Community Development Church
“The Role of Churches on Community Development”
With emphasis on black African churches
ABSTRACT
Local Charities and their impact on their communities have been paramount in development as they provide a means of (establishing new grounds) gaining greater opportunities to better lives. This project aims to explore the role and effectiveness of churches in their attempt to improve the community they are placed in. It will examine past and current processes implemented to address needs of the community and priorities of care in the community within a historical context by using statistical data and research results.
Furthermore it will consider ways in which community development reflects long and short term change in the community and whether or not this has been relevant. Relevance will be measured by identifying success/ failure in the context of community action.
Issues include conflicting perceptions of community needs, social inclusion and the success/ failure of specific social care methodologies.
To achieve this, secondary as well as primary research using a variety of sources will be draw upon. Essentially this report will offer a critical review on various ideas and practices concerning the voluntary sector with particular emphasis on the impact of aspired development i.e. community development.
INTRO
A large amount of this report draws from published literature about faith based organisations. This literature has several limitations that necessarily become limitations of the report itself, so identifying them briefly is essential. While the literature on these organisations is voluminous, it suffers from a number of problems, when considered in relation to this report: critical empirical analysis is in short supply; existing research is highly compartmentalised; and little research has focused specifically on their role and impact on community development
“A good city is big enough to allow anonymity, a strong fiscal base, provide employment of the required nature, have an artistic and cultural life, have a robust local governance, and can compete with other cities to attract investment in all resources. At the same time the city has to be small enough to be understood on a human scale and allow human dignity, to ensure that consumers maintain a link with producers, to allow family and social networks to thrive so that people can know and be known, to enable peer influence to exert a beneficial restraint on behaviour.”
“In short a Good City is one in which people do not merely exist or survive but live.”
Main areas that can be identified when considering the quality of a community are:
Economic; political and governance; environmental, infrastructure, transport; cultural: thriving arts, leisure; but also equitable in reflecting the diversity and pluralism associated with mobility, and promoting inclusivity.
The ‘Urban White Paper' published in 2000, identified faith- communities as a crucial means by which a broad cross- section of a local community might participate in regeneration. (Jupp, 2000)
In 2002 the Local Government Association drew up a guide for local authorities on how to include faith- based groups in neighbourhood renewal. (p.14) etc.
Religion is good at ‘networking' too: local congregations are linked to city- wide and even international faith traditions. Religion often brings strong traditions of social justice, with values of altruism and public service, which bear fruit in all sorts of community activities (Baker and Graham, 2004) (p.15)
DEFINITIONS
What is a faith based organisation?
The definitions offered are tentative. They have been developed from a literature
review in the research process. Based on the recent usage of the term “faith-based
organisation,” this term is used in the widest sense to describe organisations that, in someway, incorporate, relate to, are influenced by, or otherwise base their practices on matters of faith, religion, or spirituality. Some organisations have names that are explicitly faith- based; for others, only a board member or a director would state that the organisation is faith-based and the term is not used in the organisation's name or mission.
In recent years there has been a growing significance of religion in a diverse and plural global society. Its growing influence of the Christian Socialist Movement and the presence of several of its ministers started being particularly prominent with the New Labour government of 1997. (Smith, G. 2002)
Below are just a few statements that support this new wave:
“Faith Communities make a significant contribution to regeneration. Compared with other community organisations they are often well resourced, have a broad base of membership and a wide range of contacts within the community.” (Involving Communities in Urban and Rural Regeneration. A guide for practioners. DETR 1997) (Derek Akker, 2004)
“In many cases faith groups will be the strongest community based organisation around and yet their potential may be overlooked by funders and others engaged in programmes of community development. There is a tendency not see beyond the ‘faith' label to the community role of these groups.” (Policy Action Team 7, Community Self- Help. Home Office, Active Community Unit, 1999) (Derek Akker, 2004)
“Faith groups may offer a channel to some of the hardest to reach groups. A pragmatic approach will be taken to funding faith groups, recognising, that they may be the most suitable organisation to deliver community objectives.” (New Commitment to Neighbourhood Renewal, National Strategy Action Plan, HM Government, The Cabinet Office, 2001) (Derek Akker, 2004)
Faith Communities have across the country become engaged in a wide variety of activities, which include: Community Cafes; Employment advice and resources; Youth activities; Legal advice; Work with refugees; Community action and capacity building; Activities for the elderly; After school clubs; Homework clubs; Day care for children and the elderly; After school clubs; Arts and drama; Etc.
