ by Employment Status
Total
In Labor Force
Civilian Employed
Civilian Unemployed
In Armed Forces
Not in Labor Force
2,137
68.2%
58.4%
9.8%
0.0%
31.8%
2009 Civilian Population 16+ in Labor Force
Civilian Employed
Civilian Unemployed
74.6%
25.4%
2014 Civilian Population 16+ in Labor Force
Civilian Employed
Civilian Unemployed
84.2%
15.8%
2000 Females 16+ by Employment Status and Age of Children
Total
1,034
Own Children < 6 Only
3.3%
Employed/in Armed Forces
1.5%
Unemployed
0.0%
Not in Labor Force
1.8%
Own Children <6 and 6-17
11.6%
Employed/in Armed Forces
8.9%
Unemployed
0.8%
Not in Labor Force
1.9%
Own Children 6-17 Only
11.7%
Employed/in Armed Forces
5.3%
Unemployed
1.6%
Not in Labor Force
4.7%
No Own Children <18
73.4%
Employed/in Armed Forces
37.0%
Unemployed
4.3%
Not in Labor Force
32.1%
2009 Employed Population 16+ by Industry
Total
Agriculture/Mining
Construction
Manufacturing
Wholesale Trade
Retail Trade
Transportation/Utilities
Information
Finance/Insurance/Real Estate
Services
Public Administration
71
1,096
0.5%
18.7%
2.6%
1.7%
11.7%
3.2%
0.8%
0.4%
59.3%
1.1%
2009 Employed Population 16+ by Occupation
Total
White Collar
Management/Business/Financial
Professional
Sales
Administrative Support
Services
Blue Collar
Farming/Forestry/Fishing
Construction/Extraction
Installation/Maintenance/Repair
Production
Transportation/Material Moving
1,096
34.5%
5.2%
9.4%
11.9%
8.0%
31.5%
34.0%
1.1%
17.5%
2.6%
6.6%
6.3%
2000 Workers 16+ by Means of Transportation to Work
Total
Drove Alone - Car, Truck, or Van
Carpooled - Car, Truck, or Van
Public Transportation
Walked
Other Means
Worked at Home
1,195
59.2%
18.6%
9.2%
4.7%
5.7%
2.6%
2000 Workers 16+ by Travel Time to Work
Total
Did not Work at Home
Less than 5 minutes
5 to 9 minutes
10 to 19 minutes
20 to 24 minutes
25 to 34 minutes
35 to 44 minutes
45 to 59 minutes
60 to 89 minutes
90 or more minutes
Worked at Home
Average Travel Time to Work (in min)
1,195
97.4%
2.9%
5.8%
25.3%
17.7%
32.9%
3.1%
3.2%
2.2%
4.4%
2.6%
25.3
2000 Households by Vehicles Available
Total
None
1
2
3
4
5+
Average Number of Vehicles Available
1,055
28.5%
45.3%
17.5%
5.5%
1.3%
1.8%
1.1
72
2000 Households by Type
Total
Family Households
Married-couple Family
With Related Children
Other Family (No Spouse)
With Related Children
Nonfamily Households
Householder Living Alone
Householder Not Living Alone
1,060
58.2%
24.2%
12.0%
34.0%
24.2%
41.8%
29.3%
12.5%
Households with Related Children
Households with Persons 65+
36.2%
16.9%
2000 Households by Size
Total
1 Person Household
2 Person Household
3 Person Household
4 Person Household
5 Person Household
6 Person Household
7+ Person Household
1,060
29.3%
26.3%
16.4%
11.9%
8.0%
3.8%
4.2%
2000 Households by Year Householder Moved In
Total
Moved in 1999 to March 2000
Moved in 1995 to 1998
Moved in 1990 to 1994
Moved in 1980 to 1989
Moved in 1970 to 1979
Moved in 1969 or Earlier
Median Year Householder Moved In
1,055
27.7%
27.6%
18.1%
9.4%
8.6%
8.6%
1996
2000 Housing Units by Year Structure Built
Total
1999 to March 2000
1995 to 1998
1990 to 1994
1980 to 1989
1970 to 1979
1969 or Earlier
Median Year Structure Built
1,217
0.0%
1.2%
0.0%
9.6%
11.3%
77.9%
1958
73
2009 Consumer Spending shows the amount spent on a variety of goods and services by
households that reside in the area. Expenditures are shown by broad budget categories that
are not mutually exclusive. Consumer spending does not equal business revenue.
