Carl Dudley, Community Ministry: New Challenges, Proven Steps to Faith-Based Initiatives. Alban Institute, 2002.
Companion volumes:
Referenced in: Social Ministry Strategies
LifeandLeaderhsip.com Summary
This is a result of Carl Dudley’s extensive research into community/urban ministry. It is the revised and updated version of his earlier volume, Basic Steps in Community Ministry (1991). It considers how changing social and religious conditions since that original project affect how churches express their social conscience. It also gleans from the Faith Communities Today (FACT), a profile of 20,000 congregations from 40 denominations and religious groups. The study focuses primarily on mainline denominations and is highly ecumenical, but the insights are easily translated into more evangelical contexts.
Dudley presents a very usable four-step process on laying foundations for effective community ministry: social context, congregational identity, organization for ministry, and partnerships. As he says, “For your congregation to support the ministry, four things need to happen:
- Members of the congregation must see the community as their “turf,” their responsibility, and must accept the need for the ministry you target (social context).
- Members must respond to this need as a natural and significant part of their Christian commitment (congregational identity).
- Members must have the managerial capacity to respond to that need in a way that can make a difference in people’s lives (organization).
- Members must recognize the larger connections and resources in which your ministry functions (partnerships). (12-13)
These components are interdependent. Thus it is not necessary to use the text resources in any particular order, or use every resource provided. The context determines. Examples of how church groups have used these principles are sprinkled throughout the book. The aim is that the combination of the guidelines along with the examples/case studies “provide an array of resources for congregational leaders to use in shaping their own ministries without the need for consultants or staff assistance.” (13)
Not all congregations will have the degree of intentionality sufficient to benefit from this volume. Those whose ministry and leadership processes are more informal may find more appropriate models as they browse other Social Ministry Strategies. Regardless, staff ministers and others who seek to mobilize their congregations in community ministry will face all of the issues Dudley discusses, and will need this book as a reference. It is that comprehensive.
From the Publisher
In this era of “faith-based initiatives,” congregations increasingly find themselves in the business of establishing and supporting community ministries-daycare for infants and toddlers, respite care for elders, and programs for housing rehab and home repair, tutoring, and social justice advocacy. In this volume, Carl S. Dudley revises and updates his earlier book, Basic Steps toward Community Ministry, which Loren Mead called “the most valuable book on parish ministry I’ve seen in a decade.”
About the Author
Carl S. Dudley joined the faculty of Hartford Seminary in Hartford, Connecticut in 1993 as Professor of Church Community and from 1993 until 1999 was Co-director of the Seminary’s Hartford Institute for Religion Research, where he continues to teach and do research. Before joining Hartford Seminary, Dudley served on the faculty of McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago, where he also directed the Center for Church and Community Ministries. He is a past president of the Religious Research Association, a fellow of the Case Study Institute, and a member of the Association for the Sociology of Religion, and the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion. Dudley is the author and co-author of numerous books.
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Related Areas
See Other Resources on Social Ministry Strategies:
See Other Resource Guides on Christian Social Ministry:
- Social Ministry, Introduction
- Theological and Philosophical Foundations of Social Ministry
- Spirituality for Ministry of Social Compassion and Justice
- Strategies For Christian Social Ministry
- Perspectives and Strategies For Social Ministry Among the Urban Poor, Urban Ministry
- Christian Perspectives on Political Theory and Church-State Relations
- Christian Perspectives on Economics and Public Policy
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