(Derek Akker, 2004)
“In many of Britains poorest places religion is an important element in self- indentities of local residents. Many faith communities and individual members are already in wide ranging activities. The voices of faith communities are diverse and should not be branded simply as reactionary. Involvement provides opportunities to promote understanding and fuller acceptance of diversity.” (Joseph Rowntree Foundation, April 2003- Ref 413) (Derek Akker, 2004)
“Everyone involved in this code believes that faith groups need to be recognised as community groups, (that) while practising their faith, including worship… are also involved in running community services promoting community development and representing community interests.” (Compact Code of Practice on Community Groups, 2003) (Derek Akker, 2004)
Types of faith organisations
What is a church?
Christian values and theological tradition
The Christian Message
The Christian message is one of collective responsibility.
The New Testament similarly exhorts compassionate behaviour towards the socially marginalised, and sharing of each others burdens.
Jesus' teaching ministry starts with words from Isaiah:
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favour.” And he rolled up a scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. Then he began to say to them, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” (Luke 4: 18- 21)
and His teaching ministry reaches a climax in the words from Matthew towards the end of his ministry regarding the final judgement when the righteous says the Lord,
“Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?” And the king will answer them, “Truly, I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.” (Matthew 25:37- 40)
and as David Shepherd in the title of his book summed up Jesus' ministry to have had a ‘bias to the poor' and marginalised and excluded or within the catholic tradition ‘the preferential option for the poor'. The ministry of Jesus over and over again confirms this bias. The healing of the lepers, the mentally ill and those who were seen as unclean, he would not condemn the adulterous woman. He also challenged the religious structures that by their practice excluded and controlled people.
Many churches get so caught up in the day-to-day affairs and the maintenance of their own tradition and structures that can become an obstacle to the ‘good news' of the Kingdom.
Given the struggle that so many neighbourhoods have, living with the effects of the structures that have caused so much injustice, we need as a church to bring an alternative view, a view of hope and peace.
The church has to find its role and relationship with the community it is called to come alongside.
Models of church in the urban situation:
The first is a church in the neighbourhood, but this church has no real attachment, mainly they drive in for worship and retreat. The second while being active in the community is a church for the community. It views its work ‘as Saviour' for the neighbourhood. Both these models treat the neighbourhood as helpless and therefore will fail to promote holistic renewal for the neighbourhood. The final model is a church with or of the neighbourhood. This is the church that no matter how frail their attempts are ‘become one with its neighbour struggles.' It is not frightened to recognise that it is the neighbourhood that define its mission.
What is community development?
In relation to community work: “The most cynical interpretation is that the ‘community' provides cheap and free labour in the welfare roles that the state and the taxpayer are reluctant to fund. A more generous view is that a healthy civil society develops norms of trust and reciprocity, and networks of mutual aid not governed by crudely rational market calculations.”
Community Development (p. 25, Community development Exchange- Exodus, exclusion and the promise of renewal, Derek Akker, 2004)
Community development is about active and sustainable communities based around social justice and mutual respect. It is about changing power structures to eradicate the barriers that prevent people from participating in the issues that affect their lives.
And ‘social justice' is about enabling people to claim their human rights, meet their needs and have greater control of decision- making processes which affect their lives.
It is also about enabling people to participate in public decision- making and to achieve a greater long- term control over their circumstances.
Occupational standards, which underpin community development values, are as follows: social justice; self- determination; working and learning together; sustainable communities; participation; and reflective practice.
