History of CCDA

The roots of the Christian Community Development Association (CCDA) stretch back to 1960 when John and Vera Mae Perkins relocated their family to the struggling community of Mendenhall, Mississippi to work with the people there. The Perkinses devoted thirty-five years to loving the principles of Christian Community Development in Mississippi and California, leaving behind ministries and churches that are now headed by indigenous Christian leaders.

In 1989, Dr. Perkins called together a group of Christian leaders from across America who were bonded by one significant commitment, expressing the love of Christ in America’s poor communities, not at arms length, but at the grassroots level. An association was formed, and CCDA held its first annual conference in Chicago in 1989.