Apparel & Services: Total $
Average Spent
Spending Potential Index
Computers & Accessories: Total $
Average Spent
Spending Potential Index
Education: Total $
Average Spent
Spending Potential Index
Entertainment/Recreation: Total $
Average Spent
Spending Potential Index
Food at Home: Total $
Average Spent
Spending Potential Index
Food Away from Home: Total $
Average Spent
Spending Potential Index
Health Care: Total $
Average Spent
Spending Potential Index
Household Furnishings & Equip: Tot. $
Average Spent
Spending Potential Index
Investments: Total $
Average Spent
Spending Potential Index
Retail Goods: Total $
Average Spent
Spending Potential Index
Shelter: Total $
Average Spent
Spending Potential Index
TV/Video/Sound Equipment: Total $
Average Spent
Spending Potential Index
Travel: Total $
Average Spent
Spending Potential Index
Vehicle Maintenance & Repairs: Total
$
Average Spent
Spending Potential Index
74
$937,276
$930.76
37
$117,906
$117.09
51
$672,599
$667.92
53
$1,660,133
$1,648.59
51
$2,469,080
$2,451.92
54
$1,794,513
$1,782.04
54
$1,982,203
$1,968.42
52
$952,208
$945.59
44
$541,945
$538.18
37
$12,656,748
$12,568.77
49
$7,797,045
$7,742.85
50
$665,857
$661.23
54
$852,277
$846.35
46
$482,171
$478.82
51
Appendix C: Literature Review
Bryant Myers
Bryant Myers is currently professor of transformational development at Fuller
Theological Seminary. Before joining the Fuller faculty, he served over 30 years
with World Vision International, a Christian relief and development organization.
In addition, he has served in various leadership roles within the Lausanne
Committee on World Evangelization. Myers is widely published on the topics of
transformational development, world mission, humanitarian aid and poverty.82
Walking with the Poor: Principles and Practices of Transformational
Development (Orbis Books, 1999).
In Walking with the Poor, Myers aims to make the principles and practices of
transformational development understandable while examining these through a
Christian lens. Myers draws on the great advances made through international
development and seeks to wed the knowledge gained here with the experience of
Christian relief and development organizations. Wanting to recapture the biblical
notion that all aspects of life are interrelated, Myers expounds on several theories
which show the connectedness of the physical, social and spiritual dimensions of
humanity. The themes of poverty and ones’ concept of the poor are discussed
early in the work. Following these topics is a discussion of a Christian
understanding of development. Myers offers several tools for the person wishing
to engage in the practical outworking of development within communities at the
end of the book.
Alexander von Hoffman
Alexander von Hoffman is a Senior Research Fellow at the Joint Center for
Housing Studies at Harvard University. He currently directs a project entitled
“Patterns and Process of Sprawl,” an exploration of metropolitan development
from 1970 to present. He has written extensively on the history of low-income
housing policy in the United States. His areas of specialty include housing and
urban affairs.83
House by House, Block by Block: The Rebirth of America’s Urban
Neighborhoods (Oxford University Press, 2003).
This work recounts the struggles and progress achieved by the organizations and
individuals committed to urban revitalization in five U.S. cities: Atlanta, Boston,
Chicago, Los Angeles and New York. The writer combines news stories,
82
Fuller Theological Seminary,
http://www.fuller.edu/provost/faculty/dbsearch/final_record.asp?id=2006824104246, accessed June
2006.
83
Harvard University, http://www.jchs.harvard.edu/people/von_hoffman.html, accessed June 2006.
75
statistical data, interviews, published works, documents and narratives drawn
from neighborhoods within these cities, illustrating the social methods and
practical steps which are bringing renewal to these areas.
Richard Florida
Richard Florida is Hirst Professor of Public Policy at George Mason University
School of Public Policy. Prior to 2005, he taught at Carnegie Mellon University’s
Heinz School. Florida is best known for developing the concept of the creative
class and studying its effects on urban regeneration.84
The Rise of the Creative Class: And How It’s Transforming Work, Leisure,
Community and Everyday Life (Basic Books, 2002)
- Creative capital is the ability of people to create, innovate, and invent new
things and new ways of doing things.
