To build a strong and vibrant collaboration in our city between all the varied church communities; helping agencies; federal, state, and local governmental agencies; the private sector; schools of higher learning; and all civic & community groups. Nothing short of this collaboration will enable us to achieve the goal of transforming our city into a true “model community” – one which will impact every facet of life in every home in every neighborhood in our city.

While all target groups identified earlier will be included in this movement, with this being a faith-based initiative, unapologetically we will focus our attention in our city to build a strong foundation of church communities who are committed partners in our efforts to energize, organize, coordinate, and launch this transformational movement in our city.

It was Jesus who said, “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked” (Luke 12:48).

To heighten the awareness and participation of all the varied church communities in our city as to the vast opportunities for them to be an active partner at the city table to help address the real and felt community needs and to help significantly improve the quality of life in our city! It will only be when we form a collaborative effort that we’ll make headway on these ills of our community!

After a period of slumber, the evangelical church is re-awakening to its other side - the “proof” side of proclaiming the gospel message. Christianity was always meant to be more than a set of beliefs. It was meant to be real . . . authentic . . . transforming. There is always tremendous inertia in a church to be “internally focused.” It will be our goal to work with church leaders to encourage their church members to think of ministries that build bridges into our city rather than building walls around their existing membership. What if we prioritized much of what we do in our church communities toward helping to prepare and equip people not only for personal growth, but also for personal impact?

To highlight this point, consider this quote by Howard Synder in his book, Liberating the Church (Downers Grove, IL. Inter-Varsity Press, 1983):

“When Christians catch a vision of the Kingdom of God, their sight shifts to the poor, the orphan, the widow, the refugee, the wretched of the earth, to God’s future – to the concerns of justice, mercy, and truth. Church people think about how to get people into the church. Kingdom people think about how to get the church into the world. Church people worry that the world might change the church. Kingdom people work to see the church change the world.”

We will encourage every partner in this movement to follow a very simple model which we believe has the best potential for transforming our city:

• Claim at least one helping agency and become their partner in ministry;
• Claim a neighborhood and go make your presence felt in every home, in every school, in every playground, in every business in that neighborhood. For this to be successful, each neighborhood should be small enough that you can measure and evaluate your impact;
• Involve the faith-based community in the fight against illiteracy at all levels (children through adult) because of its negative impact on individuals and every aspect of community life.

And our efforts will not rest until every leading helping agency in our city have all the partners they need and every neighborhood has a presence from one of their partners and where people’s lives are being transformed.

Have you ever taken a vacation on a cruise ship? If you have, you know that beyond being rocked into a peaceful relaxation by the ocean waters, there is a calming and transforming affect on the 3,000+ guests that has been carefully orchestrated by the 1,100+ crewmen that are well-schooled on providing the highest level of customer service that marks the whole “cruise experience.”

Is it possible that the church of Jesus Christ can transform the cities across our nation by a revolutionary kind of service that the people in our communities have never experienced? Is the church in Little Rock recognized as being caring and compassionate? Do you believe the church can help transform our city?

People who have grown up in generational poverty or who been beaten down by life or who have experienced injustice at the hands of others sometimes have a difficult time believing that God is good. Amazing though it is, the church is God’s plan for helping these people come to believe that God is good! And God doesn’t have another plan. It was Jesus who said:

In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. (Matthew 5:16)

We’ve got to make it believable! Though this is no small task, God is calling for leaders who will rise to this challenge. But if we are going to accomplish anything of significance, we must align ourselves with many others who share a common vision and we must spend enough time working together to forge a wonderful collaboration . . . a movement that cannot be denied that it is from God!

