I have been exploring the model of the Harlem Children’s Zone through some of my recent posts, for reasons outlined earlier. Their model is built around 5 principles of community development, and each principle is really worth thinking about and engaging with if you are involved in any level of community development. Here is the first:
Principle 1: Neighborhood-Based Approach
It is vitally important to establish a pervasive presence in the individual community where you work. Some non-profits offer a limited number of disconnected programs in one neighborhood or many programs scattered throughout several neighborhoods. But the effects of a few good, or even excellent, programs are easily diluted in otherwise under-served neighborhoods. To bring about widespread change it is necessary to work on a scale large enough to create a tipping point in a community’s cultural norms, a threshold beyond which a shift occurs away from destructive patterns and towards constructive goals. To achieve that tipping point, the collective programs offered by a non-profit must reach about 65% of the total children in the area served.
How does a non-profit organization shape the physical and social environment so that it positively affects child development? While no single non-profit organization can meet the needs of the millions of American children living in poverty, one organization working with partners can make a difference for thousands of children in one community. At HCZ, we focus on a finite area where we can concentrate intensive services on a large number of children and families, including those that are hardest to reach. We surround children with role models and programs whose message is success. As an increasing percentage of the community responds to these positive influences, we create a tipping point in community norms. This strategy changes the odds for a whole neighborhood rather than just helping a few kids beat the odds.
I am a lifelong Chicagoan, a pastor at River City Community Church, and an author who writes a lot about resisting and confronting white supremacy from a faith lens.
Our church was founded in January of 2003 in the west Humboldt Park neighborhood of Chicago, and is centered on the core values of worship, reconciliation, and neighborhood development. We long to see increased spiritual renewal as well as social and economic justice in the Humboldt Park neighborhood and entire city, demonstrating compassion and alleviating poverty as tangible expressions of the Kingdom of God. It is also through the gift of this faith community that I have learned to see the profound historical and spiritual impact of the stronghold of white supremacy, and where I have been challenged to broaden and deepen my understanding of discipleship in the hopes of becoming a serious enough Christ follower who is able to meaningfully participate with those who have risen up in defiance of this evil principality.
The lessons learned in this journey have been captured in a pair of books on race. The first, White Awake, explores the barriers that white people tend to face – white Christians specifically – when we attempt to awaken to and understand white supremacy through a faith lens. I spend a lot of time here addressing the internal defenses that are bound to go off when this journey is taken seriously, and I chart out a path for developing a resilient spirit that steadfastly moves towards truth, justice, and equity. The second, White Lies, further builds out the path for the white Christian who longs to actively participate in the resistance and confrontation of white supremacy. I spend a lot of time here exploring why it is so hard to tell the truth about race, as well as expose the lies that sustain it, within white, Christian, Bible-believing environments. I then propose nine practices that position us for engaging in this task.
On the personal front, my career started in the marketplace, as I was part of three dot.com startups in the 90’s. My vocational path shifted when I joined the staff of Willow Creek Community Church in 1998, and I spent five years working there. I started River City Community Church in January 2003 and have been happily serving here ever since. On the education front, my undergrad was in Business (Purdue University), my graduate degree in theology (Moody Bible Institute), and my doctoral degree in community development (Northern Seminary). On the family front, my wife is a Professor of Psychology, and we have two amazing children (Xander and Gabriella).
drdanielhill.com 
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