- Richard Florida has witnessed creative capital, not social capital, driving
economic growth.
- Orlando ranked 38/49 in large regions based on percentage of creative class in
workforce (28%).
- Orlando has a huge percentage of service class workers, topped only by West
Palm Beach and Las Vegas.
- “My conclusion was that rather than being driven exclusively by companies,
economic growth was occurring in places that were tolerant, diverse, and open
to creativity- because these were places where creative people of all types
wanted to live” (pg. 82).
Robert Putnam
Robert Putnam is the Peter and Isabel Malkin Professor of Public Policy at
Harvard. He is the 2006 recipient of the Skytte Prize, one of the world’s highest
accolades for a political scientist. The political themes engaged by Putnam have
allowed for interaction with the Clinton and Bush administrations, the Blair
government and the Irish Taoiseach. Putnam has developed the idea of social
capital which is the topic explored in his work Bowling Alone.85
Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community (Simon and
Schuster, 2001)
-
-
84
85
Social capital, as described by Robert Putnam, refers to connections among
individuals, social networks and the norms of reciprocity and trustworthiness
that arise from them. In other words, interaction enables people to build
communities, to commit themselves to each other, and to knit the social
fabric. A sense of belonging and the concrete experience of social networks
can bring great benefits to people.
The decrease in social capital has caused a decrease in political and civic
engagement, religious participation, connections in the workplace, informal
George Mason University, http://policy.gmu.edu/people/florida.html, accessed June 2006.
Harvard University, http://ksgfaculty.harvard.edu/Robert_Putnam, accessed June 2006.
76
-
social connections, altruism, volunteering, philanthropy, reciprocity, honesty
and trust.
Causes for decreased social capital are pressures of time and money, mobility
and sprawl, technology and mass media, and generational differences.
Social capital is a predictor for several things. When it is present, these things
improve. When it is absent, these things decline: education and children’s
welfare, safe and productive neighborhoods, economic prosperity, health and
happiness, and democracy.
Ronald Sider
Ron Sider obtained his Master of Divinity and PhD in History from Yale
University. He is well-known for his work which encourages the church to
actively and radically care for the needs of the poor. He has authored over 28
books and 100 articles in religious and secular magazines on various topics. In
October 2006, Christianity Today listed his book, Rich Christians in the Age of
Hunger, as seventh in “The Top 50 Books That Have Shaped Evangelicals”.86 He
is founder and president of Evangelicals for Social Action.87
Just Generosity: A New Vision for Overcoming Poverty in America (Baker, 1999)
Sider begins with a description of what poverty looks like, and what causes it,
particularly in America. He lays out a Biblical foundation for empowering the
poor and gives a strategy for doing so that includes efforts from church, business,
government, and schools. He has a balanced view of what justice ought to look
like in society, and his overarching premise is that all individuals should have
access, both by law and in reality, to the resources they need, that if used
responsibly, will enable them to and to earn a decent living and to be dignified
participants in the community. All entities in society are jointly responsible to
allow that to happen. Sider describes the importance of employment and income,
family, health care, education, and welfare in a just society.
Churches that Make a Difference: Reaching Your Community with Good News
and Good Works (Baker, 2002)
Sider begins with building the foundation for why churches should be involved in
holistic ministry. He shows how that might look in various churches, and gives
advice for increasing holistic ministry in a church and how to build networks with
other churches and organizations in the surrounding area. Sider gives many
examples of churches that are actively involved in holistic ministry, and they
serve as great examples. A helpful tool for those involved with local churches.
86
Christianity Today, “The Top 50 Books That Have Shaped Evangelicals,”
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2006/october/23.51.html.
87
Evangelicals for Social Action, http://www.esa-online.org/Display.asp?Page=MinistryLeaders, accessed
June 2006.
77
Cry Justice: The Bible on Hunger and Poverty (Intervarsity, 1980)
A catalogue of Biblical texts on poverty and justice.
Bob Lupton
Bob Lupton is founder of FCS Urban Ministries, a community development
organization. After beginning his career in business, Lupton and his family
moved to inner-city Atlanta, heeding the call to work with urban neighborhoods
and families. For the past 34 years, Lupton has worked as a Christian community
developer and entrepreneur, bringing together communities of resource with
communities of need. Through FCS, he has developed 3 mixed-income
subdivisions, organized 2 multi-racial congregations, started several businesses,
created housing for a multitude of families, and initiated a range of community
services in his community.88
Renewing the City: Reflections on Community Development and Urban Renewal
(Intervarsity Press, 2005).
