What is Faith Rooted Community Organising – Part 2

In part one, we began to explore how Faith rooted organising offers a way to resource and enable people to find out where God is at work in their church and communities, and join in. It brings together the values and practices of faith communities with tools and strategies for institutional and social change.

The practices of faith-rooted organising are not new.

• We see, throughout Scripture, God calling people to create communities where all could flourish, grow in depth of faith, and challenge injustice and marginalisation. We see this, for example, in the stories of the prophets, and the leaders of the early Church.
• Throughout the Gospels we see Jesus intentionally seek to build deep relationships, often with those who are marginalized and excluded, or to challenge those who held, and sometimes misused, power. We see the lives of individuals, and communities, transformed.
• -The early Trade Union movement in England was animated by Methodist lay leaders who passionately believed that part of their Christian discipleship and calling was to end systems which oppressed and marginalized workers. Their actions were rooted in a deep faith and spirituality.
• . The American Civil Rights Movement was largely organized by Christian leaders, such as Martin Luther King, Jr. and Rosa Parks.
• The Centre for Theology and Community, based in East London, say ‘Through our research and our work with inner-city congregations, we are increasingly seeing a connection between community organising and numerical growth. Churches are likely to make new disciples when they are both willing to work with their neighbours for the common good and intentional about becoming more inviting and accessible to those who want to explore the Christian faith. http://www.theology-centre.org.uk/church-planting-and-community-organising/

Through listening to God, one another, and our communities, gathering people together to discern next steps, and supporting and encouraging new leaders, we are re-discovering, for our current context, many of the ways in which early Methodism flourished. Faith Rooted organising can help us to bring into being our Methodist commitment to be ‘an inclusive, growing, evangelistic and justice-seeking Church, where new people become disciples of Jesus Christ, faith deepens for everyone, and diverse communities and churches experience transformation.’