Community involvement
Community engagement
Faith Communities and their involvement in neighbourhood renewal
Quote:
“the role of the church is prayer and sacrament, not social action, and unless we address spiritual problems, we are pouring water into sand. The liberal agenda apes the world and the distinctive gospel is lost.” (Flourishing Communities, 1999)
Cross sector partnerships are highly favoured
Re: cross faith traditions and social barriers
“There is now a common agenda, the community development agenda and people can work together. We know that the church does not have any evangelistic base and it is not trying to convert us as some people feared.” (Challenging Communities- Church Related Community development and Neighbourhood renewal- Church Urban Fund & The Churches Community Work Alliance)
Good Partnerships- Partnerships in Neighbourhood Renewal
Needs: trust; no hidden agendas; common purpose; common vision; honesty; do no marginalise community interests; sharing what we have in common; inclusiveness; mutual concern; openness; no partner seeking to dominate
“Professionals seem to have a different view of community than residents. The latter are thinking in terms of their day to day needs for neighbourliness and mutual support while the professionals are thinking more strategically and have a focus on participation and the community working together with policy makers to achieve change.” (Understanding and engaging deprived communities Home Office Online Report, April 2004, Margaret Camina p.33)
How do you measure impact? (effectiveness)
RESEARCH METHODS
This chapter will provide a brief overview of the description, explanation, as well as justification for the research methods adopted in gathering primary data for use in answering research questions. Methodology has been summed as the analysis of, and justification for the particular method(s) used in undertaking a research (Jankowicz 1995). Furthermore, as stated by Boyd (1981), the methodology section seeks to explain the research procedure adopted by a researcher, and should consist of the following; research design, data collection methods, sampling, field work, analysis and interpretation of data.
Research Design.
A research design has been defined by Kinnear and Taylor (1996) as the basic plan that guides the data collection and analysis phases of the research project. The research design models applicable to exploratory studies are different than those applicable to conclusive studies, thus it is vital to keep in mind the study objectives to assist in finding an appropriate design. Another equally acceptable definition of a research design was offered by Yin (1984) as the logic that links the data to be collected (and subsequent conclusions to be drawn) to the initial questions of a study. As further asserted by the author, every empirical study has an implicit, if not explicit research design (Yin 1984: p 27).
Justification of Methodology Adopted
Both primary and secondary sources of data were used in carrying out this investigation. This methods were based on the aims and objectives of this research.
Ethnographic Interview
The reason for choosing the in-depth interview is that it makes no attempt to disguise the subject and which has no use for structured framework. This method was considered to be the most effective as the study explored a relatively new and little defined topic and the research is exploratory in nature. The researcher intended to explore the ‘why' rather than the ‘what' and ‘how', as well as seeking new insights into the phenomenon of interest (Robson 1993). As summed up by Boyd et al. (1981), for the purposes of exploratory studies, non-disguised and non-structured methods are hard to replace. Although another type of non-disguised and non- structured technique also adopted by researchers is use of focus groups. However the advantage of an in-depth interview over the use of focus groups is that there is to a large extent a more significant depth of insight that can be uncovered. In addition to this an in-depth interview also enables the researcher develop a rapport with the respondent, which would result in increased interviewee participation and allow questions being answered more freely. Moreover, this method provided the scope for the researcher to alter the order of the interview depending on how the conversation flowed, thus allowing the researcher to include additional questions as new themes emerged. Completely unstructured interviews were considered inappropriate due to the risk that the interviewer may fail to glean the desired information (Easter-by et al 1991).
According to positivism, data generated form interviews give access to ‘facts' about issues. The main aspect is to establish data that is equally valid as well as reliable (Silverman 1993, p.90). It should be noted that interviews conducted for this research, followed the positivist approach with regards to the status of the data: were behaviour and attitudinal facts were gathered.
At this juncture it would be imperative to discuss on possible limitations on the in-depth interview methods. The following points ought to be noted as they might have affected the quality of data obtained.
These are;
- The sample size was minimal, which in itself might be a drawback. As only one community developer was covered, this might not necessarily be a true representation of the population.
- The interpretation of interview results is subjective
- There is a complete reliance on the interviewer for analysis interpretation.
- The success of interview method rests on the skills and the experience of the interviewer. Not having satisfactory experience in conducting interviews, may have resulted in the quality of data generated being slightly mediocre.
SUMMARY AND FINDINGS
Renewal and Regeneration
For faith communities, renewal works when it's based in love and isn't the result of fear. There is a spirit of hope no matter how dark things may appear.