Using the Old Testament story of Nehemiah as a role model for community
renewal and transformation, Bob Lupton offers modern-day principles for
revitalizing decaying urban cities. Lupton’s work is divided into two parts: The
story of Nehemiah’s rebuilding efforts and the issues which Nehemiah
encountered along the way. Lupton points out the relevance of Nehemiah’s
challenges in the modern-day urban context.
And You Call Yourself a Christian? Toward Responsible Charity
This work was presented by the Christian Community Development Association
and the CCDA Institute. Its purpose is to fully engage the Christian in the process
of transforming under-resourced communities. A good introduction to the
phenomenon of gentrification, this work describes how human development
rather than non-reciprocal services and programs can enhance the life of a
community for all its residents, both rich and poor. This book was republished as
Compassion, Justice, and the Christian Life by Regal Books in 2007.
88
Devos Urban Leadership, http://www.devosurbanleadership.org/Brix?pageID=16105, accessed June
2006.
78
Appendix D: Expert Consultation
SWC research team met with the following leaders and discussed with them the best
approaches of urban transformation.
Ray Bakke- Ray Bakke is currently academic dean, distinguished professor of global
urban ministry and chairman of the Board of Regents at Bakke Graduate University
of Ministry. He is founder of International Urban Associates, a network of over 100
urban-based church and mission leaders in many of the largest cities of the world.
Twenty years of his career were spent as a pastor to inner-city churches in Chicago
and Seattle. He has taught at Trinity College, McCormick Theological Seminary,
Northern Baptist Theological Seminary, and Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary.
He served as a consultant in cities across the world and has authored several books,
including A Theology as Big as the City and Street Signs: A New Direction in Urban
Ministry.89 A phone consultation with Ray Bakke in June 2006 produced the
following information which initiated the research phase of the SWC project:
1. Understand what type of city you live in- cities attract by virtue of what they
are (i.e. capital cities, marketplace cities, industrial cities, tourist cities)
2. Use local resources in order to learn about the city of interest- Capitalize on
public libraries and historical societies in order to learn about your city’s
demographics, history, ethnicity, religious presence, and university offerings.
3. Gentrification is occurring within cities- Cities are deliberately expelling the
poor and attracting the rich and the white back downtown. The poor are in the
suburbs and outer rings of the city while the affluent are in the center where
all the services, amenities and mass transit are available.
4. Employ Building Communities From the Inside Out by Kretzmann/McKnightthis is a good manual for assessing the city.
5. Spend a year of discovery- Start by looking for assets rather than needs in
your community. Begin your survey by finding signs of hope and affirm
them.
6. Talk with churches of every denomination during your year of discovery- start
with the Catholic churches. They have a defined theology of place.
7. Interview non-profit, faith-based, and government organizations in - ask them
a developed list of questions (he suggested a list of tenquestions which we
then expanded to the list in the Appendix).
Robert Lupton- Bob Lupton is founder of FCS Urban Ministries (see biographical
information in literature review section). A phone consultation with Bob Lupton in
June 2006 provided a framework for the shift occurring in urban communities and
shaped the perspective with which SWC would approach engagement within the city
of Orlando.90
89
Bakke Graduate University, http://www.bgu.edu/profiles/directors, accessed June 2006.
The information below is also contained in the article “Gentrification with Justice,” by Bob Lupton in By
Faith magazine.
http://sites.silaspartners.com/partner/Article_Display_Page/0,,PTID323422%7CCHID664014%7CCIID2235
910,00.html.
90
79
1. Large Cities are experiencing a phenomenon known as gentrification- Middle
to upper class individuals are moving into deteriorating urban neighborhoods
in an effort to restore and revitalize these areas. The resulting impact,
however, is the displacement of lower-income individuals and families.
Instead of having the poor concentrated in the center of large cities, they are
being pushed, in a donut-like fashion, to the periphery while the wealthy move
inside the circle. For good or ill, this is our new reality.
