July 1, 2009

The Communities First Association (CFA) is a fast-growing ecumenical movement based in the U.S. that formally launches today, July 1, 2009, from its new offices on Ottawa Beach Road in Holland, Mich.

CFA is an exciting new way for Christian congregations and organizations of all denominations to address poverty in their own neighborhoods—and work toward community life that is better for everyone for the long-term.

CFA director Jay Van Groningen, who is based in Holland, Mich., describes the new organization as "an association of independent professionals who help faith communities meet neighborhood needs across America. CFA's mission is to equip and resource association members to be great coaches and trainers in asset-based community development. CFA is growing into a movement of transformed communities across the U.S."

By using "asset-based community development," CFA helps churches, organizations, and individuals recognize the resources they already have, and then use those resources to make positive improvements in their own neighborhoods. Asset-based community development (or ABCD) was originally adapted for use by the Christian Reformed World Relief Committee (CRWRC), which is now providing a generous start-up grant to CFA.

CFA is already making a difference in the City of Holland.

Four years ago, residents in one Holland Heights community realized that none of them wanted to live there: the crime rate was high and police were called-in regularly to address violence. People were afraid and living in isolation from eachother.

But, through a small, local organization named "Heights of Hope," CFA and its regional partners began placing AmeriCorps volunteers in the community. Using CFA's ABCD strategy, the volunteers uncovered the residents' hopes, dreams, and concerns as well as their gifts and interests. Soon, people began to cooperate with eachother and enjoy life together. They also exchange their time and resources, helping eachother succeed in life.

"People are working together to benefit the whole community with programs like after-school tutoring instead of being afraid of eachother," Van Groningen says. "The residents rented a nearby apartment to use as a community center, and when the Holland City Council notified them that they were out of compliance with local zoning laws, they banded together to present their case to the Council and received a zoning variance for the Center."

Van Groningen says that the Holland Heights neighborhood center has become "a continuing hub of local gatherings, programs, and support activities for community members—There is more interaction, less crime, less residential turnover, and more neighbor-to-neighbor sharing and cooperation in this community.

The change in Holland Heights is the result of training in ABCD through CFA, and mutual learning among the people and organizations involved. "Learning from eachother is what CFA is about," Van Groningen says. CFA will continue to walk alongside Heights of Hope and other non-profits like them, helping them build capacity to work together towards a better future in tough communities.

"When neighbors work together, using what they have, a neighborhood becomes a great place to live," Van Groningen says. "That's true in Bellflower, Calif., Miami, the Bronx, and here in Holland, Michigan—wherever faith-based non-profits work with the Communities First Association."

Members of the press wishing to interview with Communities First Association director, Jay Van Groningen, call 616-403-9309, or call Beth DeGraff, media contact for CRWRC in the U.S. at 616-648-7821. Audience members and interested partners are invited to access Communities First resources and membership information at http://www.communitiesfirstassociation.org/.

The highly successful book, Communities First, which includes a series of workbooks that constitute an empowering guide for churches and organizations, challenges faith communities to engage in and influence the neighborhood around them. For more information or to order, go to http://www.communitiesfirstassociation.org. Materials are available in Spanish.

Christian Reformed World Relief Committee