Re-generating; renewing;… continuing to hope in the unlikeliest of circumstances; not giving up on people; believing people can re- create. Renewal works best when it builds up a feeling of being proud to live in a community where people care.
Renewal undoubtedly works best when it's envisioned within a community rather than when it's been implemented based on ideas imposed from without.
Renewal for local communities, when we translate faith groups' language into action, means taking time to meet each other in a relaxed setting and affirm their sense of mutual identity and value. It means creating places of peace where they are able to celebrate and work; places of strength for individuals and communities to unleash their creativity; renewal based on local people not mere gentrification.” (Julie Lewis, New Economics Foundation: Faith, Hope and Participation- Celebrating faith groups' role in neighbourhood renewal, 2002)
Neighbourhood Renewal with faith communities has a strong spiritual dimension. It is not just about projects, programmes and mentioned above gentrification. For Christians, the theme of renewal runs through so much of their faith, it has a strong theological resonance. These should not frighten those professionals who work in this field of work. They are complimentary to good practice; they place value on people and have the firm belief that renewal in its broadest sense is possible.
However in their research they found “that many people in faith communities apply critical, challenging perspectives to official regeneration programmes. These perspectives derived from their theologies and values, and also from their long- term local experience, and were often informed by substantial informal regeneration activity and participation in formal programmes. Some of this criticism was shared by other residents involved in regeneration programmes in deprived areas. (Derek Akker, 2004)
Globalisation and large scale international migration has, in the last half century, brought to most of the major cities of the world, minority ethnic groups from many different backgrounds.
Most of the ‘congregations' are composed of people from ethnic minorities. Pentecostalism and Islam are rapidly growing, and confident religions which may be checking the tide of secularisation which the Western world has experienced for centuries. Communities of faith, religious communities maintain a role as forum for social interaction, mutual support and personal networking.
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Evaluation
Many faith-based organisations feel that it is the responsibility of all participants in a society to share in meeting community needs.
While public policy debates often suggest a dichotomy between the responsibility of the public sector or the private sector, the overwhelming consensus of these organisations is that everyone and every organisations in a society has to reach out and respond to people in need—the government has a constitutional responsibility; religious groups suggest a divine calling to be responsible; non- profit and for-profit organisations, community organisations, individual citizens and other citizen groups are also called to participate in providing for the common good.
Communities need the support, the knowledge, and the services that come from community and faith-based organisations, and these groups need government support.
Voluntary organisations, such as faith-based organisations, cannot be expected to take on the primary role in meeting human needs in a society. One option is for faith- based organisations should have a complementary role, where the government provides the foundation and then faith-based organisations and other community organisations fill a niche in providing services. Another, would be a holistic view that it is all of humanity's shared responsibility to be involved in caring for others— government, congregations, other organisations, and all citizens must participate if we are to do our best work at serving others.
Some faith-based organisations take on more responsibility without a full understanding of the capacity they have to plan and deliver services. One of the social justice concerns in an era of devolution has to do with the appropriateness of faith-based organisations being asked to be more involved, particularly when there are organisations that do not feel that their primary function is in providing service activities and programs. Some recognise the responsibility their organisations have to serve others, but also recognise that the primary function of congregations relates to worship and religious instruction
One further item to consider moves the focus of this lesson beyond “who is responsible?” to “what happens in relationships between responsible parties?” If both church and state are responsible for meeting needs, as well as community groups and individuals, as these participants suggest, then how do the different groups work together in meeting needs? This shift suggests the need for further research into partnerships that take place in local service delivery systems. As organisations recognise and articulate their shared responsibility, other professionals in various fields can find new ways to be involved in the development of these relationships to better serve the needs of people in communities.
CULF- the Diocese of Newcastle ‘Urban Hearings” in 2004 (p.12) in “What makes a good city?- Reflections on 20 years since Faith in the City” by Elaine Graham, The University of Manchester (2005)
Contesting “Good Practice” in Faith-Based Action for Social Change:
Diversity, Dialogue & Dilemmas in Christian Community Work
Andrew Orton, Journal for Faith, Spirituality and Social Change. Vol.1:1 33
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