Thessalonica was a central city in the province of Macedonia. But their faith and reputation went way beyond those borders and extended over into Achaia (where Corinth was a leading city). Notice what Paul says about the believers in Thessalonica:

We always thank God for all of you, mentioning you in our prayers. We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

For we know, brothers, loved by God, that he has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction. You know how we lived among you for your sake. You became imitators of us and of the Lord; in spite of severe suffering, you welcomed the message with the joy given by the Holy Spirit. And so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. The Lord’s message rang out from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia – your faith in God has become known everywhere. (1 Thessalonians 1:3-8)

We need to recapture the mission of the church. In both the Old and New Testaments we encounter a God who is on a redemptive mission in the world. In fact, it is astonishing to see the lengths to which He goes in pursuit of his mission to redeem the crowning jewel of His creation – people. So much of what is written in God’s word is convicting and calls us to action!

All across this land, it is wonderful these days to hear of what’s happening in churches. After a period of slumber, the evangelical church is re-awakening to its other side - the “proof” side of proclaiming the gospel message. Christianity was always meant to be more than a set of beliefs. It was meant to be real . . . authentic . . . transforming. And we believe it to be God’s will for this movement to creep its way through churches of all shapes and sizes.

Since the Lord’s church began on the Day of Pentecost, the church has always been at its best when the proclamation of the gospel involved both doing and telling. Though the gospel message is compelling, let’s admit that we haven’t always been compelling messengers in our respective cities!

Of all the attributes for which we should be known both individually and corporately, service should be high on that list. In today’s world, whether we like it or not, we have to earn the right to be heard. To tell the truth, we must show the truth. Honest, compassionate service can help restore credibility to the gospel message we want to share.

What this means is that we are being stretched to construct new models and new approaches to what we are putting in practice. We will have to think outside of the box and go way beyond our traditional methods to accomplish the goals that are outlined in this prospectus. And we can! Your church is full of powerful, influential, and resourceful people in our city who are ready to be mobilized for service.

Experienced churches often spin off separate not-for-profit ministry organizations. Some create partnerships with existing not-for-profit helping agencies already in existence and which have a proven track record of accomplishing a mutually-desired mission in their community. Most every city has a number of these helping agencies that are morally positive and spiritually neutral and who have carved out a niche to meet the needs of some under-served and under-resourced people of the community. Such agencies include food banks, homeless shelters, shelters for abused children and mothers, pregnancy centers, etc. Why not join what is already happening in the community instead of each congregation having its own food pantry? The opportunities for your church to come alongside one or more of these agencies who are already accomplishing a desired outcome are endless.

As with all enterprises with such lofty goals and objectives, there has to be a business plan and a financial model established for this to be viable. One of the important principles that needs to be re-iterated at this point is that this will be not-for-profit endeavor in keeping with our charter that enabled us to achieve 501(c)3 status with the I.R.S.

Here is the business model we have developed and included is a brief description of the commitments that must be developed at each of the three levels outlined below:

Level One – “Anchors”

• These are our “anchor” supporters who choose to make a significant investment and who collectively form the foundation of a strong and sustainable financial base.
• It is our goal to always have at least 10 “anchors.”
• These “anchors” will contribute $10,000 (or more) per year and our request is that each donor pledge to do that for at least three years.
• Ideally we’d like for the bulk of these donors to be church communities, corporations, and philanthropic foundations evidencing their goodwill and financial support of our over-arching missional objectives.

Level Two – “Pillars”

• It is our goal to always have at least 20 structural and sustaining “pillars.
• Each of these partners will contribute in the range of $5,000 - $9,999 per year.
• We believe this is a level of support indicative of the donor’s commitment to participate in one or more of the strategic priorities of City Connections, Inc. each which demands a true collaborative effort before significant impact will ever be realized.

Level Three - “Partners”

• It is our goal to always have at least 100 community partners.
• Each of these partners will contribute $1,000 (or more) per year.
• We believe this is a level of support that enables most of the organizations, churches, and even individuals who have a heart for the missional objectives of City Connections, Inc. and/or who have benefitted from the assistance that has come as a result of our relational network.
   

So we humbly ask – at what level will you help us?

If so, please contact us to discuss further or you may donate online.