CCDA Principle #6: Relocation

Growing up in a small city, I knew most of the people who lived nearby. I was content because I was in a familiar, safe place. But I didn’t realize how much I liked the comfort of home until I moved to Baylor.

This week’s Christian Community Development principle, Relocation, refers to being present in a specific space. It is a framework to practice being an active participant in the community where we are. Practicing relocation requires a willingness to go where God leads and live a life of love because He first loved us. While this may sound simple, relocation requires a lot of boldness to be obedient to where God is calling as well as humility to love neighbors sacrificially.

One key aspect of relocation is being with others in solidarity. Relocation is less about moving to a different community and more about being present with neighbors wherever you are. John 1:1-18 is a perfect example of this. Jesus came down in the flesh to be with us. He went wherever His Father led Him and was present with the people there. He took time to be involved in the community by participating in daily tasks and healing the hurting. This shows that our God values presence and community deeply.

To be present with our neighbors like Jesus was, we must make time to get to know them. Jonathan Brooks, Senior Pastor at Canaan Community Church and Chicago City Director for Mission Year, says that “You can’t love somebody until you know ‘em. Until you spend some time with ‘em. Until a relationship is built.” Loving our neighbors isn’t serving a sea of faces without learning names. It is making time to connect with people, knowing their joys and struggles and having the vulnerability to share your own.

One hurdle of relocation can be, ironically, where the community we are called to serve is. With relocation, we often want God to work in our desired, “safe” space, valuing comfort and personal safety over living a life worthy of the calling we have received as Christians. As a result, some communities are labeled as “under-resourced” because they lack the greatest resource: people. Jonathan notes that, “It’s no longer Christianity when you take away place. It’s some religion we’ve made up of comfort…[Christianity is] all about intertwining and interweaving ourselves into place and into people’s lives.”

This is seen in Jeremiah 29, where the Israelites are exiled to Babylon. God tells the Israelites to settle down and “seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile.” Babylon wasn’t where the Israelites thought they would be, but God called them to make it their home and to be an authentic presence for the city. Serving and being involved in community, no matter the place, glorifies God because it mirrors His character. As Jonathan says, “Presence is biblical because it’s a mirror of God. But it’s also like a window into what the world could look like if all of us mirrored God.”

At Mission Waco, relocation is practiced in various ways. Sometimes, it looks like job openings at the World Cup Cafe for neighbors seeking opportunities to grow professionally. Other times, it looks like our staff choosing to live in Creekside Community Village, a neighborhood which provides permanent housing and a transformative community for people coming out of chronic homelessness. Wherever the place may be, the goal is the same: to live out the love we have received from God.

In short, relocation is more than moving to a different community to serve others. It is choosing to take time to build mutual relationships with our neighbors. It is choosing to invest in “under-resourced” communities so that they can thrive. It is choosing to walk with others like Jesus chose to walk with us.