2. Gentrification can be done with justice- the poor must be included in the
reclamation process by those returning to gentrify the city. To a certain
degree, gentrification will mean the displacement of some of the vulnerable,
yet this should not be viewed as supremely negative. The presence of such
components as drug dealers, over-crowded tenements and slum lords need to
be dispelled if neighborhoods are to be a healthy place for children and
families. Yet this potentially disruptive process needs to include the poor if
cities are to become a blessing for those who yearn for a better way of life.
3. The Body of Christ contains the resources and talents needed to bring about
both mercy and justice in our changing cities- those within the church who
have experience with law, marketing, architecture, real estate development,
insurance and lending can aide the development of gentrifying cities,
becoming hands that work for biblical justice.
4. Christians can be leaders, advocating mixed income housing- Christians can
be involved with the purchase of run-down homes, converting them for
mission-minded individuals and families. They can help create innovative
housing policies which will encourage developers to include lower-income
residents within neighborhoods. Christians can also help establish loan funds
for assisting low-income home buyers.
5. Diverse Communities are a gift- Communities that are economically and
racially mixed can be the richest of environments for families as well as
singles and older adults. Diverse community is God’s plan, the final
destination toward which all the righteous are heading – the City of our God
where people of every tribe, every nation, every tongue will take up eternal
residence. The rich history of neighborhoods is imbedded in the lives and
family albums of long term residents. The effort to extract and honor this
history is well worth the time and effort. And everyone, no matter how
unlikely, has some valuable talent to contribute to the life of the community
6. We must work for God’s shalom- Shalom is not merely the absence of crime
on the street. It is the prevailing presence of peace and goodness in the
relationships of God’s diverse family. It is achieved only by intentional effort.
Tim Keller- Tim Keller is currently pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in
New York City. He previously served as a Presbyterian Church in America
pastor in Virginia and as a faculty member at Westminster Seminary in
Philadelphia. While in Philadelphia, he and his wife became involved in urban
ministry, including evangelistic outreach to Muslims and a ministry to individuals
with AIDS. He also served as a consultant to a local Christian Service
80
Organization that provided literary education, job training, and job placement to
unemployed and underemployed people in the city.91 An initial meeting with Tim
Keller in October 2006 yielded the following information which guided the
project aims of the SWC research project:
1. Investment in the city of Orlando will be a long-term endeavor- “If you could
turn a neighborhood from poor to middle-upper class, it would take 10-20
years of careful investment into the community.”
2. Concentrate your resources on the neighborhood and look for hidden elders of
the community- Empower/partner with the neighborhood. You must have
some middle class people who know how to move into the neighborhood.
Employ those who live in the neighborhood in order to have an impact on
your immediate environment. These individuals will often be women.
3. Operate on the principle of gleaning- “Make less and have others make what
you could have made.”
4. Make sure you are giving a community what they are asking for; you must get
the leaders onboard with what you want to give them otherwise your efforts
will fail.
5. Focus on specific goals- Choose 2-3 indicators (i.e. drop-out rate) by doing a
word study. Define your indicators/categories by way of Scripture.
6. Partner with existing ministries which have been started in faith but have little
kind of structure or acumen. Find people with expertise to help run these
ministries. (This can become difficult, because it often turns reveals racial
and class tensions).
7. Concentrate on Protestant churches but also work with Catholic churches.
There should be no theological problem in working with Catholics.
Lance McCarthy- Lance McCarthy is president of the Metropolitan Orlando Urban
League. The Metropolitan Orlando Urban League is a local affiliate of the National
Urban League, the nation’s oldest and largest community-based movement devoted to
empowering African-Americans to enter the economic and social mainstream.
McCarthy served as an expert consultant for SWC because he is an advocate for
minority business development, which he believes has a direct correlation in assisting
growth in the community.92 The following are suggestions gained from his insight:
1. Read Megatrends 2010- talks about the new spiritual CEO’s, prayer at work,
healing inside the corporation, chamber of commerce(s), and spirituality
lunches.93
2. Read the Foley book concerning economic theology for how to leverage both
worlds from the theological perspective as well as the economic perspective.94
91
The Resurgence, http://theresurgence.com/profile_timothy_keller, accessed June 2007.
Orlando Metropolitan Urban League, http://www.metorlandoul.org/Who.html, accessed June 2006.
93
Patricia Aburdene, Megatrends 2010, (Newburyport, MA: Hampton Roads Publishing, 2005).
