Transforming a City From the Inside

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Transforming a City From the
Inside
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Historical Place of the City

• Provide safety and security
• Provide a place for sacred activity
• Provide economic opportunities far greater then
  in a village.

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Place of Cities in Todays World

• 2010 population of urban cities surpassed
  population in rural areas
• 2015 70 of the world will be living in cities of
  over one million
• Today 200 are such cities
• 2015 there will be over 1450 such cities
• 2/3 be in whats called developing world

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Why Need Cities

• Have transforming effect on people
• Form a creative center for connections,
  conversations and transactions
• Create fertile ground for thinking and
  receptivity
• Help people live more efficiently and
  productively
• Valued by God
• Early Christian movement began in cities

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Village Definition of Community

• A geographical place where people live
• Hold many things in common
• Have a sense of belonging, my place
• Know each other

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How Cities are Different then a
Village

• People from all over, generally temporary
• No sense of community built on knowing and
  trusting each other
• More isolated, dependent on professionals
• No safety net when people need help
• City is not a community, too big therefore must
  break into neighborhoods

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Build a Village Where

• We know each other
• Surrounded by social network, not necessarily kin
• People like me with intrinsic value
• We are story tellers who tell each other our
  stories and listen to your

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Build a Village Where

• All have wisdom, skills and assets
• Have discovered a way not to be lonely
• We know how to do without and make ends meet and
  help each other do this
• We take care of each other

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What Causes Poverty

• Cause By A Combination of Different Things

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Poverty as .. Entanglement (Chambers)
Lack of assets
Material Poverty
Vulnerability
Physical Weakness
Lack of reserves Lack of choices Easy to coerce
Lack of strength Too many dependents
Powerlessness
Isolation
Lack of assets Lack of education Excluded from
system
Lack of influence Lack of social power Exploited
by powers
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Poverty as lack of Access to Social Power
(Friedman)
LIFE SPACE Territory
Shrinking domain of the STATE
Legal system biased against the poor
Outside the political process
POLITICAL COMMUNITY
CIVIL SOCIETY
Economic system not responsive to human
and environmental costs
Outside the economic system, not part of civil
society institutions
Expanding domain of the ECONOMY
GLOBAL ECONOMIC SYSTEM
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Poverty as Broken Relationships (Myers)
Other gods Domesticate God
God
Social System political, economic, religious,
local/global
Individual marred identity, diminished vocation,
poverty of being
Violence Racism Playing God Domination
Oppression Lack of access Moral Poverty Web of
lies
Self
Others
Community
Environment
broken, unjust relationships
Overused land Poor land No land
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Poverty is
Inadequacy in World View

Weak Mind And Body
Captivity to God-Complexes Of Non-Poor
Deception by Principalities and Powers
Marred Identity
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Differences in Urban CHE

• (Neighborhood Transformation)

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Change in Name for USA

• To Neighborhood Transformation
• CHE not known in USA
• Name had wrong connotations
• Use Urban CHE internationally

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Focus on Transforming City

• Start by transforming individual neighborhoods
  around city
• Network neighborhoods implementing into a
  collaborative which will begin to do things on
  wider city scale
• Start collaboration about 18 months into process
  instead of at the beginning

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Transform Neighborhoods

• Identifiable by neighborhood not city as whole
• Small in geographic size 8 square blocks
• Build around elementary school catchment area
  since most kids still walk to school.
• Parents more involved with kids at this age which
  can use to connect parent for other things

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Finding Out About People

• Since most people dont even know neighbors
  names we need way to find out about people,
  groups and organizations in the neighborhood.
• Use Asset Based Community Development (ABCD) to
  identify assets found in individuals and groups
  in the neighborhood.
• Asset mapping been done for 25 years in USA

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Why Focus on Assets

• Everyone has assets (skills, knowledge, passions)
  which may be unknown
• All people want to be of value to others and not
  just be a receivers
• Builds on whats in neighborhood already, work
  can be on-going by people in it.

