What does it look like to develop incarnational leadership in vulnerable urban communities?
A selection of stories (Case Studies and Signs of Hope) from our global network of training hubs
Tacoma, WA
CASE STUDY
Missional Question: How can a group of urban pastors who are denominationally diverse help each other preach the Gospel lectionary text for peace and cultivate congregations who practice peace in the city?
Each week since 2013 pastors have gathered over a simple meal to reflect on the Gospel lectionary text to help them prepare to preach on Sunday. This weekly gathering has produced a wide variety of collateral programs initiated and managed by the pastors, including a public lecture series, retreats and a joint youth program. In recognition of the model, Lilly Endowment awarded $753,000 to share this model in up to 10 other cities.
Parachute Ministries
SIGN OF HOPE
“We never focus on what can’t be done because of the constraints of funding – we focus on the wealth of resources found in the network and the relationships… When conflict arises (as it does in every organization), the response isn’t bitterness, or scapegoating, or a preservation of power. Each person is treated as fully human, gifts, foibles, quirks and all.”
Bix “Bix” Bischel
SIGN OF HOPE
He was arrested 46 times. In 2011, at 81 Bix, and four other war protesters, used bolt cutters to cut through three chain-link fences on the Bangor Navy base in Kitsap County where nuclear warheads were stored… When someone later said to Bix, Please, Father, don’t get into any more trouble, he laughed and replied, with a wry smile, “We’re all in trouble.”
Nairobi, Kenya
CASE STUDY
Missional Question: How can we equip grassroots leaders who serve the informal settlements of Nairobi with an incarnational theology of peace?
Esau Oreso is identifying, mobilizing, and inviting diverse grassroots Christian organization leaders in Nairobi. He and CTM Kenya are setting the table for conversations that engage an Incarnational theology of peace for their community. With these leaders, Oreso’s goal is to captivate their hearts, stir up their conscience, and inspire them to become active partners in urban peacemaking.
The project takes inspiration from the Truth and Reconciliation initiatives in which government and faith-based organizations worked to reconcile and restore a violently divided country after the 1994 Rwandan Genocide.
What other questions are being asked in local training hubs?
Guatemala City | Guatemala
MISSIONAL QUESTION
“How can we work together to develop new narratives for peacebuilding that heal the collective woundedness of Guatemala City?”
Grand Rapids, MI | United States
MISSIONAL QUESTION
“How does an informal, diverse group of community leaders become a sustainable organizational framework in the midst of a racially divisive city?”
Managua | Nicaragua
MISSIONAL QUESTION
“How can we (as faith leaders in Managua) be better equipped and respond more effectively to the epidemic of family disintegration in our city?”
Anchorage, AK | United States
United States
MISSIONAL QUESTION
“How can/should the people of faith in Anchorage respond to the violence in our city?”
Salem, OR | United States
MISSIONAL QUESTION
“How do we develop leaders in vulnerable communities, who are recipients of services provided by our outreach, in a way that is mutually transformational?”
Nairobi | Kenya
MISSIONAL QUESTION
“How can we equip grassroots leaders who serve the informal settlements of Nairobi with an incarnational theology of peace?”
Tacoma, WA | United States
MISSIONAL QUESTION
“How can a group of pastors collaborate to help each other and their congregations practice peace?”
Tacoma, WA | United States
MISSIONAL QUESTION
“How does Street Psalms (board, staff, senior fellows) reflect the gifts and diversity of the cities we are called to serve, with specific focus on gender equity throughout the network?”
1001 Yakima Ave Suite 15
Tacoma, WA 98405