94
Duncan K. Foley, Adam’s Fallacy: A Guide to Economic Theology, (Cambridge, MA: Harvard
University Press, 2006).
92
81
3. Look at How Shall We Grow- WMFE and MyRegion.org for Growth of
Orlando Information- we might want to think about bringing in a facilitator in
to talk about growth in the community.
4. The National Policy Office in Washington, D.C. and UCF may be a good
resource in obtaining data on minority communities covering labor and
economic factors.
5. Because Orlando is one of the fastest growing cities, we need to examine how
the faith-based community can be an intricate part of the growth, specifically
by assisting minorities in capitalizing upon their assets and resources and
expanding these for the kingdom of God.
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Appendix E: A Neighborhood Transformation Process
The recommended SWC process to discover and support the types of community-led
initiatives that have proven to transform distressed communities is church-initiated. The
following initial steps will increase awareness in the church and help prepare interested
churches to collaborate for neighborhood transformation:
• Perform a Geographic Analysis – this allows a church to see where its
parishioners and programs line up with the distressed neighborhoods of the city. It
also allows a church to analyze the foci of its service programs. Most programs
are problem-centric and geographically indistinct. The movement to more longterm solutions which focus on assets, place, and collaboration often requires a
paradigm shift in how to approach social problems.
• Apply Developmental Correctives to Current Programs – once service
programs have been analyzed, certain correctives can be applied to improve them
so that they are more relational and have the potential to empower those served.
These correctives are detailed in the appendices of Dignity Serves.
Once a church has committed to collaborate for neighborhood transformation, training
will be needed. Research revealed that results should be evidenced in a period of about
three years. Churches would be trained through the four-step process outlined below that
results in well-trained community advocates, community-championed initiatives,
increased faith in Christ, and improvements on indicators of community health. It is built
on the successes of Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) and Community
Health Evangelism (CHE):
1. Preparation (6-12 months)
a. Dignity Serves small group study (6 weeks)
b. Church Member Interests/Availability Questionnaire
c. Lay Champions – Church Facilitation Team
d. Neighborhood “Training of Trainers” Begins
e. Detailed Demographic and Income Reports
f. Neighborhood Selection Criteria
2. Presence (12-18 months)
a. Prayer and relationship building
b. Asset Mapping
c. Community-initiated Service Projects
3. Empowerment (12-18 months)
a. Cluster Groups around Common Interests
b. Committee selects Neighborhood Agents of Change (NACs)
c. Train, Commission, and Support NACs
d. Community-led initiatives form and flourish
4. Expansion to other distressed neighborhoods
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Sample Asset Mapping Surveys
Individual Asset Survey
•
What do you like about your neighborhood?
•
What would you like to see different in your neighborhood?
•
What groups are you involved in, within your neighborhood?
•
What do you like to do:
o With your hands
o What do you feel passionate about
o What knowledge do you have that you might be willing to share with
others
•
What would you like to learn if training were available in your neighborhood?
•
How can I be praying for you?
Persons Name and Address
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Neighborhood Asset Survey
Usage: This survey is designed to help you subjectively learn more about your
neighborhood before doing any individual or household level surveys or detailed
inquiry into demographic data.
- First, go through the questions and jot down your initial response.
- Next, as you walk and drive through the neighborhood, answer the
questions more explicitly.
- Lastly, write about what you have learned that has surprised you, what
you would still like to find out, and how you might discover the information.
STRUCTURES AND SPACE
Buildings
What are the building types?
What are the buildings usages?
What are the conditions of the buildings?
Are the usages of the buildings changing? If so, how?
Space
How is the land being used?
What are the natural boundaries of the neighborhood?
Do you know when you have left the community?
What and where are the public spaces?
What and where are the private spaces?
How is personal space treated?
Where are cars parked?
What are the yards used for?
Are there fences?
What does all the above say about neighborhood values?
85
People
Who is living in the community?
Ethnic backgrounds:
Age breakdown:
Economic level:
Family Structure
Single
Single parent
Couple
Grandparent led
What is the average length of time people have lived in their location?
Who is leaving the community?
Who is replacing those who are leaving?
Why are the people changing?
PIECES OF LIFE
What artifacts do people leave lying around?
What is seen on the front porches?
Are the things on the front porches ethnically or culturally specific?
If yes, what culture?
Where are people traveling to or from in the neighborhood?
