The Pace Center is an inclusive, multicultural student community at Virginia Commonwealth University. As a ministry supported by the United Methodist Church and the Presbyterian Church (USA) in Richmond, VA, this interfaith space uses asset-based community development to focus on the strengths and interests of students rather than focusing on their needs. Pace student leaders conduct listening surveys to discover the gifts and dreams of the VCU community. Students then create community-building programs based on those gifts. Students are welcomed in an environment in which every individual is valued for their unique and significant community contributions. The practices and events of the Pace Center stand in opposition to current isolation narratives, and create opportunities for students to live in deep relationship with one another.
Annunciation House is a volunteer organization that offers hospitality to migrants, immigrants and refugees in El Paso, Texas. Annunciation House volunteers live in community with the people they serve in order to gain a deeper understanding of what constitutes more just relationships between peoples, countries and economies. Founded by a group of young lay Catholics, Annunciation House has provided basic necessities — shelter, clothing, food and companionship — to more than a hundred thousand migrants and refugees during its 45-year history. In addition, it participates in advocacy and education around immigration issues, as it seeks to be a Gospel-rooted voice for justice and compassion for the most marginalized of society. As part of this outreach mission, Annunciation House leads immersion experiences for those who want to better understand migration and the realities of the border.
Puentes Collective and Matthew 25 So Cal collaborate in forming and nurturing young Latinx Millennial leaders by facilitating border pilgrimages that center wisdom and efforts from the Mexican border churches with knowledge of the role of the American church, border history and immigration reform efforts. Matthew 25 So Cal and Puentes Collective contribute valuable insight on the anti-racism and reconciliation education needed by the church as they highlight the anti-Blackness, anti-indigenous sentiment and colorism faced by Black and indigenous migrants on both sides of the border.
POWER Interfaith is a grassroots organization of Pennsylvania congregations and individuals committed to racial and economic justice on a livable planet. They work with faith communities to address issues of climate justice, economic dignity, gun violence, education and mass incarceration, while simultaneously contributing to congregational vitality. POWER seeks to create a more just world by teaching communities how to exercise and build their own power to address the root causes of the daily injustices they face. POWER roots their work in God’s goodness and compassion for the suffering to organize and empower the people of Pennsylvania to live and work together so that God’s presence is known and neighbors and neighborhoods flourish.
Green The Church encourages African American congregations to commit to an environmental theology that promotes sustainable practices and helps build economic and political change. They help churches explore and expand their role as centers for economic and environmental resilience.
The Learning Tree initiative takes a different route to enhancing community by focusing on talents and gifts — not poverty. Employing the practices of Asset Based Community Development, The Learning Tree neighbors know how relationships, learning and education improve the quality of lives of people, communities, schools and businesses.
Working with partners in the community, the Coalition for Spiritual & Public Leadership seeks to be a catalyst for the creation of a just economy. The Coalition trains and develops faith leaders and their respective congregations and institutions to serve in public life in ways that are strategic, communal and grounded in spiritual and theological traditions.
The Industrial Commons (TIC) founds and scales interconnected employee-owned enterprises and industrial cooperatives that solve industrial problems for businesses and workers, and manufacturers hope for the people of Western North Carolina.
Arlington Presbyterian Church ended up selling its property, which enabled the construction of 173 apartments reserved for low-income families, seniors and those with disabilities, green space for the community and space for its community partner La Cocina, a bilingual training center addressing social issues around food. The church now rents space on the first floor of the building and lives out God’s radical call to “love neighbor as you love yourself” by providing support, financial and otherwise, to local organizations working with those in their community.
Church of the Messiah seeks to empower their community with spiritual and entrepreneurial skills to enhance quality of life and overcome poverty through community development and empowerment, and a host of entrepreneurial and educational initiatives.
The Connecticut Conference of Churches bought, renovated and created the 224 Ecospace as a new economic model and way to support the work of coming alongside churches.
Harvest Hands is a catalyst for Christ-centered, holistic community development working alongside neighbors to further education, healthy living, spiritual formation and economic development in South Nashville.
The Boston Faith and Justice Network works to equip Christians for economic discipleship and cultivates congregational capacity and unity between mainline and evangelical Christians.
Canaan Community Church exemplifies the commitment to neighborhood that is emblematic of Parish Collective’s work.
The Center, an initiative of the Presbytery of Baltimore, aims to inspire and equip individuals and congregations to engage boldly in their neighborhoods.
FaithAction International House serves and advocates alongside thousands of new immigrants while educating and connecting North Carolina's diverse communities across lines of culture and faith, turning strangers into neighbors.
San Antonio Mennonite Church is a traditional congregation shaped by the realities of immigration taking place along the southern border of our country.
Arrabon is a Richmond, Virginia-based national ministry that equips Christian leaders and their communities to increase their cultural intelligence to effectively participate in reconciliation.
Baptist Student Ministry of the Rio Grande Valley serves students, faculty and staff at five colleges on the Mexico border; together they learn that the border crossings that are part of their daily lives is a strength as they live in other cultures.
Matryoshka Haus is a community of social entrepreneurs addressing significant social challenges and issues through their own ventures and by helping others design projects through the lens of an alternative economic imagination.
The Brain Kitchen is an independent nonprofit after-school program and the brainchild of Amanda Drury, who teaches youth ministry and practical theology at Indiana Wesleyan University.
First Nations Kitchen is a ministry of All Saint’s Episcopal Indian Mission that serves weekly healthy, organic, traditional indigenous food in a welcoming, family environment.
GO FISH! is a ministry of Pullman Presbyterian Church and a youth-focused Christian social enterprise that equips young people to save salmon, explore creation, earn money and encounter Christ through participation in a fish bounty program.
The Grove reinvented itself from the former “Hickory Grove Presbyterian Church,” a primarily white congregation with declining membership and an aging congregation, into a revitalized and diverse congregation that knows, embraces and reflects its neighborhood.
Try Pie is a social enterprise within Link Christian Community Development that empowers a diverse group of teen girls in life and leadership skills through meaningful work by making and selling pie.
Worship at Church of the Pilgrims connects with and transforms lives, invites people into the biblical narrative, and connects the practice of worship to the very real and tangible facets of life.
common cathedral is an outdoor worshipping community on Boston Common of housed and unhoused people.
Mowtown Teen Lawn Care and Youth Ministry Innovators is a for-profit company in partnership with Columbia Presbyterian Church. Matt Overton serves as the associate pastor at Columbia and is the owner of Mowtown.
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