One of the defining moments of my life was the fight that closed down a crack house behind the community center where I worked. The community won a $1 million grant, and neighborhood leaders were excited about the possibilities for change. Then disappointment came when most of the money went to agencies located outside of the neighborhood. That experience remains with me and informs my current work of focusing on congregational/community engagement and transformation.

How do well-meaning people with resources and power faithfully engage neglected communities without running over the people who actually live there? I believe it begins with conversation and a commitment to local residents being the decision-makers. This recognition of the strength and sustainability found in local resources is at the heart of asset-based community development.

I’ve worked with congregations and communities where deep and lasting change has happened. It requires humility and a true commitment to reconciliation. We cannot turn around decades of neighborhood neglect and broken promises without first creating trust. Like God has done, we must seek out the “other” and recognize their full capacity as people created in God’s image. It will take many conversations, time and, yes, arguments to build the trust needed for real change. Yet, some of the most lasting and gratifying work I’ve experienced came from hard conversations with residents committed to their community. I believe people of faith can lead the pathway forward by humbly engaging in authentic conversation and relationships with the people in the communities we serve. This begins one conversation at a time.

—Willie Bennett

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