Based on what you see, what do you think people value?
86
BUSINESSES
What are the local businesses in the neighborhood?
What services do they provide? For how much?
What products do they provide? For how much?
Are they local or chain stores?
What do the prices say about their customers?
What are the hubs of activity? Where are the hubs located?
Are there banks or credit unions in the neighborhood?
If businesses are not found in the neighborhood where do people shop?
Ways to earn their living
What ways do people use to earn their living?
Full-time
Part-time
Daily pick up work
Welfare
Micro-business out of home
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SIGNS
Are there billboards in the neighborhood? If so, what is being sold on them?
What language is used on the signs?
Who is the target audience of the signs?
What do the signs say about the neighborhood’s political or religious values?
SOUNDS AND SMELLS
What music is being played?
What age group does the music cater to?
Are there different patterns of language?
What do you smell?
What do the smells tell you about the different parts of the neighborhood?
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INSTITUTIONS
Schools
What schools do people attend?
Nursery
Elementary
High School
Vocation Training
Colleges
Medical
What medical care is found in the neighborhood?
Hospital
Clinic
Physician’s office
Dentist’s office
What are the major health problems in the neighborhood?
Library
Is there a library in the neighborhood?
What services are offered there?
89
SIGNS OF HOPE
Do you see evidence of God at work in the neighborhood?
What are the different major religions seen?
What Christian churches do you see?
Number
Type
Where do the members come from to worship?
Are the churches open during the week or only on Sundays?
POLITICAL/GOVERNMENT
What government services are being provided within the neighborhood?
What political infrastructures are in the community?
Will the infrastructures help or hinder change?
Is there city transportation in the neighborhood to and from the rest of the
city?
Who are the leaders in the neighborhood?
Formal leaders
Informal leaders
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ASSETS AND INTERESTS
What do people tend to complain about in the neighborhood?
What do people tend to like about the neighborhood?
What kind of assets do people living in the community have to meet the
needs in the neighborhood?
List any groups or associations operating in the neighborhood. What did they
form to do or accomplish? Where do they meet? Who is the leader?
List any non-government agencies working in the neighborhood. Who is the
leader?
As a neighborhood, have the people come together to improve their way of
life?
If so, what did they try?
Were they successful?
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92
Appendix F: Association Interview Guide
The main goals of the association interview are to find out:
a. The primary focus of the association (e.g. relief, individual
betterment, community development, structural change).
b. A list of resources offered by the association.
c. The names of other neighborhood groups/associations.
d. The names of people identified during the interview.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
How long have you been associated with the program?
What neighborhood are you located in?
What are the geographic boundaries of this neighborhood?
What do you think the neighborhood will look like in 10 years?
Where did the vision for the program come from?
What is the theology of the program? What is the favorite scripture? [or for
secular organization: What are the core values of the program?]
7. Who are you trying to reach?
8. Who are you reaching?
9. What programs or services do you offer? (ask for specifics where
appropriate)
10. What skills are the program’s staff learning and using? (What skills would I
need to do what they do?)
11. What are the program’s strengths?
12. What are the boundaries of the program’s scope?
13. Where do you see the program in 5 years? (How do they see their future
plans interacting with the future of the neighborhood?)
14. Where do the staff/volunteers involved in your program generally live?
15. How is the program structured?
16. Where does the funding come from?
17. How do you find volunteers/workers for the program?
18. Who else is doing good work in the community?
19. Are there neighborhood groups or associations that make use of your
facility that are not directly a part of your program?
20. What other community groups are you aware of in the neighborhood?
a. Is there a local neighborhood organization in your area?
b. Are there special interest groups you’re aware of?
c. (Provide sample list)
21. What is your program most in need of?
22. What advice would you give us as we proceed mapping the assets of this
community and others in Central Florida?
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Interview Report: (This should be written immediately after the interview. The
report should take approximately twice the amount of time of the interview.)
Date and Time of Interview:
Date and Time Report Written:
Interviewed: (name of person)
Group Represented:
Interviewers: (names and roles, ideally there will be at least one note taker and one
questioner)
Location of group facility: (neighborhood)
Other neighborhood groups using facility: (list of association names)
Other neighborhood groups identified: (list of association names)
People identified: (names of people that come up in the interview)
Relationships with other neighborhood groups:
Resources: (list of resources or services offered to the public)
Assessment: (brief summary concerning the type of association: needs-meeter, business
developer, community developer)
Previous contact or information gathering: (list of other meetings or background
investigations performed before the interview)
Impressions: (concluding comments and impressions about the interview)
Interview Content: (paraphrased account of the dialogue of the interview, without
commentary)
94
Association Interview (Purposes)
1. How long have you been associated with ________?
Get to know them and their experience with the agency and community;
weigh the impact of their answers.
