Interestingly, the churches’ long past is part of what has defined this focus on justice. In the 1960s, Green Street struggled with the same problems that a lot of the mainstream churches are dealing with today. As their neighborhood became more diverse, the church lost a lot of members who were moving out of the community. One Sunday, the attendance hit a low of 15 people. That spurred a few members to hold a visioning session for a new church, which re-focused them on “opening the doors wide to embrace the community around them.”

Now, Green Street is part of a rapidly expanding movement in Christianity of Christian Community Development. A leader in that movement is the Christian Community Development Association who explains the movement on their web site like this:

The question arises as to what the response as Christians will be to the troubles of the poor and the inner cities today. The desperate conditions that face the poor call for a revolution in the church’s attempts at a solution. Through years of experience among the poor, many have come to see these desperate problems cannot be solved without strong commitment and risky actions on the part of ordinary Christians with heroic faith.

There are many philosophies to solve the problems, but most fall short of any lasting change. The most creative long-term solutions to the problems of the poor are coming from grass roots and church-based efforts. The solutions are coming from people who see themselves as the replacements, the agents, for Jesus here on earth, in their own neighborhoods and communities.

This philosophy is known as Christian Community Development, which is not a concept that was developed in a classroom, nor formulated by people foreign to the poor community. These are Biblical, practical principles evolved from years of living and working among the poor. John Perkins in Mississippi first developed this philosophy. John and Vera Mae Perkins moved back to their homeland of Mississippi from California in 1960 to help alleviate poverty and oppression. Through their work and ministry, Christian Community Development was conceived. Christian Community Development has a proven track record with over 600 models around the country making great progress in difficult communities.

Christian Community Development has eight essential components that have evolved over the last forty years. The first three are based on John Perkins’ Three R’s of community development: relocation, reconciliation and redistribution. (Perkins 1995, 21-22) The rest have been developed by many Christians working together to find ways to rebuild poor neighborhoods.

Although Green Street hasn’t created a full-fledged community development corporation, they founded a non-profit (501(c)(3)) to answer the needs of their community, called the Shalom Project. When they realized their many missions were outgrowing the resources of the small church, they were determined to keep up their wide range of services, so they created an entity which could receive grants and have long-term sustainability. They also hope that it will allow for more partnership opportunities.

The Shalom Project is an umbrella organization, comprised of free weekly health clinics during the school year (monthly during the summer), an after-school program where kids read, create art and eat a nutritious meal, a weekly meal for the poor in the West Salem area, and a food pantry and clothing closet. In addition, they want to get into housing, which would make their 501(c)(3) look even more like a Community Development Corporation.

Their philosophy of being a good neighbor prompts them to do more than just run their own programs, however. They are very involved with a local organization called CHANGE (Communities Helping All Neighbors Gain Empowerment) that seeks to provide a space for residents of Forsyth County to participate in democracy and public life. They also participate in the Institute for Dismantling Racism.

And the church tries to promote policies that are good for the community. Recently, when county funding was pulled for free health care, they, along with CHANGE and other organizations, lobbied to restore this important resource for those that need it because, as Pastor Kelly Carpenter said, “It’s a good use of county tax dollars to be supportive of healthcare.”