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Why Focus on Assets?
Needs Focus Assets Focus
Do Things For People Empowers People To Do For Themselves to Multiply it to Others
Seeks To Fix Current Problems According To a One-size-fits-all Blueprint Seeks What The Lord Has Intended For This Place
Focuses On What Is Missing Builds On What Is Already Present
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Why Focus on Assets? (2)
Needs Focus Assets Focus
Provides Services to Meet Needs Provides Connections and Contributions of Neighbors
Programs are the Answer People are Gods Answer
Fosters Dependency on Outsiders and Professional Builds Interdependence Between Neighbors
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Reinstitute Neighbor Helping Neighbor

• Since people do not know each other
• Nor have relationships and they have lost their
  safety net, they are dependent on professionals.
• This makes them consumers
• Help people meet and know about their neighbor
  through fun activities

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River Crossing Drama
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Ways to Help

• Relief Ministries - Provide temporary help using
  outside resources. Relief does not address long
  term issues nor increase the effectiveness of
  local people organizations.
• Betterment Ministries (aka Rehabilitation)
  Rehabilitation programs can help people grow past
  one issue but often give only temporary or
  partial improvement.
• Development Ministries Help participants
  their communities to develop their abilities,
  knowledge, and conditions. Improvement should be
  recognizable lasting.

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Gaining Peoples Engagement and Ownership

• People so consumed with themselves little or no
  time to become engaged in activities
• Need way to get everybody into the game
• Begin with the willing
• Start with easy entry opportunities to do
  something. Things that require no long term
  commitment nor experience
• Do simple short teaching to understand what and
  why they are doing something.
• Once get them started help move them to deeper
  commitment.

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Giving Everyone the Opportunity to Participate
EXPOSE Easy Entry One Time No
Commitment ENGAGE Several Times Heart is
Changing Some Commitment OWN Continuing
Engagement Recruiting Others High Commitment
EXPOSE
ENGAGE
OWN
From Mariners Church
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(No Transcript)
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Neighborhood Transformation is About

• Creating new sub-communities or villages
• It is not entering an existing community like in
  a rural village.
• Finding assets and interests of people in
  neighborhood, and equipping them to accomplish
  activities built on their self interest
• Once have small interest groups functioning then
  connect them around one of their neighborhood
  interests.

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Training Volunteer Facilitators

• Facilitators are volunteers therefore only have
  short time each week
• Train in 6 Saturday segments over 24 months.
• Learn to do a step and apply it for next 4 to 6
  months in their neighborhood
• Train multiple churches together each applying in
  their neighborhood.

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Training Materials Approach

• Learner Center LePSAS participatory teaching
  style
• Lean and apply as soon as possible
• Over 1500 lesson plans to draw from
• All lessons can be taught by lay people. You
  dont need to be a professional to do so.

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Outcomes

• Shared vision The community sees a better future
  and has hope that it can be achieved.
• Leadership Godly Christian leaders are
  positioned and equipped to lead the community
  toward the accomplishment of its vision for
  transformation.
• Ownership People are taking responsibility for
  their own and neighborhoods wellbeing.

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Outcomes (2)

• Cooperation People are united and working
  together for the common good.
• Volunteers Significant numbers of people are
  taking initiative and acting sacrificially to
  meet the legitimate needs of others.
• Dignity People have recovered their identity as
  made in the image of God and their vocation as
  stewards of creation instead of being controlled
  or victimized by their environment, they are
  stewards of.

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Expectations

• Neighborhoods transformed from the inside.
• People know neighbors and helping each other.
• People knowing and growing in Christ.
• People taking responsibility for their own lives.
• Healthy growing churches.
• Improvement in employment and living conditions.
• Reduction in disease, crime, drug and alcohol
  addiction.
• Other Neighborhoods throughout the city begin to
  implement Neighborhood Transformation.

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Transformed Cities

• Neighborhoods throughout city using the urban
  ministry are networked together to learn from and
  encourage each other.
• As the teams come together they find common
  interests which begin to transform the city as a
  whole thereby changing it from the inside out.

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Check the Web

• Web Page www.neighborhoodtransformation.net
• Face Book http//www.facebook.com/pages/Neighborh
  ood-Transformation/178206349129
• Blog http//urbancheguy.wordpress.com/

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Help Bring Neighborhoods Out Of Poverty
And People To Maturity In Christ
A Ministry of Alliance for Transformational
Ministry
6420 W. Beverly Lane
Glendale AZ 85306 stan_at_neighborhoodtransformation
.net