2. What neighborhood are you located in?
Find out what they call the neighborhood they are in; assess their sense of
the local geography.
3. What are the geographic boundaries of this neighborhood?
Compare their understanding to city or other delineations.
4. What do you think the neighborhood will look like in 10 years?
Assess their awareness of change, gentrification, and reality.
5. Where did the vision for the program come from?
Determine source of the vision (literature, individual, community, govt,
etc).
6. What is the theology of __________? What is the favorite scripture? [or for
secular organization: What are the core values of the program?]
Determine what the guiding principles for the program are and how they
were derived.
7. Who are you trying to reach?
8. Who are you actually reaching?
Determine how their objectives match their work, obstacles for them
accomplishing their mission.
9. What programs or services do you offer? (ask for specifics where
appropriate)
Find out what services are offered to the neighborhood, add these to the
community asset map. Also the types of services should be included in
assessing the priorities of the association.
10. What skills are the program’s staff learning and using? (What skills would I
need to do what they do?)
Assess assets of the association on an individual level.
11. What are the program’s strengths?
Get a self-assessment of strengths; facilitate our ability to mention their
program.
12. What are the boundaries of the program’s scope?
What the limits of their services are, not about money, more about their
niche and priorities.
13. Where do you see the program in 5 years? (How do they see their future
plans interacting with the future of the neighborhood?)
Find out if they have a plan and if so how detailed is that plan. Determine
where they want to focus, be involved. See if there is congruence with
their previous answer about the neighborhood. These two questions are
purposefully separated in the order so that the answers are not easily
influenced by one another.
95
14. Where do the staff/volunteers involved in your program generally live?
Assess community investment of the individuals involved in the program.
15. How is the program structured?
Determine how they make decision and decide priorities. Determine how
influenced they are by any particular individual.
16. Where does the funding come from?
Determine who the stakeholders are, those invested in the success of the
program’s mission.
17. How do you find volunteers/workers for the program?
Find out who is investing time and work and if these human resources are
coming from people helped by the program and/or if the volunteers live in
the vicinity.
18. Who else is doing good work in the community?
Assess their interactions with others groups, their willingness to partner,
and their willingness to give their “competitors” credit.
19. Are there neighborhood groups or associations that make use of your
facility that are not directly a part of your program?
Determine how open they are to community interaction and therefore
community development; how willing they are to offer the use of their
facility resources.
20. What other community groups are you aware of in the neighborhood?
a. Is there a local neighborhood organization in your area?
b. Are there special interest groups you’re aware of?
c. (Provide sample list)
Add to inventory list, assess their involvement.
21. What is your program most in need of?
Besides money, how someone might help, how SWC might help.
22. What advice would you give us as we proceed mapping the assets of this
community and others in Central Florida?
To get their advice, learn from them, show our teach-ability.
96
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Bakke, Ray. The Urban Christian. Downers Grove: Intervarsity Press, 1987.
Bakke, Ray. Street Signs: A New Direction in Urban Ministry. Birmingham, AL: New
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Brotemarkle, Benjamin. Crossing Division Street: An Oral History of the AfricanAmerican Community in Orlando. Cocoa: Florida Historical Society Press, 2005.
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Dick, Bob. "Action and Research." Southern Cross University.
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Florida Department of Children and Families. Annual Report on Homeless Conditions in
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Florida, Richard. The Rise of the Creative Class: And How It’s Transforming Work,
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Healthy Community Initiative of Greater Orlando, The. Legacy 2002: Greater Orlando
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Healthy Community Initiative of Greater Orlando, The. Children and Youth Legacy
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97
Howard Phillips Center for Children and Families Child Abuse Prevention Project Team.
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Jennings, Theodore W., Jr. Good News to the Poor: John Wesley’s Evangelical
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Sider, Ronald, J., ed. Cry Justice: The Bible Speaks on Hunger and Poverty. Downers
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