The leadership of CCDA works to cultivate relationships with like-minded African-American pastors from across the nation. Dr. Perkins is flanked by Dr. A.R. Bernard, pastor of Christian Cultural Center in Brooklyn, New York (second from right), a featured speaker at CCDA conferences; Wayne “Coach” Gordon, CCDA president, is second from left, flanked by CEO Noel Castellanos.

AdditionAl Advisory BoArd MeMBers:

ABout usWhat exactly is the Christian Community Development Association?

VisioNWholistically restored communities with Christians fully engaged in the process of transformation.

MissioN The mission of CCDA is to inspire, train and connect Christians who seek to bear witness to the Kingdom of God by reclaiming and restoring under-resourced communities.

stAteMeNt of fAithThe Lord Jesus Christ, God’s son, redeems us through His death and resurrection and empowers us by the Holy Spirit. The Bible is God’s Word and through it we are called to live out justice, reconciliation, and redemption. The church nurtures God’s people gathered in a community to carry out God’s Word.

ANNuAl CoNfeReNCeHeld each October in a different city, the popular CCDA conference is attended by thousands of Christians from across the nation and the world who are dedicated to seeing their communities transformed for Jesus Christ. It is a place to network, learn, discuss, pray, praise, encourage and find resources to help you fulfill God’s Word in your neighborhood.

ReGioNAl tRAiNiNGCCDA partners with urban ministers in cities across the country and in Canada to host one-and-two-day institutes and mini-conferences throughout the year, which focus on teaching core biblical principles as well as practical methods of doing Christian Community Development. CCDAcafes are one-evening networking events held in various cities to introduce the association and its leadership to those interested in, or already doing, ministry in poor communities.

oNliNe ResouRCesOur Association website is the main communication hub for CCDA members and friends, providing everything from our schedule of training events, to tracks of past conference speakers, to registration info for our annual conference. Our eRestorer mini magazine is blasted electronically to all active CCDA members each month, offering three relevant articles that serve to inspire, train and connect you with brothers and sisters in ministry across the country.

For more information contact us at:info@ccda.org 773.762.0994 3555 W Ogden Ave.Chicago, IL 60623www.ccda.org

fricAn MericAnA

Me& WoMen

dr. lulA BAllton CCDA ADvISORY BOARD MEMBERDr. Lula Ballton has been an educator, writer, public speaker, college administrator, civil rights lawyer and activist. She serves as executive director and CEO of West Angeles Community Development Corporation in California. Most recently, she authored Sister to Sister Volume II: Devotions for African-American Women as well as a collection of short stories.

rev. Alvin BiBBs CCDA BOARD TREASuRER

Alvin Bibbs was chaplain to the Chicago Cubs for seven seasons. He is currently executive director of Multi-Cultural Church Relations for Willow Creek Association in South Barrington, Illinois. His role emphasizes

compassion, racial reconciliation, social justice and leadership development. Under Alvin’s guidance, the National Compassion Network and the Chicago Pastors’ Alliance were created to strengthen the impact of

churches as they support the under-resourced.

rev. leAh GAskin-fitchue CCDA ADvISORY BOARD MEMBER

Rev. Leah Gaskin-Fitchue was a professor of religion at Hampton University and president of the Gaskin Fitchue Group, a consulting firm specializing in leadership development. She received her M. Div. degree from Princeton Theological Seminary and her doctorate from Harvard University. Dr. Fitchue is an author, lecturer, ordained elder, and founding board member of the CCDA.

PAul A. Green CCDA BOARD MEMBER

Paul A. Green has been a successful adviser to executive managements, implementing strategic growth initiatives, managing organizations through crisis, and overseeing nonprofit, faith-based operations. He is

executive director of Hope for the Inner City in Chattanooga, Tennessee, which partners with local churches and like-minded organizations offering Christ-centered programs and services to at-risk communities.

tAMMi Jehle CCDA BOARD MEMBER

Tammi Jehle is executive advisor for The Hope Center, a Christian Community Development organization in Kansas City, Missouri, where she works with her husband Chris. She provides oversight to all strategic initiatives and youth staff development. Prior to that, Tammi worked with urban youth in Indianapolis for 20 years, and was on staff at The Caring Place, and also at the Boys and Girls Club.

rev. ted trAvis CCDA BOARD SECRETARY

Rev. Ted Travis is founder and director of Neighborhood Ministries, and pastor of Jubilee Community Church in Denver, Colorado. He has been actively involved in the Denver Seminary as a speaker, and served

on the Community Council of the Denver Public Schools, which provides guiding principles and makes recommendations to the Superintendent of Schools.

supportPastoral

forCCDAJesus’ charge to christians to ‘love our neighbor as we love ourselves’ is a mandate for the church to engage in community development. ccdA provides the church with a model and template to engage in this by expanding on the ‘three rs’ espoused by its founder dr. John Perkins.

— rev. MAttheW WAtts,director of the hope community development corporation in charleston, West virginia

Dr. Vera Mae Perkins, reV. ron sPann, reV. DolPhus Weary & Mr. robert Woolfolk

of

BishoP MichAel dAntley is executive pastor of christ emmanuel church in cincinnati, where dr. Perkins was a guest speaker. the city of cincinnatti will host ccdA’s annual conference themed, “Pursuing kingdom Priorities.”

Praise and worship at the Miami CCDA conference.

