Welcome! We are Sav, Mckenzie, and Rev. Tommie, the hosts of Community Protectors Project (CPP)! We’re glad you’re taking some time to learn more about our work to transform Christianity in our communities.
We started this project because we were frustrated by the exclusionary and isolating practices of many in the Church. We saw how these behaviors were hurting God’s children and turning them—even some of us—away from Him. We wanted to make our Churches and communities more like the Kingdom in Heaven, where everyone shares in God’s love and riches, so we decided to launch this project. Our goal is to bring diverse Christians together to find our shared values, acknowledge our different experiences, and work together for our common goals. We’ve been amazed by the response so far.
Introduction
We started out our project by hosting a community Bible study, and that is the topic of this toolkit. We ran our community Bible study for four months, meeting every Tuesday night on Zoom to study scripture and discuss how it applied to our daily lives. We brought together over 150 community members, with an average weekly attendance of 75, many of whom would have otherwise not crossed paths. We discussed topics usually sidestepped in the Church, such as income inequality, racial prejudice, shame, and guilt. Somewhere in between our prayer requests, breakout discussions, and group reflections, the transformation happened. We saw a mother get vulnerable about her teenage pregnancy and a community of Christians welcoming her with open arms. We saw someone reconsider her feelings about individuals experiencing homelessness.
We saw how joining together with our neighbors across lines of difference helps us love each other better. The community Bible study was just phase one of a three-part program meant to motivate those of us with Christian values to act together to better our home communities. Phase two included a community organizing course, in which we dug further into the issues and skills necessary to transform our towns and cities on a grassroots level. Phase three handed the facilitation and organization over to our group participants in the form of a community council. Through the community council, our participants have organized a number of local initiatives, including a coalition to address homelessness and a community health fair.
We hope you look over this toolkit and consider hosting a community Bible study in your town. Together, we can start to break down barriers and build stronger families, congregations, and communities.
Sincerely,
Sav, Mckenzie, & Rev. Tommie
