Broadway United Methodist Church: Community
Organizing and Gardening
There are many ways a congregation can mobilize a
community for the common good. In some cases, it works for
institutions to create ministries and programs that address
social ills. But focusing on what the community lacks and
importing solutions can sometimes be counterproductive.
Instead, as the story of Broadway United Methodist Church
(BUMC) in Indianapolis, IN, demonstrates, efforts to
improve a community can harness the gifts that are already
present.
In 2005, BUMC initiated “Miracle on 29th Street: Realizing
Dreams, Building Community,” a campaign to raise funds
to maintain the church property, sustain its ministries,
promote new ones, and engage in community development.
To accomplish the latter goal, the church hired “roving
listeners,” community organizers who would survey the
Mapleton-Fall Creek neighborhood to find its strengths.
Those assets, not social ills or economic hardships, would be
the starting point of development.
Community organizer De’Amon Harges started roving and
listening in early 2007. By simply talking to local residents,
he discovered the interests and talents of the community.
But one discovery stood out in particular. “I found many
gifts,” recounts Harges, “but the one that was most
surprising to me was that there were over 75 gardeners.”
This discovery made it clear why a community garden
had shut down three years earlier: not only was it poorly
maintained, but also it simply was not part of the pulse
of the neighborhood. It had been created in a top-down
fashion, ignoring the fact that the area was already filled with
gardeners who worked in their backyards and front porches.
It became clear that the way to build the neighborhood’s
capacity would be bottom-up, by strengthening its existing
structures. As opposed to focusing on what people are not
doing, “we build on what people are actually doing,” says
Harges. “We build on [their] gifts, talents, and dreams.”
“We saw what had been around us all
along. What previously had been invisible
was made visible.”
Reverend Mike Mather,
Broadway United Methodist Church, IN
BUMC’s model of community development is asset-based,
meaning that organizers seek out pre-existing resources and
build connections between those assets and institutions. In
the case of food and sacred places, Reverend Mike Mather
explains the two-step process, “One, talk to the gardeners,
find out what they are growing, what they’d be willing to
sell, what price they’d be willing to offer, and how they’d
be willing to distribute, and then, two, talk to churches
and businesses in this neighborhood and find out who
would be willing to buy.” Thus, the congregation facilitated
Community organizer
De’Amon Harges (in
striped hat) serves as
a “roving listener”
in the Mapleton-Fall
Creek neighborhood
of Indianapolis, IN. He
surveys residents to learn
about their interests,
talents, and vision for their
neighborhood. Photo
courtesy of Broadway
United Methodist Church.
Sacred Places • Summer 2012 • 14