“If you are coming to help me, you are wasting your time. But if you have come because your liberation is bound up in mine, then let us work together.” -an Australian Aboriginal woman quoted by Jim Wallis in The Soul of Politics

Our Economic Community Development Ministry is a small, low-overhead effort. We focus on teaching low-wealth households how to manage their money and become successful home owners. Through advocacy partnerships we also try to influence the dominant culture (the society around us) to be more just and less oppressive for the poor. Thus we apply our knowledge, experience and voices on behalf of many whose lives have been compromised and whose voices have been muted.

We offer long term Home Buyer Classes to educate and encourage first-time homebuyers and promote successful, long-term homeownership. The groups provide more than education; because major steps like homeownership are nearly impossible in social isolation, mutual support is a parallel component of the classes. We also offer education via other organizations. For example, we currently provide the Credit Improvement component for StepUp Ministries.

Through advocacy partnerships with organizations such as Self-Help Credit Union and Congregations for Social Justice, we also try to influence the dominant culture (the society around us) to be more just and less oppressive for the poor. Thus we apply our knowledge, experience, and voices on behalf of many whose lives have been invisible and whose cries have been ignored.

For more information contact Al Reberg, Community Development Minister