The Mobilization to End Poverty Gathering, April 26-29

We have recently witnessed a historic election, but as people of faith, our work is not over. We know as CCD practitioners in the trenches in our poorer communities, that even the most committed president will face incredible pressures and obstacles in making issues like poverty reduction a priority, especially in an economic crisis. Prayerfully though, this can be just the climate that facilitates a demand for national and even global change in this very area within the next 10 years!

To this end, CCDA has joined Sojourner’s, World Vision, Oxfam, The ONE Campaign and Emergent Village to promote and participate in a gathering of thousands of justice-minded Christians and friends at the Washington D.C. Convention Center in April. Together, we will call the new president and members of Congress to take immediate steps to address extreme poverty, and to provide the support for the promises made to us and to those living in poverty.

At this historic event you will:

• Be Inspired - Worship and rally with thousands of others who share your passion for justice.

• Be Trained – Hear speakers and attend workshops that will broaden your understanding of CCD advocacy issues.

• Be Connected - Visit your members of Congress on Capitol Hill to discuss their commitment to ending poverty, and meet other justice workers from your home district and state who may not be in the CCDA network.

Sojourner’s Rev. Jim Wallis has already sent an invitation to President-elect Barack Obama to address the thousands gathered. Other nationally known speakers and advocates such as Tavis Smiley, Gov. Mike Huckabee (invited), Alexia Kelley, and our own CCDA founder Dr. John Perkins, among others, will join this historic, three-day event.

Please consider attending this important gathering with us! Click below for more info.

Learn More about the Mobilization to End Poverty

Click Here to see the full program

Models, Mentors, and Messages: Blueprints of Urban Ministry (Paperback)

Check out a CCDA Exclusive Sneak Peek Here! (PDF)

Buy it on Amazon.com!

From the Back Cover:

For far too long we've neglected the urban mission field. Many churches have moved to the outskirts of the city for various reasons, and the urban landscape appears to be forgotten. Dr. René Rochester presents a vision for how communities can change this pattern and plant redemptive and sustainable urban ministries.

Models, Mentors, and Messages takes a close look at the developmental stages of Jesus' life, focusing on how family, his heavenly Father, the Jewish community, and neighboring nations were used to shape his holy destiny. Through the example of Jesus' life, you will learn how to draw on your own formative years to show urban teens how to live out God's call in their communities. The most authentic models are individuals who have wrestled through life's challenges and learned to trust God in difficult situations, and so by empowering urban students today and showing them how to nurture one another in faith, you can help create sustainable ministries in which each generation will model for the next how to follow Jesus.

The first of its kind, this book doesn't try to force old models on the urban context, but rather teaches new ways to draw on Jesus' teachings to help an urban, hip-hop generation live for Jesus and for one another.

The first three components of Christian Community Development are based on John Perkins' Three R's of community development: relocation, reconciliation and redistribution. The rest have been developed by many Christians working together to find ways to rebuild poor neighborhoods. This essay by Dr. Wayne Gordon outlines all eight components and how they relate to effect change.