Construction has started on Fifth on the Park, which will become Harlem’s tallest market-rate residential condominium, with 28 stories and more than 200

apartments overlooking Mount Morris and Marcus Garvey Park at Fifth Ave. and 120th St. While other buildings boast on-site amenities like jumbo food fridges and golf-club cleaning, this building has a 2,000-person church sanctuary at its base.

As a business strategy, community activist and real estate developer Joe Holland has formed relationships with Harlem churches that allow him to build residential properties on church-owned land, while keeping the church in the new development or in a stand-alone building alongside a project.

Holland’s firm, Uptown Partners, has purchased the real estate development rights from two Harlem churches that each own a block of developable space. That’s right, a block.

“This is a win-win-win situation,” says Holland. “The church gets money to build new buildings and implement their religious programs. They get to stay in the neighborhood forever, and the neighborhood gets a solid construction real estate project that will bring in an outstanding group of new residents.”

Plus, Holland and partners make money. But he says his strategy has more to do with spirituality and community improvement than it does profit. A community activist who came to Harlem after graduating from Harvard Law School to open a one-man law firm 25 years ago, Holland has since set up a homeless shelter, owned the first Ben & Jerry’s franchise on 125th St., operated a moderately successful travel agency and implemented a local work training program for people who have suffered tragedies like domestic abuse.

He also ran former Gov. George Pataki’s state housing department for a short spell in the mid-1990s, a post he left early to work for a Harlem law firm, after reports of defaults on loans from business deals gone bad.

harlem developer marries community activism with church partnerships to build big

So it hasn’t always been easy for Holland, a Cornell football star who grew up the son of the U.S. ambassador to Sweden under President Richard Nixon. His past has been plagued by financial decisions that led to business closings and a string of allegations over his community intentions and ethics.

“No one ever said this wasn’t going to be hard,” says Holland, who tried out for the Dallas Cowboys in 1979 but left to pursue community involvement. “My convictions made me an urban pioneer. My faith has kept me here.”

Holland believes churches are the roots of the Harlem community. An ordained minister, he almost became a pastor before starting a homeless shelter.

“Churches have been here through thick and thin,” says Holland. “They were buying land and investing in the community when everyone else was leaving for the suburbs or staying away because it was too dangerous.”

Acquiring tracts of land that are right next to their houses of worship, two churches Holland works with had dreams of expansion. What they didn’t have, he says, was the business acumen to execute them.

“We are empowering neighborhood institutions like these churches and making them stronger, financially and spiritually,” says Holland emphatically. “Other developers are coming in and buying these people out and building what they want. We’re adding to the next phase of this renaissance, not killing it.”

One of the greatest honors I have is serving as the newly appointed Chair of the

Christian Community Development Association. For more than 20 years, CCDA has sought to strengthen existing Christian community

development organizations, encourage new efforts, and promote community

development through education, training and mobilization. Over the years, through its co-founders, evangelical pioneers John Perkins and Wayne Gordon, CCDA has modeled what it means to be the kingdom of God on earth. It has been a model of Shalom in urban and rural communities seeking hope, restoration and transformation. Among the eight core principles of CCDA, the practice and teaching of reconciliation, relocation, and redistribution have been key to its success in underserved communities across the nation.

The African American community in particular can benefit greatly from the mission and mobilization efforts of CCDA. At a time when America is challenged by extreme economic downturns, the African American community, with its high unemployment, lack of health care, underperforming schools, and distressed neighborhoods, is already experiencing a depression. For that reason, I am most heartened by the presence of experienced and committed African American members of the CCDA Board of Directors and Advisors to add their wisdom to addressing these pressing issues. I am also very proud that CCDA is at the cutting edge of racial reconciliation—moving past traditional Black and White dialogues and engaging dynamic leaders from the Latino and Asian communities in this ongoing conversation. Most impressive of all to me as a veteran leader, is the increased number of younger leaders from diverse communities all seeking to become a vital part of the new leadership within CCDA. Collectively, they are prepared to bring the Good News of the kingdom of God to those who for too long have been left on the byways of America.

I am grateful for the opportunity to serve an organization that is making a significant difference in restoring hope to our communities. dr. BArBArA WilliAMs-skinner

As the first African American woman to chair the Board of ccdA, i am most proud of ccdA’s legacy of diversity in its membership, and especially on the Board.

WeAlthredistriButinG

the

JosePh hollAnd was elected to the board of CCDA in 2007. He is president of Holland Horizon group, a faith-based real estate development company in Harlem, New York that empowers churches financially so they can empower their communities. For more information, visit [www.hollandhorizon.com]

After decades of prayer, community advocacy, indigenous leadership development and just plain hard work, CCDA’s founder and chair emeritus Dr. John Perkins and his wife Vera Mae Perkins, celebrate the twentieth year of the Christian Community Development Association.

Along with pastors and ministry leaders from all over the country representing many denominations, CCDA chief executive officer Noel Castellanos (far right) serves on the President’s Council for Faith and Neighborhood Partnerships.

As the host team liaison for the 2009 ccdA conference in cincinnati, it has been my goal to reach out to the African-American pastoral leadership of our city. it is vital that we embrace and support the efforts of these leaders on the front lines of ministry.

—dr. Byron White

Article excerpted from “Holy Land” by Jason Sheftell of the New York Daily News, published August 10, 2007

JosePh hollAnd CCDA BOARD MEMBER